From Welfare to Market Dependency: An Ethical Examination of UK Planning Reforms and the Future of Social Housing Part 1 Dissertation 2026 Oscar Anderson Arts University Bournemouth | UK Welfare to Market Dependency examines the ethical implications of the United Kingdom’s shift from welfare-led housing provision to a market-dependent planning system. Set against the backdrop of a deepening housing crisis, this dissertation questions whether current planning reforms can truly deliver genuinely affordable and socially equitable housing.Through case studies of Vienna and Finland, the research highlights alternative models where housing is treated as a social right embedded in governance, design and long-term public stewardship.This dissertation’s central contribution lies in reframing the housing crisis as not only a failure of supply but a failure of values. It argues that UK planning has shifted form a tool of social redistribution to a mechanism facilitating private investment, producing inconsistent and inequitable outcomes.Ultimately, this calls for a fundamental reorientation of planning and architectural practice to one that re-centres housing as a social and ethical right rather than a market commodity. By foregrounding ethics within policy and design, the project offers a critical and timely perspective on the future of social housing in the UK. Tutor(s) Yujin Kim Channa Vithana