PREFACE

There  is  no  aspect  of  the  social  problem  more  fundamental ­
  than  housing.  The  health  and  strength  of
the  people,  their  efficiency,  the  quality  of  their  family
life,  and  even  their  moral  standards  depend  largely
upon  the  housing  accommodation  which  is  provided
for  them.  The  effects  of  overcrowding,  of  insanitary
and  badly  equipped  houses,  of  congested  slum  areas,
have  been  the  subject  of  detailed  enquiry  by  Government ­
  Committees,  by  scores  of  Medical  Officers  of  Health
and  by  many  Social  students.  It  is  known  that  bad
housing  means  a  heavy  loss  of  infant  life,  lowered
vitality,  the  ravages  of  preventable  diseases —in  a
word,  an  incalculable  loss  of  human  life,  health  and
quality.  All  this  is  beyond  dispute.
The  extent  of  the  housing  famine  in  town  and
country  alike  and  the  magnitude  of  the  problem
of  slum  clearance  are  now  well  known.  After  the  war
the  Local  Authorities  in  England  and  Wales,  who  after
all  are  the  best  judges  of  local  needs,  estimated  that
800,000  houses  were  required.  Before  the  year  1910
about  75,000  new  houses  were  built  annually  to  compensate ­
  for  wear  and  tear,  and  to  meet  the  normal
growth  of  the  population.  If  that  represents  the  necessary ­
  annual  additions  to  the  nation's  housing  accommodation, ­
  it  is  clear  that  since  the  investigation  of
ii