Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Named one of the Top 10 books about council housing - the Guardian online

Born of idealism, and once an icon of the Labour movement and pillar of the Welfare State, council housing is now nearing its end. But do its many failings outweigh its positive contributions to public health and wellbeing?
Alison Ravetz here provides the first comprehensive and apolitical history from which to arrive at a balanced judgement. Drawing on the widest possible evidence, from tenant and government records to the built environment itself, she tells the story of British council housing, from its seeds in Victorian reactions to 'the Poor', in philanthropy and model villages, Christian and other varieties of socialism. Her depiction of council housing in its mature years shows the often bizarre persistence of 'utopian' attitudes (whether in architectural design or management styles); its rise to a monopoly position in working-class family housing; the many compromises consequent on its state finance and local authority control; and the impact on working-class lives as an intellectuals' 'utopian dream' was converted into a social policy for the masses.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Part I
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 A Domestic Revolution: Poverty, Respectability and Housing Reform
• Chapter 3 Housing for the Poor
• Chapter 4 The Utopian Roots of Council Housing
• Chapter 5 The Artistic Inspiration of Council Housing
• Chapter 6 Garden City to Council Estate.
• Part II
• Chapter 7 The Utopian Legacy
• Chapter 8 The Management of Council Housing
• Chapter 9 'Community' on Council Estates
• Chapter 10 Patterns of Working-Class Life
• Chapter 11 Estate Histories
• Part III
• Chapter 12 Turning Points: The Parameters at the Turn of the Century