Delivering Mixed Communities: The Relationship between Housing Tenure Mix and Social Mix in England's Neighbourhoods

For a number of years, housing and regeneration policy in Britain has focused on creating social mix through changing housing tenure mix, particularly in deprived social housing areas. Policies are founded on the perception that segregation of rich and poor is increasing, and this reinforces disadvantage. Little work has examined the degree of correspondence between social and tenure mix. We examine the relationship between these variables in English neighbourhoods, using occupational mix to measure social mix. We examine the regional differences in this relationship. We show neighbourhoods are generally more mixed in occupation than tenure. Tenure mix has a positive relationship with occupational mix, but the relationship is moderate and contrary to conventional wisdom; occupational mix and tenure mix increase with level of area deprivation. Regional analysis shows that tenure mix is higher in the tighter housing markets of London and the South. If policy is genuinely concerned with increasing social mix, attention needs to focus on affluent areas.     

Evaluating Tenure Mix Interventions: A Case Study from Sydney,Australia

Policies of tenure mix, by removing concentrations of social housing or through the application of inclusionary zoning-type powers to new developments, are being pursued throughout Australia and in the USA, the UK and New Zealand. Implementing this tenure mix policy agenda requires significant intervention into urban areas that currently have concentrations of social housing, through programmes of regeneration or renewal. Despite this policy agenda, research on the benefits of tenure mix has produced inconclusive evidence, both in Australia and internationally. The paper reports on research undertaken in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which tests a method of evaluating tenure mix policy. The exploratory method uses dwelling price data as a proxy for measuring amenity or ‘neighbourhood quality’ changes from tenure mix interventions.     

Social and housing tenure mix in Paris intra-muros, 1990–2010

This paper sheds light on the relationship between the social and tenure mix in Paris between 1990 and 2010. Using two quantitative methods (cluster analysis and entropy indices) it explores the relationship between the social and tenure mix at the microscale. Although no statistical correlation was found, other relationships were discovered. First, the social mix is a function of the general characteristics of the neighbourhood or district. Second, social upgrading and homogenization began in the 1990s, and the ‘ideal’ social mix was a temporary phase before upper socio-professional groups became overrepresented. The growing availability and diversification of social housing has neither created a greater social mix nor slowed down social upgrading, either in general or for social housing in particular. Finally, the fact that there are different categories of social housing landlords nuances the outcomes of policies.     

Intersections of inequality in homeownership in Sweden

Abstract

Inequalities relating to ownership of housing have become a major issue de jour in many Western societies. This article examines how the distribution of homeownership in Sweden relates to two factors widely seen as significant to such inequalities, namely parental tenure status and place of birth. We use longitudinal registry data to examine the bearing of these two factors on individual-level tenure progression since the beginning of the 1990s for persons at different stages of their housing careers. We extend existing understandings of Swedish homeownership patterns by demonstrating that inequalities relating to place of birth and parental tenure intersect with one another in ways that substantially advantage certain subgroups while disadvantaging others, and by demonstrating that experiences of entry into homeownership have in recent years been changing in markedly different ways for these different subgroups. Overall, Swedish homeownership inequalities, far from dissipating, appear to be hardening along existing lines.     

Neighbourhood inequality spillover effects of gentrification

Previous research has considered how gentrification may alter the racial composition, income composition and income segregation within a neighbourhood. An increase in income segregation at the neighbourhood level may be evidenced by a reduction in income inequality, which may harm low-income households. We examine how the influence of gentrification, with respect to changes in income inequality at the neighbourhood level over time, may spill over into surrounding neighbourhoods as lower-income households' location choices change. We use data from the 30 largest Core Based Statistical Areas in the US from 2000–2010 and find that areas bordering newly gentrified neighbourhoods experience an increase in income inequality (potentially benefiting low-income households). This effect appears to be concentrated in relatively smaller CBSAs, where lower-income households may have less mobility, and in surrounding neighbourhoods that are themselves relatively lower-income.     

