Policy and Research • Beta Boroughs

Beta Boroughs could spark a new era of experimental housing in the UK, creating not just homes, but a living dataset.

In discussions about the housing crisis, we often focus on potential ‘radical’ solutions while overlooking the fact that we operate within a regulatory context that has effectively cornered us. Some of the most established and well-loved housing typologies would now fail to clear even the initial hurdles of regulatory compliance. Meanwhile, housing delivery has stalled, and much of our existing housing stock is poor. One child in every classroom is now homeless, and 14% of our current housing stock fails the Decent Homes Standard.

Planning regulations aren’t the only issue, but they have stifled innovation. Instead of seeking understanding or looking for preventative solutions, we continue to add layers of policy: short-term fixes that offer little in the way of vision and fail to address the breadth and complexity of the challenges we face. Beta Boroughs proposes that any authority delivering below 50% of its housing target would become an experimental zone where transformative planning policies apply for the next five years.

We would establish new metrics for success; ones that measure real, lasting impact on communities. Are people starting families earlier? Staying put longer? Is public health improving? By gathering and analysing this data over time, we could map the complex interplay between housing delivery and quality of life, creating a blueprint for more resilient, people-centred places.

Over time, these boroughs could see the emergence of a new character driven by a hyper-local sensibility, achieving a prevailing condition that amounts to an identity of place and restoring a sense of community pride.

In the next five years, we could have the chance to generate the foundational knowledge that will shape the next fifty—redefining how we live, build, and belong for generations to come.

Davidson Prize Longlist 2025

Project Team:
Anna Crew
Tahera Rouf
Alan Beveridge
Russell Curtis

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