Social housing allocation,choice and neighbourhood ethnic mix in England

Driven by a concern about the negative side effects of ethnic concentration neighbourhoods, many European governments aim to create more ethnically and socio-economically mixed neighbourhoods. At the same time, housing policy aims to give tenants more choice in how and where they live. The objectives of these two policies might conflict as offering people choice has the potential to increase self-segregation, especially across ethnic groups. This paper studies the effect of choice-based letting on (self) segregation in housing association stock in England. We analyse whether households who let their property under choice-based letting end up in neighbourhoods with different levels of ethnic concentrations than households who are matched to a dwelling using the traditional allocation system. We focus on how the effect of choice-based letting differs for ethnic minority households and non-ethnic minority households. Using unique data on all lettings made in the housing association sector in England in 2006/2007 and an ordered logit regression model we show that ethnic minority households are more likely to let a property in an ethnic concentration neighbourhood than non-ethnic minority households. Ethnic minorities letting their property under choice-based letting are the most likely to accept a dwelling in an ethnic concentration neighbourhood.     

Natives’ opinions on ethnic residential segregation and neighbourhood diversity in Helsinki,Oslo and Stockholm

Nordic countries rank high on measures indicating tolerant views on immigrants. Yet, ethnic residential segregation is stated as being a major social problem in these countries. Neighbourhood flight and avoidance behaviour among the native born could be a sign of less tolerant views on minorities, but could of course be restricted to native-born residents in areas of high-ethnic concentration. So far, no research in these countries has explicitly focused on the majority population’s view on segregation, and we know little about how native-born residents in different neighbourhood contexts view ethnic segregation or how own residential experience shapes decisions on staying or leaving; this paper aims to help fill this research lacuna. In a survey targeting 9000 native-born residents in three Nordic capital cities—stratified into neighbourhood movers and stayers and into neighbourhoods having different proportions of non-Nordic-born residents—we answer three questions: do native-born respondents prefer a neighbourhood ethnic mix? Do they see ethnic segregation as a problem? Do they prefer lower, current or higher shares of ethnic minorities in their own neighbourhoods?     

Homeownership,Asset-based Welfare and the Neighbourhood Segregation of Wealth

The asset-based welfare approach, which has foremost encouraged homeownership, has led to rising homeownership rates, house prices and household debt levels. While this shift has helped raise the net worth of some among the middle and working classes who own property, the implications for the spatial distribution of wealth in cities have not yet been explored. This paper examines the spatial implications of the rise of policies promoting asset-based welfare, by examining statistically how variables related to homeownership rates and housing prices relate to measures of urban wealth segregation among neighbourhoods. Canadian cites are used as the main case study for the empirical analysis. The findings suggest that while homeownership in general has an equalizing effect, rising rates of homeownership (and to some extent, rising house prices) are associated not with greater spatial equalization and dispersal of wealth, but instead with greater spatial segregation and concentration of wealth within cities.     

Neighbouring house transaction response to assisted living facilities and nursing homes

Abstract

Senior group housing that offers services signals that its residents have physical and/or cognitive limitations, which may be viewed as a neighbourhood disamenity. Buyers may discount house values near group homes due to negative perception of the residents or the structure. Most senior group home residents come from the surrounding community; therefore, residents of neighbourhoods with a large proportion of older residents may perceive nearby senior housing as desirable. We employ a system of equations to examine the influence of assisted living and nursing homes on single-family house sales prices and time-on-the market. The results indicate that the presence of a senior group home, especially a nursing home, within one-half mile has a significant negative effect on single-family house prices. The effect is most evident in neighbourhoods with few elderly residents. A clustering effect is present in non-distressed sales. The scale of a nearby senior group home contributes to a longer marketing duration, especially for distressed sales.     

