Re-use of previously developed land: Housebuilder adaptation to a changing context

Recent changes in UK urban policy are important contributors in shifting the way the built environment in the UK is produced. The thesis examines the effect this policy push has on the housebuilding sector, on the types of dwellings and developments produced and the efforts of two major London housebuilders to adapt. Since the mid 1990s, UK governments have emphasised the need to accommodate new housing provision on previously developed land, predominantly in urban areas. This changing business environment forces housebuilders to adapt. Opportunities open up as new inner city markets emerge, whereas obtaining planning permission for sites on previously undeveloped land is becoming increasingly difficult. These new markets and new types of land input require housebuilders to re organise their development practices. New types of dwellings and developments have to be designed, financed, produced and sold. Aggregate statistics for the housebuilding sector reveal that housing development is transforming: dwelling production in metropolitan areas is increasing, the proportion of flats is rising and densities are increasing. The examination of two firms and two of their projects also shows that both firms are responding to their new business environment. The first response puts emphasis on flexibility and has led to sustained growth whereas the other response, focused on spreading development risks geographically and amongst different markets, is proving to be less successful at the moment. Although this transformation is still unfolding, the insights from the research can already prove useful to policy makers and housebuilders. An examination of housebuilding based on ideas deriving from a combination of institutionalist and evolutionary approaches can open new pathways in the way we understand the housebuilding industry and therefore in the way we understand processes of production and consumption of the built environment and the significance of planning policy as an instigator of change