Boldness is the only way to beat the housing crisis
Sometimes the riskiest move is playing it safe. Especially when it comes to building homes
The Building Societies Annual Conference may not seem like an inspiration to boldness but time there last week showed the importance of being bold and pushing for change.
To start with the building societies movement, celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, was inspired to deliver radical change during a period of economic turmoil. Giving the skilled workers driving the industrial revolution access to property ownership overturned the established social order. It's important to remember this was also a time when property ownership enabled men to vote
250 years later innovation strategist Shawn Kanungo addresses the economic turmoil being created by AI. In the future there will only be scope for success at the frictionless and extremely fast end of the scale or the extremely human end with some friction.
One of his key takeaways was that boldness will be essential in a world dominated by AI. Boldness achieves the size and scale needed for extremely fast or the luxury approach which says a product or services will be limited and expensive.
That shift has got me thinking about how often sticking with the same approach feels like the safe choice. Too often when we don't go bold we end up in that black hole of mediocrity.
And nowhere is this more visible — or more painful — than in the UK housing crisis.
When the system waits, people pay the price
We are in the middle of a housing emergency. The UK doesn’t build nearly enough homes and the ones we do have are often too expensive, too old or out of reach for too many people.
Everyone sees it. Everyone talks about it. Yet almost nothing truly changes.
Because at the heart of this crisis is a shortage of boldness.
We’ve created a culture where taking the risk to build more homes feels more dangerous than doing nothing.
But here’s the truth: doing nothing is no longer safe. Not for young people priced out of their hometowns. Not for families trapped in overcrowded flats. Not for renters facing ever-rising costs.
What boldness could look like
If we took this crisis seriously boldness wouldn’t be optional. A bolder approach oldness look like:
Radical reform of the planning system, so it enables good homes to get built quickly, not trapped in years of delay.
Empowering pro-housing voices in local areas including the ones willing to challenge Nimby narratives and speak for future generations and those who aren't already home owners.
Using new tools including modular construction and community housing to widen the sources of new homes and help speed up their delivery.
Telling better stories about housing. Not just statistics and spreadsheets, but homes as the foundation of dignity, mobility, and community.
Boldness means commitment. To action. To progress. To the belief that we can do better, and that waiting for the perfect plan is its own form of failure.
The challenge to boldness
The people who founded the first building society didn't just sit around bemoaning their inability to buy a home. They took bold action to work together and ensure they could all put money in and get a home at the end of the process.
If we're to channel this spirit and take a bolder more radical approach to addressing the housing crisis. We won't build more homes without that bolder approach.
If we're going to get it done, boldness is the only option.