ΤΟ MY WIFE WHO BY HER AFFECTIONATE SYMPATHY AND APPRECIATIVE INTEREST HAS SO GREATLY LIGHTENED THE LABOUR OF PREPARING THIS WORK INTRODUCTION I HAVE been asked to write an Introduction to this volume, and in going through the pages of it I have been much impressed by the excellence of its historical character and the mass of useful information it contains. It is a mine of research and its arrangement is good. No more appropriate time could have been chosen for the publication of the work which Mr. Clarke has written, and I feel sure that members of local authorities and all others interested in the work of social betterment will find in this book material of considerable value. The housing problem, which has reached such an acute stage in most civilized countries to-day, is by no means a new problem. The need for its solution has, however, received additional emphasis by reason of the immense increase in our urban population. It is a truism that unhealthy houses and insanitary surroundings are unfavourable to the growth of strong and healthy citizens, but it is only of late years that this fact has been borne in upon the nation as a whole. The result has been a great awakening of interest in this important question, an interest made manifest in the better administration of existing legislative enactments. In its present form the housing problem began to be urgent about the middle of last century, when the factory system was working out its significant change in the conditions of Great Britain. The marked exodus from country to town (a movement which has shown but little signs of abatement) brought the whole question of housing into prominence, and compelled the attention of both local authorities and the legislature. The rapid growth of our urban population during this period resulted in the uncontrolled erection of thousands of back-to-back houses, the creation of large areas of unpaved courts and alleys without ventilation or sanitation of any kind, where the rays of the sun rarely, if ever, penetrated, and in which were often to be found damp and dark cellar dwellings which were centres for the breeding of all kinds of infectious diseases. These were the results of the want of foresight on the part of the legislation to recognize the necessity for stringent building regulations and the value to life of a system of control over the erection of all types of houses. This is clearly shown in the Appendix which Mr. Clarke has prepared, dealing with the Liverpool Movement, which may doubtless be taken as typical of other large centres of population. The reason why, after years of effort, the slum problem remains unsolved is that the work has proved too costly and that taken as a whole, the tenants of the houses demolished have not been rehoused in the new houses. These tenants are generally the poorest classes of the community and being unable to pay the rent demanded for the new dwellings, they crowded into other houses, producing in many cases new slums to take the place of those demolished. How costly some of these reforms have been is shown in the figures which will be found in the succeeding pages dealing with the Liverpool Slum Clearances and the costs of compensation for slum property and public houses. For some years past private enterprise has not been prepared to cater for the housing of the very poor, and the housing problem has become intensified. Even before the war the increase in the price of materials, the disinclination of the capitalist to sink his wealth in land development, and the reluctance of the builder to risk the undertaking, had resulted in the provision of house accommodation being very much curtailed. Whilst the normal annual increase in houses for the working-classes has been considerably below requirements, the conditions since the war have become infinitely worse, as the result of the practical cessation of building. The problem of housing affects all sections of the people. This is particularly true of the metropolis and other large centres of population. Many sections of the people who need the freedom and health of a good, roomy house surrounded with abundant air space, suffer physical disability as regards housing accommodation. Counting every room, good and bad, whether occupied or not, in all the workmen's dwellings in the country as existing accommodation, it is insufficient to house the working class without overcrowding. If only healthy rooms are taken into consideration the position is very serious. Slum removal and the provision of wholesome accommodation |