We can create thriving new communities if we recognise the systemic challenges

When it comes to building the sustainable and desirable new communities that people actually want to live in, it often feels as if Britain is stuck in an intractable mess of its own making.

Housing is costly and supply consistently fails to meet demand. Transport infrastructure and access to work are arguably all too often treated as afterthoughts. And the quality of design and construction in housing and community buildings can certainly be improved.

It can be tempting to give up in despair, but if best practice can be identified from across the UK and overseas then we can change the narrative. But achieving that change requires facing up to the systemic challenges and driving a cultural shift in how we deliver new development. The commission is set to look at how this can happen.