If you turn on the news, chances are you’ll hear a story about housing. It may seem like a new issue but the problem of housing has existed forever!

As humans, where we live, work, and play is really important.

Town planners – people who design and construct places we live, work, and play – have to think very carefully about all of our needs.

Some of the latest projections suggest that we will need over a quarter of a million new homes each year for at least the next ten years if we are to keep up with demand!

A quarter of a million new homes every single year seems like an awful lot! Where will they be built? What will happen if we don’t build enough?

It’s certainly a difficult job but not impossible. The trick is to have a plan because new houses don’t just spring up overnight!

Find out more about town planning!

Towns come into being because people have a reason to live there. However, those reasons can change over time. Look at your town, for example!

The average town has thousands of people in it and many choose to live in these places because of amazing schools, transport, or lifestyle links.

But thousands of years ago, people might have chosen to live in towns because the land was great for hunting or farming, or perhaps there was a clean water supply.

We still need those basic things: food, water, and a warm place to sleep in – but we also want a lot more, like WiFi!