Lessons from the British and French New Towns: Paradise Lost? explores the evolution of the New Towns in both France and the UK from several perspectives including public policy, sociology, geography and heritage. UK and French New Towns have many similarities in terms of the role of the national state in tackling urgent problems of housing and urban growth and in promoting innovative design and architecture.  These innovative planned settlements have left a contested and complex legacy, but are once again on the political and urbanisation agenda in Europe, where a push for growth of housing and the desire for sustainability are the new drivers of urban planning and design. After years of the private development market being seen as the principal instrument of urban growth and planning, it is time to assess the urban legacy and the heritage of the UK and French New Towns. This book contrasts their evolution on both sides of the Channel and shows what can be learned about post war state planning and the future planning of new settlements.

In this accessible and passionately argued book, Bob Colenutt goes to the roots of the long-term crisis in housing and planning in the UK. Providing a much needed, in depth critique of the nexus of power of landowners, house builders, financial backers and politicians that makes up the property lobby, this radical book reveals how this complex, self-serving and intimidating network perpetuates a cycle of low supply, high prices and poor building which has resulted in one of the biggest social and economic challenges of our time. With radical ideas for solutions, this is essential reading for anyone with an interest in housing, planning and social justice.

The long-term causes and nexus of power behind the UK’s housing crisis are under scrutiny in this passionately argued and radical critique of current housing and planning policies and practices. Colenutt reveals how a network of landowners, house-builders, financial backers and politicians lock in a cycle of low supply and high prices, and proposes much-needed answers to one of the biggest social challenges of our age.