Housing market segmentation in Swedish local authorities. Immigrants and Swedes; Young and old

The intention of this article is, firstly, to investigate housing market segmentation with respect to various age groups and to immigrants within Swedish local authorities. Secondly, it aims at trying to describe the differences between local authority areas with varying degrees of segmentation. It is important to differentiate between HOUSING SEGREGATION, which refers to separated dwellings between households in geographical space, and HOUSING MARKET SEGMENTATION which concerns legal and financial relationships to housing. In many cases housing segregation has decreased through the construction of housing estates where privately‐owned, co‐operative and rented flats are integrated, although the housing market segmentation has increased. A good deal of the housing market segmentation in a local authority refers to the stock of flats, the types of housing, the forms of occupancy, the categories of ownership on the housing market. Secondly the differences between local authorities often refers to the structure of economic life and geographical location in the country. In the first case in this explorative study, housing market segmentation between immigrants and Swedes, four variables account for 52 percent of the variation between local authority areas. Together these variables give an indication that ethnic housing market segmentation is high in industrialized areas with a slow development during the last decade. These areas are often situated quite near metropolitan or big regional centres. The ethnic housing market segmentation seems to have a very close connection with the socio‐economic segmentation, as it is high in ethnic segmented areas. In the second case, the housing market segmentation between age‐groups, two housing market characteristics account for 77 percent of the variations between local authority areas. A large proportion of dwellings constructed before 1950 and a homogeneity in the housing market seems to reduce the segmentation between age‐groups. This segmentation is much less than the ethnic one.     

Swedish social mix policy: a general policy without an explicit ethnic focus

Neighbourhood social mix is currently a pressing issue for both researchers and policy makers in the Western world. In an international perspective, Sweden offers an interesting case as both the structure of the housing market and the focus of the social mix policy differs from other countries’ policies. The introduction of a policy for social mixing in Sweden in 1974 was a reaction to the increasing socioeconomic segregation in the housing market. Swedish city planning and the conditions in the housing market have however changed dramatically since the policy was first introduced. This article is based on official housing policy documents and interviews with public actors. It seeks to analyse the policy makers’ understanding of Swedish social mix policy and how the policy is translated into practical planning. The overall aim is to analyse the Swedish policy in relation to similar policies in other countries, this to point at some of the existing differences, especially the different perspective on ethnic segregation. On the basis of document analysis and interviews with public actors, we come to the conclusion that the understanding and practice of the social mix policy in Sweden have been rather consistent over time. Even though Sweden has experienced increasing immigration, which has added an ethnic dimension to housing segregation, the Swedish social mix policy has remained a general policy for counteracting socioeconomic segregation, rather than ethnic segregation. This is an important difference compared to other mixing strategies in Europe and North America where ethnic mix has been, and still is, at the top of the agenda.     

Ethnic Residential Clusters in Nima,Ghana

The global debate on ethnic residential segregation has focused more on the developed world, and little is known about similar patterns and processes in African cities. This is in spite of the fact that many African cities are now ranked among the world’s most rapidly growing and least regulated urban areas. Indeed, the dynamics of ethnic residential segregation have scarcely been studied in African cities. The little literature available has looked at ethnic segregation between the neighbourhoods of major cities. This paper goes beyond current literature by examining the pattern and processes of ethnic clustering within a multi-ethnic community. Our goal in this paper is to answer the question as to whether within a multi-ethnic urban neighbourhood the major ethnic groups are residentially clustered, isolated or dispersed. The focus is on Nima, a major slum community of Accra, Ghana. The findings of the study show that even though Nima is a multi-ethnic community, some level of ethnic clustering can be discerned. These patterns are linked to the history of settlement formation, religious affiliation and ethnic or place of origin of earlier house owners.     

Paramaribo

Paramaribo, the largest and only significant urban area in Suriname, is a typical primate city. The majority of the countries’ population resides here and the majority of political, social and economic functions is clustered in the urban zone. In the course of the 20th century, the city changed dramatically. Its population grew enormously and the city expanded through conversion of agricultural lands. In addition, economic and political developments produced alternate functional divisions within the city. These developments have taken place in other Caribbean cities as well. However, where Caribbean cities, e.g. Kingston or Port-of-Spain, are known for high levels of ethnic and socio-economic segregation and inequality, Paramaribo is a city of more or less ethnically and socio-economically mixed neighbourhoods. This profile focuses on patterns of settlement in Paramaribo after 1950 and explains these from developments in the local economy and land market. It concludes that the economic crisis together with the structure of the land- and housing market have slowed down processes of moving and resettlement, encouraged the development of socio-economically mixed neighbourhoods and sustained the absence of no-go areas in the city. It concludes by posing the question whether this may change in the future and more clustering can be expected.     

