At the tail end of the industrial revolution the chocolate scion, George Cadbury, showed remarkable prescience by declaring his intentions to build a model village for his workers that would “alleviate the evils of modern cramped living conditions.” His vision eventually culminated in the development of Bourneville which, in addition to offering much-needed new homes, provided leisure facilities including sports playing fields, a lido, a mineral spa and a boating lake.

Other projects such as the Lever Brothers’ Port Sunlight in Liverpool have stood the test of time and become synonymous with best-in-class social housing, while in London organisations such as the Guinness Trust and Peabody Trust made huge contributions to improving existing housing stock and towards dragging many residents out of slum conditions.

The benevolence of these early industrialists has helped shape our largest cities and continues to influence our urban environments.

…