Over 50 Just Space members from communities across London attended the launch of our alternative plan on Tues 14th April, which has taken nine months of focused meetings and re-writing to emerge as a collective vision for a Caring City. We were joined by Peter Apps, contributing editor of Inside Housing and acclaimed author of ‘Homesick’ and ‘Show Me the Bodies: How we let Grenfell Happen’

This is an edited version of the speech and discussion held with Peter Apps on the launch of Just Space alternative London plan – thanks to Peter and all who joined us

What we are launching is the result of collective work — community groups, campaigners, researchers and residents coming together, sharing knowledge, and coordinating across the networks you all belong to. This alternative London Plan shows what becomes possible when communities take the lead and set out a strategic vision for the city we want.

We are at a moment of real transition in London’s housing system. The development model that has shaped the city for the last decade — driven by domestic and international investment — is breaking down. Housing delivery has collapsed, and there is clear anxiety in government because the old model no longer works, even on its own terms. Yet instead of accepting this, there are attempts to shock the same failing system back to life. We need to be honest: that approach has failed. New ideas are urgently needed.

The private rented sector has reshaped London — how people live, how communities form, and what it means to have any stability. Section 21 evictions have pushed rents up and pushed people out. That system is now faltering too, but what replaces it could be even more extractive, as we’ve seen with the rapid expansion of short‑term letting platforms. Without intervention, the pressures on renters will intensify.

We are also in a period of political change. New parties and independent candidates are gaining ground across London. They may win councils, but they will still inherit authorities with limited resources and limited powers. Without a clear alternative vision, they will face the same constraints that have shaped London for years.

At the same time, we are seeing the re‑emergence of far‑right narratives around housing — particularly around who is “allowed” to live in council homes. Real frustration about housing shortages is being channelled into division and racialised blame. This makes it even more important to set out clear explanations of what has gone wrong and to identify the real structural drivers of the crisis. There are powerful interests shaping London’s housing system, and they are rarely named.

Housing has always been a challenge in London, but since the pandemic every indicator has worsened. Homelessness and long‑term temporary accommodation have risen sharply. Councils are now spending extraordinary sums — millions of pounds every day — simply to keep people housed. The current trajectory is unsustainable. The status quo cannot continue.

And the pressures ahead are significant. Climate change will reshape London: hotter summers, flood risk along the Thames, clay soils that crack, and a built environment full of glass buildings that overheat. These are not abstract risks — they are already affecting people’s homes and health. We need planning that responds to these realities.

This is also a moment to challenge the dominant economic story that has shaped housing policy for decades. One example is the so‑called vacancy‑chain effect — the idea that building any home, at any price, will eventually “filter down” through a chain of moves until homelessness is solved. This belief remains influential among most economists and policy advisers, even though it ignores spatial realities, second homes, investment properties, and speculative demand. It treats housing as a commodity first and a human need second. And it has been used to justify policies that have deepened the crisis rather than solved it.

Meanwhile, the housing lobby — developers, mortgage lenders, estate agents — remains extremely powerful. Their interests are often treated as economic common sense, while community‑led alternatives are dismissed as unrealistic. But other cities show that different systems are possible. In places like Zurich, housing cooperatives are embedded directly into local plans. Non‑speculative housing is mainstream, not marginal.

London’s viability system has long been used to argue that developments cannot afford affordable housing, even when they are profitable. Now, with rising construction costs and fragile supply chains, viability is failing again. Even with reduced affordable housing requirements, the numbers do not work. We need a model that is not driven solely by profit.

So the question is: what do we do next? This alternative plan is not just a document; it is a tool for organising. There are several concrete steps we can take together:

1. A London‑wide meeting in late May

We should set a date — ideally late May, after the 7th May local elections — for a London‑wide gathering. The aim would be to bring newly elected councillors together with community groups and planning officers from the GLA, to build understanding and momentum around this alternative plan. In the last we were able to organise events at the City Hall — with community groups leading sessions on different themes and where members of the Mayor’s team were able to engage with the ideas proposed. A large, open, city‑wide event would help bring these proposals into the mainstream of London planning.

2. Parliamentary engagement

There is scope to work with the All‑Party Parliamentary Group on Housing, alongside organisations such as Shelter and Defend Council Housing. There is research from a few years ago on the state of council housing that could be revisited and linked to this plan. This would help bring the issues raised here into national discussion.

3. European networks

We are part of a wider European coalition on housing, including partners in cities like Bologna. Sharing this plan through that network strengthens the case for non‑speculative, community‑led housing models across Europe.

4. International advocacy

The document can be shared with the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing in Geneva, accompanied by a cover letter. A statement timed for the London elections would help highlight the international relevance of London’s housing challenges.

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Planning is often invisible — even to many people working within it. That invisibility allows the system to be shaped without public scrutiny. With new councillors arriving after May 7th, we have an opportunity to change that. We can hold local discussions, help them understand planning in London, and support them to use the powers they have. Power is lost when it isn’t exercised. Too many decisions are made by a small group, with others simply following. We need to break that pattern.

New councillors will need to understand planning. Communities need to be connected to decision‑makers. And together we need to build a different future for London.

This alternative plan is a step toward that future.

Download a copy of the new Alternative Plan for a Caring City here: https://justspace.org.uk/caringcity/

Daniel Fitzpatrick, UCL

A later version of this report is here and that will be the place where onward links and discussions are placed.18 April 2026