Going too far in the battle against concentration? On the balance between supply and demand of social housing in Dutch cities

In the second half of the 1990s, Dutch urban housing policy shifted from urban renewal to urban restructuring and the creation of more socially mixed neighbourhoods. Motives for restructuring stem from the ongoing debates on concentration, segregation and social mix. Here, we focus on the main instruments of urban restructuring, that is, the demolition of social housing and the construction of more expensive rental and owner-occupied housing. Continued restructuring may eventually lead to a shortage of social rented dwellings for low-income households, the target group of social housing. An important political question is therefore whether the dwindling supply of social housing still matches the potential demand in the target group. We addressed this question with an analysis of three Dutch cities: Rotterdam, The Hague and Breda. The results indicate that, although demolition has brought about substantial changes, the share of social rented housing remains high in most restructuring neighbourhoods and restructuring has not resulted in concentrations of social rented housing in other, non-restructuring neighbourhoods in any of the three cities. In Rotterdam, which had a very large social housing stock at the beginning of the restructuring operation, there are still sufficient affordable homes for lower income households. However, in The Hague and Breda, restructuring has tightened the supply of social rental housing. The municipal authority in The Hague has attempted to remedy the situation by entering regional agreements to secure sufficient levels of affordable housing.     

Social Capital and Housing Tenure in an Adelaide Neighbourhood

In this article we compare and contrast elements of social capital across different housing tenures in an Adelaide neighbourhood. Using the results of 530 self-completion questionnaires and in-depth qualitative interviews with 16 people we assess perceptions of conflict across housing tenures and between socio-economic groups, feelings of acceptance and belonging in the local neighbourhood, and levels of involvement in local formal and informal networks. While only a small number of questionnaire respondents reported negative views of socio-economic diversity in the area a theme emerging in the qualitative data indicated that housing tenure was relevant to some of these negative perceptions. Respondents from across different tenure types also reported differences in feelings of acceptance in the neighbourhood, and involvement in formal and informal networks. The study findings suggest that housing tenure is relevant to the development of neighbourhood-based social capital, and that this factor needs to be considered by social planners, housing policy makers and others involved in implementing social mix policies. In addition, the findings indicate the need to consider the community housing and public housing tenures in their own right, given the different models of housing provision, rather than collectively under the common banner of social housing as most research studies do. It is recommended that the full diversity of housing tenure is considered in any future analysis.     

Social Capital and Housing Tenure in an Adelaide Neighbourhood

In this article we compare and contrast elements of social capital across different housing tenures in an Adelaide neighbourhood. Using the results of 530 self-completion questionnaires and in-depth qualitative interviews with 16 people we assess perceptions of conflict across housing tenures and between socio-economic groups, feelings of acceptance and belonging in the local neighbourhood, and levels of involvement in local formal and informal networks. While only a small number of questionnaire respondents reported negative views of socio-economic diversity in the area a theme emerging in the qualitative data indicated that housing tenure was relevant to some of these negative perceptions. Respondents from across different tenure types also reported differences in feelings of acceptance in the neighbourhood, and involvement in formal and informal networks. The study findings suggest that housing tenure is relevant to the development of neighbourhood-based social capital, and that this factor needs to be considered by social planners, housing policy makers and others involved in implementing social mix policies. In addition, the findings indicate the need to consider the community housing and public housing tenures in their own right, given the different models of housing provision, rather than collectively under the common banner of social housing as most research studies do. It is recommended that the full diversity of housing tenure is considered in any future analysis.     

Ending Security of Tenure for Social Renters: Transitioning to ‘Ambulance Service’ Social Housing?

Drawing on international comparative research, this paper examines recent policy moves to withdraw security of tenure in social housing in England and Australia. We contend that there are theoretical and empirical grounds for believing that tenure security is crucial both to social housing tenants themselves and to conceptualisations of the sector. Starting from this premise we analyse the underlying rationale(s) for phasing out open-ended social tenancies. First, we consider the ‘welfare dependency’ argument and the claim that ‘conditionality’ mechanisms will incentivise social renters to (re)engage with the labour market. Second, we interrogate the, arguably more influential, rationale which stresses equity considerations in ensuring that scarce social housing resources are targeted to those in greatest need. We conclude by reflecting on the implementation prospects for this high-level policy reform, arguing that individual social landlords' motivations will be crucial in shaping the practical impacts of the new regime.     

