Meeting housing needs within planetary boundaries: a UK case study

Horn, Stefan, Gough, Ian ORCID: 0000-0002-0597-3106, Rogers, Charlotte and Tunstall, Rebecca (2025) Meeting housing needs within planetary boundaries: a UK case study. Ecological Economics, 230. ISSN 0921-8009

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Abstract

This paper addresses a neglected aspect of the UK housing crisis: how to rapidly but fairly decarbonise the housing stock to meet tough net zero targets while meeting housing needs of the entire population. To do so the authors adopt a radical approach based on sufficiency. The sufficiency approach is based on determining both a housing floor – a decent minimum standard for all – and a housing ceiling - above which lies unsustainable excess. The authors define these thresholds in terms of bedrooms and floorspace and analyse the distribution of housing in England. They find that excess housing is widespread, concentrated in home ownership, particularly outright ownership, and characterised by above average emissions per square metre. They conclude that current policies based solely on energy efficiency and increasing housing supply cannot achieve agreed decarbonisation goals while securing decent accommodation for those who are housing deprived. To do this will require policies that distinguish between sufficient and excess housing to make more effective use of the housing stock to meet housing needs within planetary boundaries.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Authors
Divisions:	Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Date Deposited:	07 Jan 2025 11:57
Last Modified:	07 Jan 2025 11:57
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/126609

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