Standards in housing design: A review of the main changes since the Parker Morris report (1961)

Abstract

Summary This paper reviews trends in the standards of design of new dwellings in Britain, using the Parker Morris report as a benchmark against which to assess subsequent change. In the public sector the main priority now is for a broader set of standards than has often been employed in the past. Parker Morris floorspace standards, while no longer mandatory, still provide a guide to good practice. The need is to integrate this concern with floorspace within a broad approach which pays more attention to the external environment, which specifies full rather than partial central heating and which enables an increased choice of accommodation. In the private sector, the policy of successive governments of attempting to reduce the costs of entry into owner occupation has led to lower standards. The recent experience of starter homes reveals that private developers are unlikely to build sufficiently downmarket to replace a lack of public investment and that, if they try, they are likely to provide accommodation ...