The “Pink Pound” in the “Gaybourhood”? Neighbourhood Deprivation and Sexual Orientation in Scotland

Abstract

The emergence of geographic concentrations of non-heterosexual individuals – so-called “gaybourhoods” – is often linked to housing, demographic characteristics of the non-straight population and wider discrimination. These neighbourhoods are associated with narratives of gentrification with the non-straight population acting as gentrification pioneers. In popular imagery, non-straight households are typically portrayed with higher disposable income, and more likely to live in owner-occupied apartments in affluent neighbourhoods. This paper presents data from the Scottish Health Survey showing a disproportionate concentration of non-heterosexual people in the most deprived places in Scotland. These neighbourhoods are predominantly peripheral housing estates, dominated by social housing; not gentrifying inner-city neighbourhoods. We use data from the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) to interrogate individual characteristics that might explain this spatial concentration of residence. We argue this means the narratives of LGBT gentrification and affluence should be regarded with caution given ongoing exclusion and deprivation among the non-heterosexual population.     

Building social mix by building social housing? An evaluation in the Paris,Lyon and Marseille Metropolitan Areas

In France, social housing is perceived as an instrument for promoting social mix. In particular, there is an expectation that introducing social housing into wealthy areas will bring in low-income households and lead to greater coexistence between lower and higher socio-economic groups. However, several factors tend to hinder the pro-mix effects of social housing: financial constraints that reduce the number of new buildings, especially in high-income neighbourhoods; Not in my backyard attitudes in wealthy areas; allocation practices by social landlords who seldom rent dwellings in expensive neighbourhoods to poor households. Previous experiments with social housing have often proved disappointing in their impact on social mix. What about today’s experiments? Has the social housing built in recent times increased social mix? The empirical evaluation we carried out in Paris, Lyon and Marseille shows that recent social housing developments have stimulated social mix but the impact measured is very small.     

Exploring Dual Housing Tenure Status as a Household Response to Demographic,Social and Economic Change

This article proposes that single housing tenure categories do not enable an understanding of the ways in which households use, occupy and own residential properties in the context of broad demographic, economic and social changes. Adapting work on sub-tenure housing choice, housing tenure is overlaid with ownership of residential property to develop four tenure types: Owner, Owner-Owner, Renter and Renter-Owner. Applying this typology in the Australian case provides valuable new insights, with 1.5 million households having dual housing tenure status, including almost one in eight private renters. More broadly, reconceptualising housing tenure to include ownership of other residential property can contribute to theoretical debates about household income and wealth; social status and identity; and social practices and life planning, potentially generating new research questions such as the extent to which Renter-Owners reflect new patterns of living or a response to affordability constraints, and the social identity and political affiliations of those with a dual tenure status.     

Mixed Messages about Mixed Tenure: Do Reviews Tell the Real Story?

Mixed tenure is the predominant development and regeneration strategy and is a key component of UK housing and urban policy. It is purported to provide wide-ranging social, environmental and economic benefits to residents. While there is a large literature on mixed tenure, policy makers are likely to rely on reviews and summaries of the evidence rather than primary studies. But can they rely on such reviews? Using systematic review methods this paper critically appraises recent reviews for the evidence that mixed tenure policies and strategies have achieved any of these expected benefits. Of the six UK reviews of primary studies, most drew on less than half the available primary studies, none provided a critical appraisal of individual studies and made no comment on conflicting evidence between and within studies. While the reviews gave indications of the deficiencies of the evidence base, rather than focus on the implications of these deficiencies, four of the six reviews emphasised the positive effects of tenure mix.     

‘They Seem to Divide Us’: Social Mix and Inclusion in Two Traditional Urbanist Communities

Mixed tenure communities have become an important element of UK housing policy in recent decades. Whilst valued by policy-makers for generating a range of benefits, particularly for residents living in social rented housing, the empirical literature suggests that tenure mixing is neither a sufficient nor a reliable remedy for addressing issues associated with concentrations of poverty, disadvantage and social exclusion. This paper reports on a doctoral research study that considered tenure mixing practices at two traditional urbanist communities in the UK: Poundbury, Dorchester, and New Gorbals, Glasgow. Conceptually, the paper uses Young's critiques of residential segregation and the integration ideal to evaluate the two communities. Methodologically, it draws on qualitative interviews with residents, planners and social housing providers. The research findings contradict many aspects of Young's ideal and highlight the complex and multidimensional nature of integration in practice. Reflecting on these findings, the paper identifies five housing policy and research priorities that might usefully be pursued in future work.     

