"Volume house builders feared the project’s success"

[Saving For a Space Ship]

Inside Almere: the Dutch city that's pioneering alternative housing

https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2015/dec/15/almere-dutch-city-alternative-housing-custom-build

Quote

“They [volume housebuilders] feared the project’s success because it proved that the public could do without them,” adds Floris Alkemade, former partner at architects OMA and project architect for the masterplan.  ..

While custom-build and self-build housing cannot single-handedly solve the UK’s housing crisis, they do offer an opportunity to throw the market open to far greater competition.

Both types of housing are economically sustainable models, yet in Britain we still lag far behind our northern European counterparts when it comes to alternative housing.

One source of inspiration is the Dutch city of Almere. Located in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, Almere is one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe and has a history of pioneering social planning. Over the past few years, it has embarked on a hugely ambitious plan to turn the housing market on its head, challenging the status quo of volume housebuilders controlling provision.

 

Edited December 17, 2016 by Saving For a Space Ship

[thewig]

Chuck em up, chop em up, fill em up, just bang em (the rents, innit) up.