REP Research Roundup: October 2023

News from the Department of Real Estate & Planning

Research Applications
Chris Maidment

• Title - Strategic Planning
• Total bid - £330.30
• Type - Tender (led by University of Manchester)

Publications

Foye, Chris. and Shepherd, Edward. (2023) Why have the volume housebuilders been so profitable? UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence.

Abstract 
Over the last decade the largest housebuilders, and particularly the “big-three”,  have consistently reported supernormal levels of profitability. Through comprehensive analysis of earnings call transcripts, annual reports and policy documents, this study explores the drivers of this profitability, and what it tells us about the nature of the housebuilding industry, the development land market and the relationship between volume housebuilders and the state.

Key Arguments
> Post-GFC, the big three successfully adopted a “margins over volume” strategy, allowing them to generate large amounts of cash, most of which has been returned to their shareholders.
> The state played a crucial role in increasing their profit margins, through two main interventions, both of which benefitted larger housebuilders over smaller housebuilders;
     •    Mortgage market support schemes which (likely) inflated their sales prices, and allowed them to wind-down their own shared equity schemes.
     •    Renegotiation of section 106 agreements and the subsequent liberalisation of the planning system.
> The state’s prioritisation of large sites in the planning system also provided the big-three with (monopsonistic) market power, keeping down the input cost of their land.
> The state shaped the land and housing market in this way because it perceived itself as a necessarily passive actor in the production of housing, reliant on the structural power of the largest housebuilders.

We conclude that in order to expand housing supply in a way that aligns with social and environmental needs, the state needs to recognise its own structural power, and assume a larger and more active role in the housebuilding and land market.

Moys, Jeanne-Louise; Hwang, Faustina; Marsili, Ugo; Nunes Richard; Tagg, Adrian and Vasilikou, Carolina (2023) 'The Inclusive Way' hackathon - inclusive wayfinding and pedagogy InfoDesign: Brazilian Journal of Information Design (In Press)

Abstract 
Hackathons, inclusive design, pedagogy, wayfinding This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges for learning about and building skills for inclusive practice through a two-day, multidisciplinary, collaborative hackathon. ‘The inclusive way’ brought together students and staff from different disciplines and study levels, people with disabilities and industry professionals. Working on-site, project teams explored an inclusive wayfinding brief, developing and appraising prototypes for inclusive practice in response to the physical site and its immediate surroundings. This presentation reflects on the hackathon as a pedagogic approach, highlighting its potential and limitations for communication and information design education in the 21st century.

PhD News

Conference presentations
Wood, Sarah (2023) 'The Adoption of Biodiversity Net Gain in England: factors shaping its integration into land-use decisions', UK and Ireland Planning Conference, Glasgow Universoty, 23, September