Home inequity: race,wealth, and housing in St. Louis since 1940

Abstract

The persistence and severity of the gap between black and white wealth, and the role of housing discrimination in creating and sustaining this gap are both well documented. But given the chronological and spatial limits of national data sets, we have little direct empirical evidence about the local mechanisms shaping race, housing and wealth in the era when most of the damage was done. We employ the newly available 1940 full count census and the archival records of the St. Louis Assessors office to traced housing values, tenure, and disposition for a sample of 1940 owners and addresses. We show that sustained residential segregation carved the City into zones with very different trajectories of housing opportunity, and trapped African-American homeowners into long tenures of ownership in distressed and depreciating neighbourhoods.     

Parental background and housing outcomes in young adulthood

Abstract

Scholars and policy-makers are concerned that young adults’ housing opportunities are becoming more dependent on their family background. This could hinder social mobility and exacerbate inequality. Using data from three cohorts of young people drawn from the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study of England and Wales, this study examines how parental attributes in childhood are linked to young adults’ housing outcomes two decades later. The results show that young adults’ housing outcomes have changed considerably over time and are persistently stratified by parental class and tenure in ways that vary by gender. Housing outcomes have become somewhat more polarised by parental tenure over time as the children of renters became relatively less likely to enter homeownership and more likely to rent privately. This suggests that renters became an increasingly ‘marginalised minority’ in the late twentieth century, with consequences for their children’s housing careers and future social inequality.     

Changes in transitions from private renting to homeownership in the context of rapidly rising house prices

A period associated with the emergence of the current housing crisis in Britain provides a testbed in which to investigate household tenure choice in the context of rapidly rising house prices. We compile a bespoke data-set combining data from the British Household Panel Survey and sources of local and national housing and mortgage market information covering the period 1994–2008. During this period, we observe three key changes in behaviour associated with the emergence of the housing crisis: (i) increasing acceptance of long-term renting; (ii) the emergence of local house prices as a factor inhibiting entry to homeownership at district level; and (iii) the cessation of moving to a lower cost district as a strategy to enter homeownership. We interpret these findings as some private tenants reducing their aspiration for homeownership, and those seeking entry to homeownership shifting strategy from moving to cheaper districts in favour of staying put and saving.     

Spatial and Social Divisions within British Cities: Beyond Residualisation

The literature on changing residential patterns in cities attributes different degrees of importance to economic restructuring and to changes in housing. In Britain, where a significant share of housing provision is not provided through the market, the references to socio-tenurial polarisation and the residualisation of council housing have emphasised the importance of housing tenure. The nature of housing restructuring has affected both the pace and pattern of urban change. At the end of the 1990s problems associated with deprived neighbourhoods are arousing policy attention and this has given further prominence to housing tenure differences and residualisation. This paper reviews evidence which suggests that a wider range of housing related factors are now influencing changing patterns in British cities. These especially relate to divisions within home ownership and to differences related to ethnicity and cohort. The evidence presented cautions against placing tenure at the centre of analysis of change and policy responses or equating neighbourhoods of social rented housing with area deprivation.     

Homeownership and Long-Term Care

We investigate the relationship between homeownership and institutionalization using longitudinal data from a Dutch community sample (N = 2372) collected between 1992 and 2005, and find a negative effect of housing tenure on the probability of moving to a nursing home between two subsequent waves. Our discrete time duration model is able to deal with time-varying covariates like health and is flexible with respect to time effects. We have detailed information about health status, presence of a partner and children, neighborhood, and housing. The effect of tenure remains significant after controlling for their impact. A variety of additional potential explanations related to housing wealth and the price of long-term care are found to lack explanatory power. We therefore interpret our findings as the result of a strong desire among the homeowners to stay where they are—in their own property—and the better possibilities that they have—as owners—to realize this desire.