Saving the planet sounds great but solar panels are bulky, ugly and can need planning permission, all of which leads to lower implementations and continued dedication to fossil fuels.

Elon Musk has a solution to change of all this with his solar roof made of solar glass which looks exactly like a normal roof, but harnesses solar power while also being stronger than normal roof tiles, and they come with infinity guarantees. https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/solarroof

Increasing house prices and growing populations is leading to a growth of innovative ways to live in smaller spaces, with modular and portable housing allowing affordability. From shipping containers to the canal boat with careful design and sensitivity to space a home can be created for a fraction of the cost.

A group championing the mission to scale down is the Tiny Life movement http://thetinylife.com/ who promote changing your relationship with belongings and even building your own tiny house, many of which are also mobile.

At the other end of the scale is the small but beautifully formed EcoCapsule https://www.ecocapsule.sk/ which makes the whole experience a lot more luxe.

Whilst we talk about doing more with less, how are homes going to respond to the changing working environment where flexibility is key? The answer – by creating work/live units of course!

A leading development in this trend is PaintWorks in Bristol http://work.paintworksbristol.co.uk/ with a mixture of homes, shared workspaces and live/work spaces to create a community for collaboration and creativity.