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Everything that's wrong with housing in Britain — and how to put it right

Toby Keel Toby Keel

Nicholas Boys Smith speaks to James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast about how we can plan and build houses and towns which work for everybody.

The housing crisis in Britain has gone on for decades almost unchecked — but it’s only thanks to voices such as Nicholas Boys Smith that we can use the word ‘almost’ in that sentence.

Nicholas is the founder of Create Streets, a think tank and consultancy which looks at property development and town planning across Britain. He joins host James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to explain what has been going wrong, why we’ve lost faith in planners, architects and developers, and what we can do to put things right.

Striking a balance between preservation and progress is right at the heart of what Nicholas has to say — for there is no reason at all why we can’t make buildings which are modern and practical while also preserving the beauty of our villages, towns and cities.

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Nicholas Boys Smith’s book, No Free Parking, on the history of building in London, is out in paperback now. You can follow him at  twitter.com/boys_nicholas and find out more about Create Streets at their official website.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Nicholas Boys Smith
Producer and Editor: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

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