Shouldn't we get the homes we need, not just what we're given?

摘要

Home is the anchor point from which we build our lives. When the core elements of safety, comfort, space to grow and long-term security are present, our home underpins our capacity to lead healthy, fulfilling lives. It cannot be an unreasonable expectation that, whatever our social background, stage of life or level of disability, these core elements should be a given for housing development in 21 st-century Britain. But it has to be questioned whether this is a vision currently shared by the development industry and government. The Grenfell Tower fire serves as a horrific and undeniable depiction of the degree to which the development sector has disregarded the goal of building homes that enable residents to lead healthy, fulfilling lives, in favour of the pursuit of cost-cutting and maximisation of profit. In her review of fire safety and building regulation, Dame Judith Hackitt found that the combination of factors that made the Grenfell Tower fire possible represent a 'cultural' issue within the construction industry, consisting of ignorance, indifference, lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities, and inadequate regulatory oversight and enforcement, which she describes as a 'race to the bottom'.