Wildlife conservation groups have come under fire for their stance on controversial government plans for one million homes between Oxford and Cambridge.
Access to land liberates people from market growth and facilitates ways of living consistent with degrowth. We can restructure access to housing and work in order to live sustainably.
The Wildlife Trusts is urging developers to build homes that simultaneously give people an inspirational place to live and help reverse wildlife and habitat decline, reports CATHERINE EARLY
A 5,000-house development has just won planning permission on a SSSI nature area in Kent which is home to over 1% of the UK's nightingales. It violates government planning policies, and ministers have the power to stop it. But will they? Yes they will, writes Martin Harper - provided enough people show they care!
Where does money comes from? In the 97% of the money we use is created by commercial banks out of thin air, as they advance credit. Charlotte Jackson argues that this system costs us all dear - as citizens, debtors, taxpayers, and as victims of economic instability
Somerset is experiencing its most significant flooding in decades. As the political right calls for ever more dredging, Karen Potter trawls Defra's archives ... and finds a shocking history of sound policy sacrificed to short term political expediency.
Low income families in the UK are cold mainly because they live in badly insulated buildings. The Chancellor has missed the opportunity to address this key issue, writes Paul Ekins, in the name of cutting 'green taxes'. The poor will suffer.
The Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) have the potential to reduce emissions from the UK’s ageing housing stock, create warmer homes and new jobs, says Hannah Kyrke-Smith. But will there be enough uptake?
As the recession continues, squatting across Europe has enjoyed a renaissance. Although controversial, occupying vacant buildings has become a form of activism, promoting alternative lifestyles and challenging the mainstream
Groups such as Dot Dot Dot and the Squash Campaign are pushing for workable solutions to the UK's housing crisis, but they are up against an anti-squatter media backlash. Laura Laker reports
The clean-up of contaminated land earmarked for 380 homes in Cambridgeshire has been 'watered down', according to campaigners, fuelling fears over the potential health impacts of toxic chemicals underground. Tom Antebi reports
Better insulation means more warmth but also more mould and condensation. Sue Wheat's eco retrofit continues with a look at a super-efficient ventilation system that recycles heat while stamping out damp
Things are looking up in one of New York's least affluent boroughs, with the construction of the latest cutting-edge green development designed for low-income families
There's a lot of nonsense talked, bought and done when it comes to eco-retrofitting houses. David Thorpe's new book sorts the wheat from the chaff, and challenges some green orthodoxies...
Self-builders are no longer a niche segment of society: they are industrious, skilled, innovative individuals who should be helped to create vital, sustainable communities