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.     

Ghettos, immigrants, and integration the French dilemma

France has experienced mass migrations for over one and a half century, but only recently have the French acknowledged the country's ethnic diversity. The perception of the importance of immigration in French society is linked to the increased visibility of some ethnic groups within the social space. The process has become so widespread that it may evoke an ‘ethnic fragmentation’ of society. This fear shows up especially in relation to the residential concentration of stigmatized ethnic minorities, in so-called ghettos. The aim of this paper is to identify the various mechanisms underlying these concentrations and to analyze the impact of policies against segregation on immigrants’ housing opportunities. Our position is that public policies are meant to reduce concentration in the attractive part of the housing structure. One consequence of these policies is that segregation of certain ethnic minorities becomes stronger in the most deprived part. This ethnically oriented segregation is not given enough attention by national authorities. We argue that the residential careers of stigmatized ethnic minorities are largely determined by institutional discrimination, which exacerbates the widespread problem of prejudice in the housing market.     

Ethnic differences in realising desires to leave urban neighbourhoods

Selective mobility into and out of urban neighbourhoods is one of the main driving forces of segregation. Earlier research has found group differences in who wants to leave or who leaves certain types of neighbourhoods. A factor that has received little attention so far is that some residents will have a desire to leave their neighbourhood, but are unable to do so. If there are differences between population groups in the realisation of desires to leave the neighbourhood, this might lead to involuntary segregation. This paper uses a unique combination of register data and survey data. We combine data from a large housing survey in the Netherlands (WoON) with longitudinal register data from the Netherlands (SSD) which contains individual-level information on residential mobility histories. This allows us to study whether households with a desire to leave their neighbourhood do realise this desire and which households are successful in leaving which neighbourhoods. A more thorough insight in who wants to leave which neighbourhoods but is unable to do so will contribute to a better understanding of selective mobility and segregation. We find that ethnic minorities and low-income households are less likely to realise a desire to leave their neighbourhood. We expected that ethnic minorities would be especially unsuccessful in realising desires to leave minority concentration neighbourhoods; however, for none of the ethnic groups we found an effect of neighbourhood ethnic composition on the realisation of desires to leave.     

Intra‐Urban migration and housing submarkets: theory and evidence

In the 1950s and 1960s a group of housing economists at Columbia University developed a framework for the analyses of urban housing markets which was based around the concept of housing submarkets and household migration. There is now widespread agreement amongst housing economists that submarkets should be adopted as a working hypothesis but the concept has been reformulated in terms of intra‐urban relative house price differentials. The accepted test for submarket existence uses a hedonic model of house prices which assumes market equilibrium. This paper returns to an analysis of submarkets which focuses on spatial migration patterns. By examining household intra‐urban mobility patterns in the Glasgow housing market it is possible to demonstrate that submarkets tend to be self‐contained. The analysis also suggests that the current standard statistical tests may be incomplete and in the case of Glasgow underestimate the number of submarkets.     

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.     

Tenure preference and housing strategy: An exploration of Pakistani experiences

There is an increasing literature on the exclusion of and difficulties faced by minority ethnic communities in a range of areas, of which housing is one of the most important. But there is relatively little good, recent, qualitative material available, which explores the process of decision‐making—including decisions regarding housing—within minority ethnic families. A missing element, therefore, is the study of action by householders and consequently, the realisation (or otherwise) of preferences and the cumulative results of actions in facilitating or restricting choice. The present paper reports on a small‐scale research study of Pakistani housing preferences in Glasgow, whose aim was to develop a life history interviewing technique, using a semi‐structured schedule, focusing on housing preferences, housing moves and experiences. Pakistani households are shown to experience continuing difficulties in funding and organising household moves. There are areas of Glasgow where families feel unsafe and there is a continuing problem of racial harassment. Neither the local authority nor housing associations are generally able to offer appropriate housing. The life history interviewing technique used allows an exploration of how households reached decisions on their housing and on how they indulged in ‘trade‐offs’ between different houses, areas or tenures. Thus our understanding of the role of agency in the development of patterns of housing and individual housing careers is developed.     

