Homes that Don't Cost the Earth

Homes that Don't Cost the Earth (HDCE) is a UK-focused coalition led by Dark Matter Labs, Arup, UCL IIPP and Rising Tide, which explores the policy, financial, technical and social innovations needed to deliver affordable homes for all within environmental limits.

The initiative challenges the prevailing "build, baby, build" approach to addressing the housing crisis. Despite having more housing space per person than in the 1990s, affordability has not improved and homelessness is at an all-time high. At the same time, without mass retrofit and with plans to build 300,000 ‘business as usual’ homes every year, housing will soon consume the country’s entire remaining carbon budget.

HDCE proposes an alternative pathway that prioritises making better use of the existing housing stock – through retrofit, rightsizing, adaptation and low-impact intensification – rather than defaulting to new construction. Operating at national, local and prototype scale, it combines scenario modelling and policy evidence with practical tools to help local authorities identify more diverse options for meeting housing needs. It aims to develop replicable prototypes that test combinations of physical, financial, ownership and governance interventions.

Drawing on a network of over 400 organisations from across the UK housing sector, HDCE seeks to demonstrate that housing affordability, sustainability, health, green jobs and resilience can be pursued together through a more diversified housing strategy.
Visit the HDCE website for up-to-date information.