It began as a knowledge transfer partnership between The King's Foundation and the University of the Built Environment and has grown to a broad coalition of regional housebuilders, landowners, materials suppliers, funders, and planning professionals united by a common purpose.
Where conventional housebuilding delivers anonymous, car-dependent estates, the RBF champions a different approach: place building. This means creating walkable, locally distinctive, mixed-use communities that are designed to enrich the lives of the people who live in them.
The RBF supports this mission through four pillars: a network of 14 Regional Forums that convene local stakeholders; a Digital Knowledge Hub offering a 12-module Place Building curriculum; an Enabling Programme that helps SME builders plan, fund, and deliver sustainable homes at scale; and an Innovation strand that integrates modern methods of construction with high design standards.
With a network already spanning 300 SMEs, 60 major landowners, and thousands of professionals, the RBF’s aim is to support its members in collectively delivering 50,000 new homes per year within five years.