Letter to Spiked - density of housing.

Another equally alarming aspect to the dismal amount of new house build is the density and poverty of spirit in the build. Sure, there are some nice houses out there but many are built on poor quality land, with limited additional infrastructure and stacked quite high. It's nice sunny day imagery but it doesn't last. One of the first things noticed when returning to old roads was the patches of newbuilt houses dotted around main roads. After a while you get to see previous expansions - maybe by style, layout or materials used. But still largely around a decrepit road system. If it's not being dug up then it's getting speed bumps and cameras.

The wry tone of the Heineken advert appeals - the hole dig where all the services - gas, cable, electricity, even the undertaker eye it up. If only, eh? The fact that it seems to make sense shows that we actually have a pretty low outlook but does give the nod to reality.

Why accept a pack 'em in tight, fill in all the gaps, crappy transport system philosophy? One that puts humanity beneath nature, and a cuddlybunny version of it at that. Defra's land use statisics quote 10.6% urbanised land, though as they admit not totally accurate but obviously there is plenty of land even in densely populated Britain. (www.defra.gov.uk)

The urban sprawl is more like urban squeeze, replete with ubercontrolling asbo, convention and diktat. Hardly a single normal activity is without an annoyance factor and therefore a chance to bellyache - the neighbours' exuberant children, the necessary DIY and constant upgrading of old housing stock, cars, old people doing 8 miles an hour, the cat always teasin' ma dawg, and so on - take your pick.

Until we overturn the view that man is subservient to nature then we are forever stuck to this kind of build. Newer housing designs are about and are even built. Their exotic appeal is due to their rarity. However, the simple, airy and spacious designs around easily lend themselves to mass production and with good liveable quality too. Some contemporary homes show simple ingenuity even in what could be called difficult locations, in short there's nothing much out there that is a barrier. Of course simplicity isn't always a gift and significant inroads into new technologies promise plenty.

Would it be too much to ask tomorrow's developers to put services in a seperate conduit rather than alongside or underneath roads and paths?