Discourses of Design: Perspectives on the Meaning of Housing Quality and ?Good? Housing Design

This paper uses an approach based on language and discourse analysis to examine different perspectives on definitions of housing quality and good housing design. The need for such definitions is currently topical in the UK, where central government, in its desire to further the agendas of sustainable communities and urban renaissance, is urging local authorities to impose stricter controls on design. By examining policy documentation, the paper shows that housing regulators are promoting prescriptive and quantifiable standards, whilst the DETR is moving towards a more discerning approach derived from urban design. In conclusion, the paper suggests that there are other disciplines which might profitably be drawn on, and which would help to capture the more amorphous level at which people experience, relate to, and dwell in their environments.

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