For the first time in history morepeople live in towns than in the country. In Britain this has had a curiousresult. While polls show Britons rate "the countryside" alongside theroyal family, Shakespeare and the National Health Service (NHS) ad what makesthem proudest of their country, this has limited political support.
A century ago Octavia Hilllaunched the National Trust not to rescue stylish houses but to save "thebeauty of natural places for everyone forever." It was specifically toprovide city dwellers with spaces for leisure where they could experience"a refreshing air." Hill's pressure later led to the creation ofnational parks and green belts. They don't make countryside any more, and everyyear concrete consumes more of it. It needs constant guardianship.
At the next election none of thebig parties seem likely to endorse this sentiment. The Conservatives' planningreform explicitly gives rural development priority over conservation, evenauthorizing "off-plan" building where local people might object Theconcept of sustainable development has been defined as profitable. Labourlikewise wants to discontinue local planning where councils oppose development.The Liberal Democrats are silent. Only Ukip, sensing its chance, has sided withthose pleading for a more considered approach to using green land. Its Campaignto Protect Rural England struck terror into many local Conservative parties.
The sensible place to build newhouses, factories and offices is where people are, in cities and towns whereinfrastructure is in place. The London agents Stirling Ackroyd recentlyidentified enough sites for half a million houses in the London area alone,with no intrusion on green belt. What is true of London is even truer of theprovinces.
The idea that "housingcrisis" equals "concreted meadows" is pure lobby talk. The issueis not the need for more houses but, as always, where to put them. Under lobbypressure, George Osborne favours rural new-build against urban renovation andrenewal. He favours out-of-town shopping sites against high streets. This isnot a free market but a biased one. Rural towns and villages have grown andwill always grow. They do so best where building sticks to their edges andrespects their character. We do not ruin urban conservation areas. Why ruinrural ones?
Developmentshould be planned, not let rip. After the Netherlands, Britain is Europe's mostcrowded country. Half a century of town and country planning has enabled it toretain an enviable rural coherence, while still permitting low-density urbanliving. There is no doubt of the alternative—the corrupted landscapes ofsouthern Portugal, Spain or Ireland. Avoiding this rather than promoting itshould unite the left and right of the political spectrum.
有史以來，城鎮(zhèn)人口首次超過農(nóng)村人口。在英國，這產(chǎn)生了一個(gè)奇怪的結(jié)果。雖然民調(diào)顯示，英國人將“鄉(xiāng)村”與王室、莎士比亞和國家衛(wèi)生服務(wù)局（NHS）并列，這是他們最為國家自豪的地方，但這一點(diǎn)在政治上的支持有限。
一個(gè)世紀(jì)前，奧克塔維亞·希爾成立了國家信托基金會(huì)，目的不是拯救時(shí)尚的房屋，而是為了“永遠(yuǎn)保護(hù)每個(gè)人的自然美景”。該基金會(huì)專門為城市居民提供休閑空間，讓他們體驗(yàn)“清新的空氣”。希爾的壓力后來促成了國家公園和綠化帶的創(chuàng)建。他們不再建造鄉(xiāng)村，每年混凝土消耗更多。它需要不斷的監(jiān)護(hù)。
在下次選舉中，似乎沒有一個(gè)大政黨會(huì)贊同這種觀點(diǎn)。保守黨的規(guī)劃改革明確地將農(nóng)村發(fā)展置于保護(hù)之上，甚至授權(quán)當(dāng)?shù)厝丝赡芊磳?duì)可持續(xù)發(fā)展概念的“計(jì)劃外”建筑也被定義為有利可圖。工黨同樣希望停止地方規(guī)劃，因?yàn)榈胤阶h會(huì)反對(duì)發(fā)展。自由民主黨對(duì)此保持沉默。只有英國獨(dú)立黨意識(shí)到了自己的機(jī)會(huì)，站在了那些呼吁采取更深思熟慮的方式利用綠地的人一邊。它保護(hù)英格蘭農(nóng)村的運(yùn)動(dòng)使許多當(dāng)?shù)乇Ｊ攸h感到恐懼。
建造新房、工廠和辦公室的明智地點(diǎn)是有人居住的地方，在有基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的城鎮(zhèn)。倫敦特工斯特林·阿克羅伊德最近發(fā)現(xiàn)，僅在倫敦地區(qū)，就有足夠的場(chǎng)地可容納50萬套房屋，而且不會(huì)影響綠化帶。倫敦的情況更適用于各省。
“住房危機(jī)”等同于“混凝土草地”的觀點(diǎn)純粹是游說者的言論。問題不在于需要更多的房子，而在于像往常一樣，把它們放在哪里。在游說團(tuán)體的壓力下，喬治·奧斯本支持農(nóng)村新建筑，反對(duì)城市改造和更新。他喜歡城外的購物場(chǎng)所，而不是大街。這不是一個(gè)自由市場(chǎng)，而是一個(gè)有偏見的市場(chǎng)。農(nóng)村城鎮(zhèn)和村莊已經(jīng)成長，并且將永遠(yuǎn)成長。在建筑緊貼邊緣、尊重個(gè)性的地方，他們做得最好。我們不會(huì)破壞城市保護(hù)區(qū)。為什么要?dú)Я宿r(nóng)村？
發(fā)展應(yīng)該有計(jì)劃，而不是任由其發(fā)展。英國是歐洲人口最多的國家，僅次于荷蘭。半個(gè)世紀(jì)的城鄉(xiāng)規(guī)劃使它能夠保持令人羨慕的農(nóng)村連貫性，同時(shí)仍然允許低密度的城市生活。毫無疑問，另一種選擇是葡萄牙南部、西班牙或愛爾蘭的腐敗景觀。避免這一點(diǎn)，而不是促進(jìn)這一點(diǎn)，應(yīng)該團(tuán)結(jié)左右政治派別。
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