The geographic distribution of social housing in Ontario,Canada: Comparing public housing and locally sponsored,third sector housing

This paper provides a perspective on the contemporary debate over the production of social housing. Its main focus is on the issue that geographic patterns of service levels may be related to the type of supply program in place. The paper describes the social housing programs in Ontario, Canada over the post‐war period. Two main approaches have been taken: public housing, an essentially centralized program; and locally sponsored, third sector housing provided through non‐profit corporations and co‐operatives. The programs operated in different time periods and the analysis suggests they do have distinctive geographic distributions. The distribution of public housing shows strong correlations with need as defined by the incidence of poor housing conditions and mother‐led families. Provision under the localized program is also strongly correlated with the incidence of mother‐led families; however, the most consistent associations are with measures of socio‐economic status. These results may be partly understood in terms of the changing concept of housing need over the temporal span of the study. Program influences may be that the centralized nature of the public housing program enabled the direction of allocations to high need areas; whereas under the localized program the distribution is more closely related to the social differentiation of leadership roles in service provision under a third sector delivery model. As this approach becomes more prevalent it may be important to examine its potential impacts on service provision.     

On shaky grounds: The case for the privatization of the public housing sector in the Netherlands

The research reported on is Project 44 of the STEPRO research program of the Institute of Geographical Research IRO of the University of Utrecht. The project was supported by grant SRO 530-242-016 from the Dutch National Science Foundation ZWO. We want to thank the provincial directorate of the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environmental Protection in Noord-Brabant for his help. A first draft of this article was discussed at the conference ‘Housing between State and Market’ in Dubrovnik in September 1988.     

Private financing in the dutch public housing sector: The rise and fall of the accumulative loan

The author wishes to thank miss Barbara den Boer for her translation.     

Multi‐family housing in the social rental sector and the changing Dutch housing market

The social rental sector has become a major segment of the housing market in the Netherlands (forming 44 per cent of the stock in 1988). Until recently, its management by non‐profit housing associations and municipalities posed no major problems: the stock was relatively new, the general housing shortage was severe, and middle‐income groups accounted for a substantial share of the tenants of social rental housing. This situation has changed; especially the older multi‐family housing in the cities has slipped into a lower position in the urban housing hierarchy, and lower‐income households predominate in this type of housing. At the same time, part of the older stock is in need of renovation. This article reports on interviews with managers of non‐profit housing associations about their strategies to keep the housing in good shape and to find tenants. It also reports on interviews with tenants in newly renovated housing complexes.     

Municipal land allocations: integrating planning and selection of developers while transferring public land for housing in Sweden

An essential component in all housing developments is suitable land. Besides being buildable, this implies land approved for housing in a marketable and consequently implementable location. Insufficient supply of suitable land to housing developers could affect the supply of housing. In Sweden, a lot of land appropriate for housing is owned—often since many years back—by municipalities and supplied to developers through the use of ‘land allocations’. A land allocation connects a developer and a municipality in a interdependency-based collaboration intended to jointly create an implementable development right, followed by a land transfer. Using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires reaching a total of 26 municipalities and 91 developers, the Swedish land allocation system is investigated; results are presented with emphasis on requirements put on developers, its interaction with the planning process and on the different methods used to select a certain developer. Additionally, the system is reviewed from a developer perspective and put in an international context. While many countries make use of public land for housing, the article shows that the Swedish land allocation system deviates in several aspects and in spite of its long history, there are undoubtedly features considered less well functioning from the developer’s point of view.     

The dismantling of public housing in the USA

The market reigns supreme in the housing system of the United States. Its prominence has led to the efficient provision of housing of ever-rising standards for most Americans. At the same time, the poor continue to live in appalling conditions. The majority of them have to secure their housing without public support. In spite of the long history of government intervention in the housing system, the effect of that support has been marginal at best. Although the large cities contain substantial numbers of assisted housing, the public housing program has failed to provide the poor with the “decent housing and the suitable living environment” promised to every American family in the 1949 Housing Act. Even the direct support of households through housing vouchers and certificates has not broken up the concentrations of poverty. Many households remain trapped in substandard housing in crime-infested urban areas. The articles in this issue evaluate the (possible) outcomes of the latest round of reforms of the American public housing program, which are geared to more private-sector involvement. Jan van Weesep is Professor of Urban Geography and Urban Policy at Utrecht University (The Netherlands). His publications cover a range of housing and urban issues in various countries. He has studied and worked in the United States. Hugo Priemus holds the chair in housing at Delft University of Technology and he is managing director of OTB Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies.     

Managerialism and public housing reform

This paper discusses market inspired changes to the delivery of public housing in Queensland, Australia during the late 1990s. These policy changes were implemented in an organisational environment dominated by managerialism. The theory and method of critical discourse analysis is used to examine how managerial subject positions were assimilated and/or creatively resisted by different actors within the public housing policy community. These themes are discussed using interview data with a range of policy actors, including policy managers, front-line housing staff and public housing tenants. The analysis suggests that policy actors who openly challenged the emerging policy and organisational direction were marginalised in changing power relations.     

