Britain's population is barely growing — who is this city actually for?

For people who already exist and already need homes — very likely including someone in your own family. England is short roughly four million homes today, counted in hidden households: adults living with their parents into their thirties, families in temporary accommodation, house-shares full of people who want their own front door. Forest City addresses a backlog, not a projection.

The shortage is worst exactly where the jobs are. Housing around Cambridge is among the least affordable in Britain relative to local wages — which is also why so many people's children and grandchildren leave. A planned city relieves that pressure in one place; without it, the same demand arrives anyway as piecemeal estates bolted onto every town and village in the region.