Experiencing Density

‘Experiencing Density’ is a project jointly led by LSE Cities and LSE London that explores resident experiences of life in London’s high-density housing. Following on from a 2004 project by LSE Cities on high-density housing as an emergent trend, this interdisciplinary study explores who lives in high-density developments, how different residents experience life in high-density accommodation, and what spatial, design and demographic factors make them work well (or not).

In many other global cities such as Hong Kong, New York City and Singapore, high-density living is the norm. However, residential building at this scale is a relatively new phenomenon in London, which has historically been characterised as a low-rise city of terraced houses and private gardens. If the capital is to accommodate a growing population without impinging on the Green Belt, as Mayor Sadiq Khan has promised, then new developments across the capital will inevitably increasingly take high-density forms.

This research seeks to understand the experience of residents in different types of high-density housing so as to provoke discussion and inform best practice for London’s future development. The project is qualitative in nature, and focuses on fourteen case studies across London that demonstrate high-density housing across a range of built forms, levels of density, and tenure types