Nature-centric housing: The real ‘win-win’ for addressing the UK’s housing and nature crises?

Abstract

The UK Government plans to enable construction of 1.5 million homes in the next five years in one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, enabled by a Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Ministers assert this will be a ‘win-win’ for housing and nature, but major wildlife organisations reject this claim based on the prospect of weaker nature protections. To test if better ‘win-wins’ were available, we held a workshop in June 2025 with academics (ecology, law, planning and the built environment), national and local government representatives, architects, designers and consultants to explore visions for nature-centric housing. We identified various interventions, some currently implemented, others in germinal phases, and assessed their potential to advance a nature-centric housing vision versus reinforcing the status quo. These interventions span financial mechanisms, regulation, novel polycentric governance approaches and local community initiatives. In this essay we discuss how careful fostering of promising interventions can help unlock the housing crisis in a way that does not compromise the integrity of nature on which national prosperity depends.