Homes fit for purpose? Learning about place-sensitive housing strategies
This lecture uses place-sensitive research from London and elsewhere to show how planning can address local realities. Better homes are not just well-built; they are better understood.
Organizer: Dr Dimitrios Panayotopoulos-Tsiros & Dr Lucy Natarajan, Research Associate & Associate Professor, Bartlet School of Planning, University College London
May 21, 2026 | 10:50 - 11:15
(passed)
Summary
Housing that is "fit for purpose" should, by definition, meet the needs of the people who actually live in it -yet housing provision routinely ignores the social, cultural, and geographic dimensions of context in ways that produce dwellings that are technically adequate but experientially wrong. This lecture draws on place-sensitive housing research conducted at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, examining how planning practice and planning education can respond more effectively to the diversity of local realities, from inner-London communities to rapidly urbanising Global South cities. It argues that place-sensitivity is not a luxury available only in wealthy contexts but a fundamental requirement of just and effective housing provision everywhere. The lecture offers a research-informed framework for developing housing strategies that are grounded in lived experience, cultural meaning, and the specific landscapes in which people make their homes.