Housing Policy Towards the Rental Sector in Italy: A Distributive Assessment

We study the distributive effects on Italian households of the three most relevant housing subsidies targeted to renters: a national rent supplement scheme introduced in the context of the reform that liberalised the rental market in the late 1990s, a tax credit for renters that has been recently strengthened and the implicit economic support given to tenants in the social housing sector, through below-market rents. The analysis is performed on data from the Eu-Silc survey for Italy and, in the case of the housing allowances, also on register data from 9 out of the 13 largest Italian towns. We consider, in particular, the ability of these schemes to target low-income households and their effects on the overall levels of poverty and inequality. Results from our analysis show a good targeting but very limited effect on social protection, with the partial exception of social housing.     

Housing Policy,Housing Assistance and the Wellbeing Dividend: Developing an Evidence Base for Post-GFC Economies

This paper discusses the recent evolution, at a time of turmoil within global financial markets, of Australia's housing system and considers the effectiveness of housing assistance responses formulated to assist lo- income Australians. Following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), housing was recast in the public and political consciousness and received substantial policy attention. In this era of rapidly declining housing affordability as well as threats to the supply of housing finance, the Australian Government renewed its approach to housing assistance. The paper examines housing assistance in Australia and assesses individual outcomes in terms of a ‘wellbeing dividend’. It draws upon on a survey of 1700 low-income households to examine individual outcomes for health and wellbeing across three of Australia's major forms of housing assistance. The research clearly shows that while housing assistance makes a positive contribution to wellbeing, not all forms of assistance are equal.     

Housing Careers,House Price Dispersion and the Housing Market Multiplier

Housing markets reflect our housing consumption profile over the life cycle. As we age, marry and have kids, we seek larger dwellings and to a greater extent owner-occupied housing. The up-trading process has two key characteristics: first, it is equity induced. Second, it impacts both the supply and demand sides of housing markets. This is our point of departure. The paper combines a housing ladder with a house price index to show how up-trading amplifies shocks and introduces a multiplier into the housing market. The interplay between market segments results in up-trading induced price dispersion and a price response in the segments on top of the ladder that exceeds those of segments further down, even when shocks are equal across market segments. Finally, as up-trading impacts both housing supply and housing demand, even balanced shocks to net demand might impact house prices. Focusing on different market segments, shocks to demand might have both direct (the size effect) and indirect (the up-trading effect) effects on the house price index. This paper highlights policy options at a finer level when in need of stimulating or dampening house price cycles.     

Child Support Receipt,Mobility, and Housing Quality

This study uses administrative records for the state of Wisconsin as well as Zillow Real Estate data on median house values to examine the associations between the regularity of child support receipt on moves and changes in housing values following moves. Our sample consists of 13 329 custodial mothers with new orders from 2002 to 2006. Across several measures of child support and specifications of moves, regular receipt is negatively associated with any moves and with more than one move a year, holding constant the value of the child support received. In models examining associations between regularity and changes in housing quality after a move, an additional month of child support within 25 per cent of the order amount is associated with an $890 increase in housing value. These results imply that policy-makers concerned with housing stability consider both the regularity and absolute value of child support when considering family well-being.     

Housing and the Creation of Home for Refugees in Western Australia

Safe, appropriate housing is vital for the successful settlement of refugees, since establishing a home is part of the process of redeveloping a sense of ontological security. However humanitarian entrants in Australia have a far greater likelihood of moving multiple times in the early years of settlement and are far less likely to be purchasing their homes compared to other migrants. Using data from interviews, focus groups and a photovoice exercise, positive home-building experiences of refugees are illustrated, while factors leading to negative outcomes are also identified. The more positive story came from the photovoice exercise with images of the remaking of home as a place of connection with others, of personal pride, of comfort and leisure, of family and commensality. Interview and focus group data focused on structural issues including the cost of housing, limited choice in the rental market, lack of public housing, poor quality, negative attitudes of real estate agents, lack of access to services, and complex tenancy procedures which are key factors influencing insecurity of tenure. The effects on refugees’ sense of ontological security are discsused.     

Understanding the Psychosocial Impacts of Housing Type: Qualitative Evidence from a Housing and Regeneration Intervention

The association between poor housing and poor health is widely accepted, but there is a lack of evidence on the health impact of housing interventions. In particular, evidence on mechanisms linking housing interventions to health is lacking. Scotland's Housing and Regeneration Project (SHARP) evaluated the health impacts of new-build social housing using a quasi-experimental survey design. Qualitative interviews were also conducted with a sub-sample of survey respondents. The qualitative data indicated that changes in dwelling type influenced key psychosocial processes such as control, with consequent impacts on well-being. This study provided insights into the psychosocial impacts of housing design, whilst also demonstrating the utility of qualitative methods for enhancing understanding of the mechanisms linking housing change with improved well-being.     

