A better way to build new housing.

[fullupandslowingdown]

Put the car parking underground. Something we don't seem to do in the UK as much as other population centres around the world. I recall a large open green area in Brighton, with a fairly large carpark underneath it.

The place looks a bit run down and parched compared to how I remember it. But anyway, if you made the carpark entrance by the main road only with a shared use path to allow for bicycle ambulances and taxis etc around the park, you've got a large communal area (used to be key access IIRC) relatively safe fro m traffic, and all the house overlook it from the front at least. The buildings are between 4 and 5 storey so that could be a family per level. That does though typically mean leasehold, but guess what, lets invent this brilliant new system sarcasm alert where a local public owned and funded organisation owns the leasehold of the properties and manages the sales, letting and oversees the shared spaces. Lets call it council housing.

[Cyril Haearn]

It might be instructive, in some way, to look at the tower blocks built from the 60s onwards in many parts of Eastern Europe
..

'Arbeiterschliessfaecher', left-luggage lockers for workers
Many were demolished after 1990, others modernised, equipped with elevators etc, they are quite popular, by no means as bad as one might suppose

I do remember the Quarry Hill flats in Leeds, they were pulled down unfortunately

[Bmblbzzz]

Many are still popular and, contrary to what is often assumed, provide a good sense of community. I expect this is dependent on many factors, architecture being only one. The ones I know had lifts from the start - unfortunately not big enough to easily get a bike in.

[FOSS62]

Put the car parking underground. Something we don't seem to do in the UK as much as other population centres around the world. I recall a large open green area in Brighton, with a fairly large carpark underneath it.

Screenshot 2020-03-16 at 18.09.25.png

The place looks a bit run down and parched compared to how I remember it. But anyway, if you made the carpark entrance by the main road only with a shared use path to allow for bicycle ambulances and taxis etc around the park, you've got a large communal area (used to be key access IIRC) relatively safe fro m traffic, and all the house overlook it from the front at least. The buildings are between 4 and 5 storey so that could be a family per level. That does though typically mean leasehold, but guess what, lets invent this brilliant new system sarcasm alert where a local public owned and funded organisation owns the leasehold of the properties and manages the sales, letting and oversees the shared spaces. Lets call it council housing.

It’s a good idea, but for some reason (and despite the cost of land) there seems little interest in building underground these days. If you go to cities like Cambridge you realise just how much of the old centre was underground - many shops, hotels etc. have areas below ground level, making use of much older buildings. I suppose the cost is prohibitive in completely new developments?

[Bmblbzzz]

Could also be greater (either in reality or greater consciousness of) flood risks.