It's time to recognise how harmful high-rise living can be for residents

[[https://www.flickr.com/photos/34547181@N00/28371618145/sizes/l Phillippe Put/Flickr]], [[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ CC BY-ND]]</span>The fire at Grenfell Tower has catapulted high-rise social housing into the public consciousness, in a way not seen since the 1960s. Back then, high-rise tower blocks represented a new vision of social progress. They were greeted with hope and optimism by housing officials, architects and town planners across the UK. But now, the mood has turned to one of bitterness, anger and fear. Over the years, most of these so-called "villages in the sky" have become concrete containers for society's poorest and neediest people.