MyLondon

MyLondon’s Broken Homes project shines a light on London’s housing crisis, powerfully highlighting the need for change. Creative use of data visuals, photography and video bring a variety of stories to life – from widespread tower block lift failures trapping people in their homes to Londoners being threatened with homelessness unless they accept housing offers over 200 miles away. The longform piece offers a coherent, accessible and easily navigable summary of a complex situation.

Data visuals show the extent of the crisis in London and granularly at individual borough level, with stats interspersed throughout the storytelling. A photojournal showcases a selection of images captured by MyLondon’s photographer when accompanying reporters to people’s home. This provides a compelling backdrop to the stories, putting human faces to the housing crisis. Broken Homes also includes video interviews with a London council leader and the leader of Harlow Council in Essex.

A Broken Homes investigation uncovered – using Freedom of Information requests to every local authority in London – a postcode lottery of temporary accommodation offers, with some councils placing people hundreds of miles away. A clickable interactive map showed the difference borough by borough and the furthest distances people have been placed in temporary accommodation.

Judges’ comments: “An excellent use of digital innovation to tell a story vital to the public interest. This shows how a compelling, thorough investigation works hand-in-hand with emotive, unflinching presentation, becoming greater than the sum of its already-powerful parts.”