Britain isn't broken, it's just built wrong

Video Description

Britain’s housing crisis, declining high streets, and cost of living crisis might all have the same root cause: we simply don’t build enough dense housing in our cities. In this deep-dive video, I explore how urban density, housing policy, and city planning in the UK could help solve some of the biggest problems facing Britain today. To do that, I sat down with experts from Centre for Cities and Britain Remade to discuss why the UK’s largest cities are less dense than their European counterparts, and what we can do about it. ---CHAPTERS--- 00:00 - Intro 01:06 - But how does building more flats fix Britain? 02:03 - What happens if we don't build more flats? 03:30 - Homelessness and the Housing Crisis 05:17 - Shoreditch Works' difficult journey through the UK planning system 09:30 - How did we get here? The UK's suburban experiment 14:10 - Is the planning system really to blame? 15:00 - How we're all suffering because of this 18:00 - Decaying high streets and town centres 22:10 - Our sluggish economy and productivity 25:34 - But doesn't Britain already have enough flats? 27:19 - How will building more flats help solve the cost of living? 36:37 - How will building more flats help solve poor public transport? 39:55 - How do we build more flats? Lessons from France and Japan 43:32 - What Croydon can teach the rest of the UK 48:01 - Do the government's plans go far enough? 52:40 - Outro At 53 minutes, this is a bit of a blue whale, and the biggest project I've ever created! It’s taken months to put together, and I’m super excited to finally share it with you. Many of the UK’s challenges stem from low housing density in our major cities. Compared with other European countries, Britain builds far fewer flats and apartments. Flats make up just 13% of UK housing stock. Across Europe, the average is around 45%. This lack of density means fewer people living close to major employment centres, which makes our cities effectively smaller than they appear on paper. The result? Lower productivity, weaker economic growth, and cities that struggle to compete internationally. But how could building more flats help fix Britain? Building more homes, especially high-density flats near town centres and high streets, could help tackle multiple issues at once: • Housing affordability crisis – More supply reduces pressure on prices • Homelessness and housing shortages – We simply need more homes • Declining high streets – More residents nearby bring footfall and life back to town centres • Cost of living crisis – Flats are typically cheaper to heat and maintain than houses • Energy costs – Much of the UK lives in older, inefficient housing In other words, urban density could be one of the biggest levers we have to improve life in Britain. This video also features expert insights, and I owe a huge thank you to Maurice and Michael from Centre for Cities and Britain Remade for contributing their expertise and helping make this discussion far more insightful. Each conversation lasted around an hour, and I had to cut large sections just to keep this video under five hours long! If you’d like to watch the extended interviews, I’ve uploaded them to my Patreon (link below). https://www.patreon.com/CityEd I'm also on Buy Me a Coffee if you'd like to support me there! https://buymeacoffee.com/cityed Article: British cities are flat, and need more flats | Centre for Cities Report: https://www.centreforcities.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Flat-britain-November-2025-December-2025-correction.pdf Croydon Suburban Design Guide: https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/documents/s14561/Agenda%20Item%2010%20-%20Appendix%201B%20-%20SPD2%20Suburban%20Design%20Guide.pdf Centre for Cities Density Gap Tool: https://www.centreforcities.org/data/housing-density-and-the-density-gap-in-british-cities/ Centre for Cities 'Climbing The Summit' Productivity Report: https://www.centreforcities.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Climbing-the-Summit-June-2024.pdf Housing Stock of the United Kingdom, BRE: https://files.bregroup.com/bretrust/The-Housing-Stock-of-the-United-Kingdom_Report_BRE-Trust.pdf Croydon Suburban Design Guide CFC report: https://www.centreforcities.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Croydon-calling-February-2026.pdf UrbInfo Manchester: https://www.urbinfomanc.co.uk/ #uk #urbanism #architecture #urbanplanning #cities #city #flats #costofliving #development #planning #placemaking #housebuilding #building #construction #england #economy #economics