A Need for Housing

Between 1920 and 1970 the British Government oversaw a nationwide housebuilding programme that was unprecedented in terms of both scale and cost. This book re-evaluates this housebuilding programme, focusing in particular on how those involved in the provision of public housing in England conceived of the people who they were providing houses for. Using a wide-range of sources from archives in London, Manchester and Sheffield, it uncovers and traces the changing ways in which the figure of the prospective tenant was conceptualized and acted upon - demonstrating how ideas about what people needed from a home changed dramatically over the course of this period. As such, this book not only adds substantially to our understanding of the changes that took place in the public housing sector in England between 1920 and 1970, but also contributes to and problematizes the way in which we approach issues relating to public housing provision in the future.