
The impact of housing on health (Part 1)
Our homes and neighbourhoods are critical factors in our health and wellbeing. This has very much come to the fore during lockdown. In this two part series, first I touch on the current and emerging evidence of the impact of housing on health. I then put forward suggestions for where action is needed, now and in the longer term at both local and national levels.
The context
Disparities in living conditions have become all the more apparent during lockdown. Nearly a third, 31% of adults in Britain (15.9 million people) have had mental or physical health problems during lockdown as a result of poor quality and/or overcrowded housing (National Housing Federation, 2020a). Unless there is urgent change, this picture will only get worse as we move to targeted local lockdowns. In response to this crisis, the National Housing Federation has launched a campaign, #HomesAtTheHeart. The aim is to put social housing at the heart of national economic and social recovery by investing in...