The housing crisis has emerged from one of the biggest problems facing societies. Few houses, high cost of purchase, rental or construction. Whole Europe seeks and proposes solutions.
In the major annual report on real estate in Britain, held in Leeds, the «new cities» It was one of the issues the panels dealt with. And when we say «new cities» in response to the housing crisis, the term has a dual definition. They are indeed new cities that will be built from the beginning, in places where there is now no settlement. But cities that will be renewed will be transformed to become more human and environmentally compatible.
New cities and big ideas
In Britain the Labour government, since its start about two years ago, revived the program «New cities». The housing crisis and there is one of the scourges for young people and is raised as a central issue in every election race. Whether at parliament or municipal level.
The goal is, by 2029, to have built 1.5 million dwellings. This means many jobs for manufacturers, but also a race to achieve it. Cause, bureaucracy (it takes a year to issue a building permit) and lack of skilled labour. Old workers grow old, retire, and there's no new blood.
The initial idea for 12 new cities has been forced down to seven. And of course, they weren't exactly young. Only two will be new settlements, Temsford and Brabzon. The remaining five will be urban expansions already large cities. Furthermore, there is no great historical precedent. In Britain, since World War II, only two such projects have been implemented. Milton Kanes, which almost existed, and Newtown.
The cities of the future
The conference also presented ideas that were truly innovative. But it takes more than five years to implement them. They concern cities that will not only solve the problem of housing but also consider how man is connected with his environment.
One of these ideas was robots who would build affordable housing. The proposal was made by Shiv Malik, a former journalist to the Guardian and Sunday Times. He was one of the authors of the book Jilted Generation (Treasoned Generation) in 2010. There were described the economic disadvantages experienced by people born after 1979. Employment, debt, education. And of course in housing.
And instead of becoming a politician, he became a manufacturer. Along with his partner, artificial intelligence entrepreneur, Joe Reeve, founded the Albion City Development Corporation. Their plan is to build the Forest City 1 (City of Forest 1). That is 400,000 dwellings for 1 million inhabitants, 12,000 acres of forest area at a cost of £100 billion. The town of family residences 150 sq.m., with four bedrooms at the price of 400,000 euros. That's almost half the cost of similar properties.
Malick, the «social contract» and AI
Malick, speaking to Financial Times, claims that he is not interested in expanding the current business model of construction. «I'm trying to fix a broken social contract.»He says.
The fate of Forest City 1 is in the hands of the government, awaiting approval of the feasibility report. But Malick's proposal for new cities and the housing crisis is a new approach. And it can cause the interest of other open-minded manufacturers.
Malik for the construction of these affordable family homes presents a new approach that can appear.
Example the candidate for an Stirling architecture award, Amin Taha. He signed with Malick's company and AUAR architecture cooperation in a design for a wooden house that can be produced massively by a network of robotic micro-organisms. AUAR uses artificial intelligence to calculate everything. From the quantity of wood required for construction to the total cost.
According to Jonathan Irawan, head of computer design at Hassell design studio and technology consultant at the Planning Council, this method has great potential. «Instead of attempting a renovation of traditional construction sites, requiring large capital, this model enables an existing network of local partners to improve efficiency in the assembly of individual components. Artificial intelligence and robotics function as cooperative partners. Graduated innovations such as these should be applied if we want to meet accelerated demand for housing»He says.
Data on the central structure of each house are manufactured in «plants» robot container size from a wooden sheet pile. In 12 hours, the pieces for the frame, walls, floors and roof are completed. These can then be assembled on a construction site by local craftsmen.
16,000 wooden dwellings per year
The use of timber has other advantages. It reduces the environmental impact of building houses. Yale's study found that if 30-60% of new urban buildings were made of wood between 2020 and 2100, greenhouse gas emissions would decrease over the life cycle by 25.6 to 39 gigatons of CO2 equivalent. Provided sustainable forest practices are followed.
If Forest City 1 receives approval, Malik hopes to create a non-profit organisation that owns and manages land indefinitely for the benefit of a local area. This will prevent people from converting affordable housing. He hopes to build 16,000 dwellings annually. The aim is for the first inhabitants to move by 2035.
«Our country's biggest manufacturers have told us that's impossible.»He says. «We're all fighting to prove them wrong.».
Cities with local energy network
The ideas to address the housing crisis also concern energy. Clean energy, at a time when the climate crisis increases temperatures in the summer. Central idea is small-scale local electricity networks. They will combine energy production, from solar or wind power, and storage of batteries to feed a city or community. Energy companies Octopus Energy and Centrica invest in micronet technology.
Amber Woodward, director of international public relations at the Centre for Net Zero Research Institute, says that new cities are ideal for this.
«All new houses could be equipped with solar panels, heat pumps and charging electric vehicles as standard. And storing batteries could support the local energy system».
Already in Hayford Park settlement, Oxford County, the ambition is to become the first city with surplus energy. It plans to use wind turbines and ground solar panels alongside integrated solar panels in buildings to create energy. This energy will be coordinated by a digital micronet operating as a virtual power station. And it will balance energy supply with demand so that the city is energy-sufficient.
Also, micronets have proved successful in island communities in Britain. New cities like Haywood Park offer a fresh start.
New cities, new habits
The next goal is for new cities to start over properly. Ensure transport infrastructure, links to large networks, and connect with other local communities.
Beauty is an important factor for sustainable cities
But also to be beautiful. Cleo Valentine has a PhD in architecture and specialization in neuroimmunology architecture. He estimates that new cities are an area with specialized needs. «It is the study of how the structured environment affects our brain through our immune system», explains. «It's still being established. Although neuroarchitecture has long existed and has gained its own dynamic».
«Πολλά σύγχρονα κτίρια πυροδοτούν μια αρνητική φυσιολογική αντίδραση», λέει. «Δεν είναι ότι στους ανθρώπους δεν αρέσει ο σχεδιασμός, είναι ότι στην πραγματικότητα βιώνουν μια αντίδραση που οδηγεί σε χαμηλό επίπεδο στρες, και το στρες μπορεί να είναι η κινητήρια δύναμη πολλών σύγχρονων ασθενειών».
«Υπάρχει ένα αυξανόμενο σύνολο στοιχείων από τη νευροεπιστήμη και την περιβαλλοντική ψυχολογία που δείχνουν πώς τα κτίρια διαμορφώνουν όχι μόνο τον τρόπο που κινούμαστε σε μια πόλη αλλά και το πώς νιώθουμε», προσθέτει. Και οι νέες πόλεις προσφέρουν την ευκαιρία να εφαρμοστεί μέρος αυτής της επιστήμης στην πράξη.
Σύμφωνα με τον Σκοτ Πολ, ακόμη και μόνο «η απλή προσθήκη ενός μοτίβου στην τοιχοποιία ενός κτιρίου μπορεί να βοηθήσει». Ενώ η Βαλεντάιν πιστεύει ότι η αρχιτεκτονική συνδέεται με τη δημόσια υγεία. «Το δομημένο περιβάλλον είναι ένας πρωταρχικός καθοριστικός παράγοντας για την ανθρώπινη υγεία. Αλλά έχει παραβλεφθεί σημαντικά», λέει.
Μεγαλεπήβολα σχέδια; Ποιος ξέρει. Ίσως όμως στο όραμα να κρύβεται και ένα πιο όμορφο μέλλον.