Housing,Home and Neighbourhood Renewal in the Era of Superdiversity: Some Lessons from the West Midlands

Following two decades of new migration, the EU is now home to the most diverse population ever. Much new migration has occurred into superdiverse escalator areas already experiencing high levels of deprivation. In the UK, housing market renewal areas (HMRA) had a particular challenge to address housing market failure and the high population turnover often associated with new migration while meeting the needs of established residents. Lack of knowledge about the diverse housing needs of residents risked hampering renewal efforts. This paper uses qualitative data collected from a superdiverse sample of settled and new residents located in the Urban Living HMRA in the West Midlands to examine the ways in which they conceptualise home. The paper argues that understanding the ways in which diverse residents conceptualise home and home making, offers potential for policymakers to understand how residents' needs can be met.     

Housing Governance in the English Regions: Emerging Structures,Limits and Potentials

The centralising tendency of successive governments left housing policy struggling to comprehend and respond effectively to increasing regional and sub-regional differentiation in housing markets in England during the 1990s. A consequence of this central-local paradox, whereby the centre has exerted increasing control over local affairs but is unable to appreciate and sensitise policy to the particulars of local housing markets, has been rising 'top-down' interest in the regional tier of housing administration. There is also evidence of 'bottom-up' impetus for the development of a regional tier of housing governance. Paying particular attention to the situation in the North of England, and taking Yorkshire and Humberside as a case study example, this paper examines this emerging regional tier of housing governance. Focusing specifically on the development, role and function of Regional Housing Forums, and situating discussion in the context of debates regarding 'New Regionalism', some preliminary conclusions are drawn regarding the potentials and limits of housing governance in the English regions.     

Housing Policy,Wealth Formation and the Singapore Economy

This paper evaluates the contribution of housing policy in Singapore to financial sector development, housing wealth formation and macro-economic performance, both retrospectively and prospectively. It provides an overview of past housing policies and traces the linkages to the financial sector. Housing policy as effected through the Housing and Development Board and the Central Provident Fund (CPF) hampered the development of the commercial housing loans sector and domestic financial markets, but contributed to the overall growth and stability of the housing loans market and associated financial institutions. Housing policy and the trend of housing asset inflation contributed significantly to the formation of both gross and net housing wealth. Economic growth has not suffered from the heavy emphasis on housing investment although various policies that resulted in exogenous shifts in housing demand contributed to increased housing price volatility in the short term. The structure of the housing loans market has also allowed the CPF contribution rate to be more effectively used as an instrument for macro-economic stabilisation.     

对我国城市住宅品质提升实践及存在问题的思考

随着我国城市住宅存量的不断增 加,老旧城市住宅品质退化问题引起各方关 注。但人们对住宅品质与品质提升内涵的认 识尚不全面。近年来,许多城市相继开展了住 宅品质提升实践,探索了综合改造、节能改造 以及宜居性改造等品质提升模式,不仅美化 了城市面貌,满足了居民提升居住品质的需 求,而且为解决住宅品质退化问题提供了许 多路径和方法。为了推动我国住宅品质提升 实践可持续发展,本文通过对上述典型案例 进行分析和总结,发现其中的特色做法和不 足,提出住宅品质提升层级化思路,探索科学 系统的住宅品质提升概念。     

Housing and Urban Poverty: A Consideration of the Criteria of Affordability,Diversity and Inclusion

This paper considers recent experiences in poverty reduction within urban areas. The discussion draws out emerging lessons for the provision of affordable and inclusive housing and neighbourhood development programmes that also address the diverse needs of urban poor communities. In particular, the discussion emphasises the importance of understanding the livelihoods of the poor and the strategies that lie behind these livelihoods if external interventions are to be successful in addressing the needs of low-income urban residents.     

浅谈房屋建筑工程质量控制及措施分析

在日常生活中,人们的生活质量与房屋建筑工程质量有紧密的关系。在目前的项目施工中,仍存在许多不和谐的因素。本文分析了实际施工中的常见问题,并对如何有效开展房屋建筑施工质量控制工作提出了相关建议。     

Investigating the New Landscapes of Welfare: Housing Policy,Politics and the Emerging Research Agenda

As debates about housing form an increasingly important arena of political controversy, much has been written about the new fissures that have appeared as governments not only struggle to reduce public expenditure deficits but also attempt to address problems such as affordability and homelessness. It is widely anticipated that new conflicts will be played out in the private rental market as access to homeownership becomes unrealistic and the supply of social housing diminishes. However, what other tensions might surface; that hitherto have not been subject to the critical gaze of housing research? In this paper, we provide some thoughts on the nascent policy issues as well as the ideological schisms that are likely to develop in coming years, offering suggestions as to how the focus of housing policy research might be reoriented towards a “politics” framework to capture and better understand the conflicts that are likely to arise.     

