Private Residential Expansion in Kent 1956-64: a Study of Pattern and Process in Urban Growth

Abstract

This article examines the residential growth of part of the London Metropolitan Region in which the private developer has been the main supplier of housing over the last decade. American studies suggest that changes in the spatial and temporal patterns of private residential development are associated with changes in the size structure of the housebuilding industry. Therefore data from planning applications in Kent was used to discover variations in the size of sites and the type of house being built, and in the types of developer involved. A clear trend towards larger sites and more medium density house types was found to be closely linked with the growing importance of large non-local developers throughout the county. The implications of these trends for land-use planners are discussed. Geographical dispersal of housebuilding seems an important element in the behaviour of developers. While the land market is of explanatory value in this respect, the variety of response to the same structural situation requires consideration of both the resources and values of the development companies themselves.