Newest housing least comfortable during lockdown

People living in housing built in the last 10 years were more likely to report feeling uncomfortable in their home during lockdown, while those in pre-1919 developments were most likely to be comfortable, according to a new report led by UCL researchers. The research team surveyed 2,500 households across the UK to find out how the design of their homes and neighbourhoods affected their experience of lockdown. The report, entitled Home Comforts and published today, concluded that access to private open space in the form of a garden or terrace was the most critical factor in terms of people's comfort in their homes, while proximity to a park or green space was the most important factor in terms of satisfaction with our neighbourhoods, closely followed by access to local shops. Researchers found that newer neighbourhoods also came out worse, with a progressive deterioration in people's satisfaction in the most recently established developments. Lead author Professor Matthew Carmona (The Bartlett School of Planning, UCL) said: "We need to learn from the stress test that lockdown has given our homes and neighbourhoods to build better living environments and to adapt those we are living in today. "In recent years we have let design standards drop. As our survey shows, people tend to be less satisfied in new housing.