It’s really hard to find housing research showing that windows in bedrooms, outdoor space, and minimum floor areas are important for the wellbeing of residents. This reminds me of the headline from some years ago that there was no research showing that dental floss works. 🧵 1/n

Writing working-class family histories. Please read the fascinating new blog post by Michael Rees on tracing his family history and the intellectual questions it raises. municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2024/09/03/mem…

I wrote these words in 2018. They seem as apposite today as they did then ...

Our response to today's publication of the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 Report

As ever Peter Apps is the person for the best analysis of the devastating critique of government inaction, deregulatory ideology and corporate deceit contained in today’s report on the Grenfell catastrophe. How hard this must be to read for the survivors and the bereaved

Municipal Dreams And here we have one of the contenders for the Tory leadership just the other day

The dark heart of this catastrophe lies in this simple, depressing narrative: the state stepped back, corporate greed stepped in and innocent people died. Bit by me for The Guardian: theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

A passing thought that there are people out there who will be reading the inquiry report and quietly knowing they were on the right side of history, even though it made them unpopular, cost them opportunities and saw their views dismissed. If faced with the choice, be like them

The council: "weak", "muddled" Housing provider: "serious failure" Contractors: "complacent", "unaware" Fire assessor: "ill-qualified" Manufacturers: "dishonest" Here's what the Grenfell Inquiry report said about all the key players, by me and Peter Apps insidehousing.co.uk/insight/what-t…

#PhotoFriday Last week we were asked about a plan for the Dads Lane Estate which we unfortunately don’t have. As an alternative, we found this picture of social housing on the neighbouring Pineapple Estate, Kings Heath in 1925. Ref - WK/K4/11 LibraryofBirmingham Brumpic

Crikey #Irvine New Town is a banger. A megastructure shopping centre that spans the river! Phwoar.

This is a fun story about Horley Parish Council's solitary Communist councillor ... but equally a reminder of the good that earnest representation and local government can do. newsocialist.org.uk/communists-in-…

The art belongs to the people. It is the greatest municipal collection in the country. Didn't require an 'investigation' to reveal that.

If you enjoyed #whodoyouthinkyouare with Rose Ayling-Ellis this week, here's more on the Exeter council housing in Widgery Road (below) to which her grandparents James and Ada Welland and their 15 children moved in the early 1930s: municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2016/08/09/ear…

How do we write our working-class family histories? Michael Rees' new guest post is fascinating on both his own family history and the challenges and opportunities in writing it. municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2024/09/03/mem…

You can buy Municipal Dreams: the Rise and Fall of Council Housing for £8.80.