A new study funded by the Housing Corporation claims that Britain's property planners and developers need to open their eyes and ears to pay much closer attention to what women want from their homes, as many female residents would not live in some of today's modern blocks if they had the choice.

The report, 'But will we want to live there? (Planning for people and neighbourhoods in 2020)', interviewed women from different backgrounds as part of a process aimed at assessing how communities will work in the future.

And the unfortunate view is that women are being left out in the cold as far as property design and construction are concerned. To make matters worse, says the report, the needs of women are not being taken into account when it comes to the provision of transport, leisure, education and health services either.

Expert opinion sees the homes of the future as multi-functional live-work units which can adapt to changing lifestyles. However, the women interviewed for the study claimed that being based at home for all aspects of life would "not create a congenial lifestyle".

In a previous study about the female view of construction, the authors claimed that women were also clear that they wanted flexibility in house design, improved energy efficiency and a wider range of tenure options. However, although these options now exist, the new report states that there is enormous potential for planners and developers to increasingly apply these small-scale innovations to current major urban developments.

In the Foreword to the report, Jonathon Porritt, Programme Director of Forum for the Future, says: "Sometimes it's the simplest questions that don't get asked…like what makes a house, a home? Will it work as a place to bring up a family? It is quite astonishing how rarely developers stop to ask questions before starting work on the blueprints.

"And the construction industry as a whole has been slow to learn from other sectors that have already discovered the real value of consulting their customers….what's new about this Report is that it does ask."

To read the full report, please visit the Women 2020 website: http://www.women2020.com/