Bleak Houses: The Grim March of Modern Housing Layouts

In which the art of placemaking is reduced to a joyless assembly, and beauty is forsaken in favour of convenience, with grievous consequences for the future.

Ah, what a dreary spectacle confronts us upon the rolling plains of modernity! Behold, in every direction, the same monotonous housing layouts of square boxes – arranged by some unfeeling hand, devoid of imagination. And yet, those involved in the creation of these charmless townscapes congratulate themselves with the most insipid of sentiments: "Glad to be part of such a great team," they say, as though they have crafted masterpieces worthy of admiration!

Where, I ask, is the beauty, the grace, the delight that should accompany the design of our places? Are we to be content with this endless array of soulless, housing schemes devoid of all attraction or skill, built not for joy or comfort but merely to fulfil some unachievable quota? Oh, how can it be, in a land that boasts a National Design Guide, that such spiritless creations should dominate?

Alas, unless we change our course, I fear we shall find ourselves in a future where beauty is but a distant memory, and all that remains is the cold, hard geometry of expedience.

Charles Dickens

Permit me to present, with all due reverence and most respectful gravity, a noble and worthy endeavor, crafted by the esteemed Bluepencil—a veritable tome of knowledge, which doth reside within the pages of that useful repository, the "Resources" section of their website. Among the manifold treasures therein, one shall find a most instructive guide, bearing the illustrious title, "How to Assess the Design Quality of a Housing Layout."

This guide, of great import, is fashioned with the express intent of aiding those noble guardians of civic virtue, the planning committees, and those steadfast custodians of the public good, the planning officers. May this humble guide serve them well, as they toil in their virtuous labors, ever mindful of the great responsibility that rests upon their shoulders.

Style inspired by Charles Dickens.

Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era