"Top tips: creating places where people want to live"

"Our panel of experts share their advice on how to design places that people are proud to be part of" [unlike Hammerson, then]

Link to 'The Future of Housing'
(The Guardian)

Grainia Long is chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing

Consultation problems:
"There's lots of research to show that individuals place massive value on being involved in shaping the built environment."

Mike Donaldson is group director of strategy and operations at L&Q

Good places are not just nice homes:
"Many towns and much of outer London could redevelop at much higher densities, which would support improved facilities and public transport."

Sophia de Sousa is chief executive of the Glass-House Community Led Design charity

Options for life:
"We need to build in flexibile housing that bring people through different stages of the life cycle."

Ed Warrick is assistant development director at Affinity Sutton

Biggest risk:
"The reduction of affordable housing section 106 obligations on private developers removes the least risky, quickest, and most certain way of delivering some of the best affordable homes."

David Waterhouse is head of programmes for the Cabe team at the Design Council

Make yourself heard:
"We have seen the disaster of short-term knee-jerk reactions in the past on housing delivery and standards."

Sara Cunningham leads on neighbourhood investment and social value at the National Housing Federation

Design standards:
"There is an issue with the raft of differing design standards across the housebuilding industry."

Erika Rushton is director for regeneration at Plus Dane Group

Is the planning process worth engaging in?
"I spent many nights watching residents be consulted on planning applications that they, in reality, had little or no say about."

Tim Edwards is head of regeneration at the Aspire Group

Social return on investment:
"Too much emphasis is placed on the physical aspects of regeneration rather than the social aspects."

Alan Yates is director of regeneration at the Accord Group

What activities do we undertake in our homes?
"With modern technology we can revert back to the home being the place where we live, work and learn."

Darrin Gamble is head of neighbourhoods at Bromford Housing Group

The design and build quality are the basics:
"Very important ones – but they are just the starting point. It's the people that make a community."

Rebecca Roberts-Hughes is policy manager at the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba)

People tell us that new homes lack character:
"One way to overcome this is through community involvement in the design process."

Lisa Culhane is group head of development and regeneration at Asra Housing Group

Trapping residents:
"There is a danger that we trap residents for generations because of the poor local offers in terms of schools and employment prospects."

John Giesen is chief executive at B3Living

Great places to live are made great by the people:
"It is important that people believe their views will be listened to, and that there is a point to being involved."

This live discussion was designed and managed by the
Guardian Housing Network
to a brief agreed with L&Q, sponsor of our
Future of housing hub