The Wish to Leave Ethnically Concentrated Neighbourhoods: The Role of Perceived Social Cohesion and Interethnic Attitudes

This paper aims to investigate the motives behind people's wishes to move out of ethnically concentrated neighbourhoods. We focus on the impact of perceived social cohesion and negative interethnic attitudes and hypothesise on moving wishes of ethnic majority and minority residents in the Netherlands (i.e. Turks and Moroccans). Data were derived from the first wave of the 2009 Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study, collected in 35 municipalities covering 800 neighbourhoods. Taking into account household, housing and other neighbourhood attributes, multilevel logistic regression models show that ethnic majority residents are more likely to have a wish to move when they live in neighbourhoods with a large percentage of ethnic minorities. This can be explained by a lack of perceived social cohesion, but not by their negative attitudes towards ethnic minorities. Controlling for housing and neighbourhood conditions, the percentage of ethnic minorities neither increases nor decreases minority residents' moving wishes.     

Social Housing Agencies and the Governance of Anti-social Behaviour

Current policy and discourse concerning the governance of anti-social behaviour in the UK has emphasised the spatial concentration of disorder on particular social housing estates. Policy has sought to respond by devolving management of the processes of social control to local neighbourhoods. Local authorities, and social housing agencies in particular, are being given an increasing role within multi-agency partnerships aimed at governing local incidences of anti-social behaviour. This paper places this emerging role for social housing agencies within theories of governmentality and wider trends in urban governance and suggests that present developments may be understood through a paradigm of housing governance. Drawing on studies in Edinburgh and Glasgow, the paper examines the role of social housing agencies in the governance of anti-social behaviour. It argues that social housing agencies face a number of dilemmas in reacting to their emerging role and that such dilemmas reflect wider concerns about the new urban governance.     

克尔菲什别墅，奥良，葡萄牙

该基地与周围环境几乎毫无关系,是一个内向的、主要在建筑的用地边界内产生变化的地段。它位于阿尔加维地区的一片生长着旱地植物的开阔地带。项目是要建造一座独栋别墅,并使它能与室外的花园建立紧密的联系。建筑物被设计成只有一层,并用一个个小型的室外平台来连接室内空间。倾斜的屋顶延续了白色的立面效果,并使建筑内部有一种隐秘的气氛。白色的建筑,通过小窗对外开敞,这十分接近那些为了适应自然环境而建造的当地建筑。□(徐知兰译) 合作者／Collaborators:Luis Pedro Pinto,Nuno Matos,Walter Perdigao     

Spatial Assimilation in Denmark? Why do Immigrants Move to and from Multi-ethnic Neighbourhoods?

In most European countries ethnic minorities have had a tendency to settle in certain parts of cities—and often in social housing—together with other immigrants in so-called multi-ethnic neighbourhoods. An explanation for this could be low income combined with lack of knowledge of the housing market and discrimination, which limits the housing possibilities for ethnic minorities. Another explanation could be that for different reasons immigrants choose to settle in so-called ethnic enclaves where they can find an ethnic social network, which can support them in their new country. In traditional research literature about immigration it has been shown that for many immigrants living in enclaves has been a temporary situation. The ‘spatial assimilation theory’ says that this situation ends when the family has become more integrated in the new society and then moves to another part of the city. This paper provides evidence to support both explanations of why ethnic minorities move to and from multi-ethnic neighbourhoods.     

(Re)Viewing Ethnic Residential Segregation in Southern European Cities: Housing and Urban Regimes as Mechanisms of Marginalisation

Housing and residential marginalisation in Southern European cities represents the most critical and controversial of urban conditions for the settlement and inclusion of immigrants. However, these issues are conspicuously under-researched in both the international and Southern European comparative literature. The complexity of ethnic housing hardship and segregation is often de-problematised and misleadingly attributed solely to market mechanisms or inevitable polarisation dynamics. This paper reviews the distinctive features of ethnic residential segregation within wider societal and urban contexts, drawing on an analysis of eight Mediterranean cities with a special focus on the role of housing systems and processes of ethnic and social differentiation. Problems and drivers are reconceptualised within an holistic, comparative framework. It is demonstrated that low levels of ethnic spatial segregation conceal a real problem of social residential marginalisation. This paradox predominantly originates from macro-scale mechanisms of differentiation rooted in the welfare redistributive arrangements and dualist housing systems. It is additionally reinforced by current urban renewal strategies.