Privatizing public housing in Canada,A public policy agenda

The new Progressive Conservative (PC) government in Ontario is planning to sell the 84,500 units (using the UK model) of public housing that it owns. This paper presents an evaluation of the programs to sell off public housing in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. After a comparative evaluation, the author makes several recommendations for the Ontario government. The author argues that Canadian public-housing tenant characteristics are different from those in the UK. Ontario's public-housing tenants are too poor to purchase these units. They would be unable to maintain the unit and carry the costs (property tax, insurance, and utilities) even if the units were given to them free. The author concurs that the sale of public housing units in the USA and the UK may have generated some revenue and saved some costs. However, he points out that in the long run, the modest financial gains will be offset by higher operating costs. The sale of the best units and those that are easy to maintain, along with the loss of higher-income tenants, will no doubt result in higher average operating costs for the remaining Units. Such unintended consequences of the sale should be avoided by the Ontario government. The author recommends that the province develop a comprehensive and multi-purpose plan covering an array of programs (including the sale of some units) rather than concentrate exclusively on the sale.     

The role of state and market in the Malaysian housing sector

This paper discusses the development of housingpolicy in Malaysia, focusing on the role ofstate and market in low-income housingprovision. Since independence, the state hasstrongly intervened in the housing sector, andits housing policies have expressed its racialand political preferences in housingdevelopment and distribution. The privatesector performs better than the public sector.But the excessive state control over housinghinders the development of the market, while the potential of the private sector's capacityis under-utilised. The paper illustrates theproblems of the housing system and ends withsome recommendations for ways to overcome theseproblems.     

Housing expenditure and housing policy in the West European rental sector

This contribution depicts therecent development of the housing expenditure quotefor various income groups in the social and privaterented sector in six West European countries. Thedevelopment reflects the similar policy efforts inthese countries, not only to reduce the regulatoryand subsidizing role of government but also topromote market mechanisms within the housing system.The analysis shows a recent rise in the gross aswell as the net rent quote in both rental sectors ofthe six countries. The one exception is the privaterented sector in Belgium. Despite the application ofhousing allowances, the lower-income groups have hadthe biggest increase in net rent quote. In addition,all six countries have recently seen an increase inthe concentration of low-income groups in the socialrented sector, where their presence was alreadystrong. If this trend persists, it will affect theposition of the social rented sector, the sociallandlords, but especially the low-income groups inboth the private and the social rented sector.     

Poverty and disrepair: Challenging the myth of ignorance in private sector housing

As private home ownership grows in Europe, so do the problems of maintenance and repair for poorer owners. In England, it has been believed that one obstacle is the owners' apparent satisfaction with poor conditions. This paper deconstructs the questions in the English House Condition Survey 1981 on which that assumption has been based. By reference to other EHCSs and to a research methodology offering a more differentiated approach to establishing residents' views, it suggests that the problem is not ignorance at all. A more subtle understanding of the validity of housing satisfaction questionnaires is needed to develop effective policies of urban renewal.     

Financial repercussions of the sale of public housing in the Netherlands

Like in other countries, the public housing sector in the Netherlands is under fire. The sale of units to tenants has been permitted for many years, and the government now intends to remove barriers to further sales. The total number of dwellings sold has remained relatively small, yet the effects on the buyers, the housing associations and the government should be investigated before a major new sales effort is launched. This article assesses the short and long‐term financial consequences of past sales programmes by analysing data on the initial sales and on subsequent resales. We find that the anticipated benefits do not always materialise.     

Public–public partnerships in the Finnish water services sector

Public–public partnerships (PUPs) are emerging in the water and sewerage sector as an alternative to improve the performance of water and sewerage undertakings. While most of the research on PUPs has concentrated on development and international partnerships, examples can also be found in developed countries. This article presents two relatively recent cases of PUPs in Finland, one of which is already in operation and the other in transition from planning to implementation. The good experiences from the two cases add to the evidence that PUPs indeed offer a viable solution for cooperation in the water services sector.     

Consumer research for the public sector human services in Victoria

Abstract

This pilot study illustrates the value of consumer research in the public sector. It focuses on use, evaluation and desired improvements to human services in Victoria. The study is based on a survey of 942 respondents in five Local Government Areas, four of which are in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of our findings and with suggestions for improved methods of conducting consumer research for Government.     

Community renewal and large public housing estates

Abstract

The extent of social disadvantage in local neighbourhoods has come to the fore in recent years, partly as a result of the problems that State Housing Authorities have faced in managing the concentrations of socially marginalised populations on larger public housing estates. However, a wider understanding of the processes at play in these neighbourhoods is needed to inform policy development. We consider the evolution of local renewal policy in New South Wales at the present time and suggest potential policy options for the future.