从规模生产到数码定制——工业化住宅的生产模式与设计特征演变

将工业化住宅的设计特征演变与社会生产模式相联系,分成4个阶段:“自发性”设计阶段、“量产标准化”设计阶段.“可变性”设计阶段和“虚拟化和量产定制化”设计阶段,同时指出工业化住宅设计呈现出将先进技术与可持续发展目标整合的发展趋势.     

Power,Discursive Space and Institutional Practices in the Construction of Housing Problems

A constructionist approach to the study of social problems and housing policy provides a theoretically informed means of analysing the ways in which housing policy is formulated and implemented. Yet despite a strong commitment by housing researchers to policy relevance, constructionist studies of how specific social problems are generated and deployed have so far made only a limited impact on housing research. The paper addresses this lacuna by first discussing important literature and the key conceptual issues in this field of study. This is followed by a discussion of two examples from recent UK housing policy (the shift in the 1980s from defining lone mothers as the victims of housing shortages to a morally questionable group subverting needs-based allocation policies and the re-emergence of anti-social behaviour as a problem on housing estates). The paper's conclusion is that the 'construction of problems' provides a rich source of new material as well as offering significant opportunities to develop a more critically informed housing research agenda.     

Institutional Mediation,The Hong Kong Residential Housing Market and the Asian Financial Crisis

While there has been considerable commentary and analysis on the origins and aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis there have been few studies which focus on the housing markets of the countries most directly affected. This is surprising given the importance of housing investment in many Asian economies and that over-inflated real estate was deeply implicated in the crisis. This paper explores the particular dynamics of the Hong Kong housing market and its institutional structure during the Asian Financial Crisis. The paper focuses specifically on the relationship between the development structure and the shaping of the policy process and on the interconnections between the housing market and the wider economy. It explains the apparent resilience of the giant developers during the crisis. More generally, the paper emphasises the importance of endogenous institutional dynamics in mediating the impact of the crisis in Hong Kong     

Power,Ideology and the Washington Consensus: The Development and Spread of Chilean Housing Policy

It is well known that reality is often stranger than fiction. That certainly applies in the case of the housing subsidy model of Chile. Developed by Chileans with the assistance of neo-liberal ideology invented in Chicago, the powerful institutions of Washington DC appear to have been minor actors on the Chilean scene. Initially, Chile needed World Bank support and finance, but once this had been achieved it followed its own agenda. The Inter-American Development Bank and USAID faired little better. Chile was master in its own house. Was this a victory for national autonomy over the power of international finance? Clearly not, because the new model being applied in Chile was the precursor of much that was implemented from Washington in the days of structural adjustment. Chile 'won' because it accepted the rules of the new game established by institutions far more powerful than the multilateral development banks. Developmental Washington learned much from Chile and then applied those lessons to the more indebted, smaller and less sophisticated countries.     

Housing Market Renewal in Liverpool: Locating the Gentrification Debate in History,Context and Evidence

This paper places the Housing Market Renewal programme in Liverpool in its historical context, highlighting a mismatch between the supply and demand for housing which has existed for four decades. This disequilibrium produced an environment where successive waves of neighbourhood abandonment occurred from the late 1970s despite significant public policy interventions. The implementation of the Housing Market Renewal programme has stimulated a debate about the extent to which the public sector interventions are leading to the gentrification of poor neighbourhoods. The paper finds that there is no evidence of gentrification in older neighbourhoods, however, inflows of capital rather than middle-class residents have altered the physical development of the city to an extent that the housing choices of all income groups have been affected. The paper concludes that critical gentrification research should take account of historical development and wider housing market change to remain relevant to the debate about the changing social and economic structure of cities.     

城市开放空间声景恢复性效益及声环境品质提升策略研究

在高密度、快节奏的城市生活背景下,提升城市开放空间的环境恢复性质量具有现实意义,而声景作为重要的环境要素,对环境恢复性质量的影响值得关注.利用理论演绎法,建构声景恢复性效益分析模型.并在此基础上,对沈阳市开放空间进行了声景调查和心理测量,以确定城市开放空间典型声景的恢复性效益,同时提出该视角下的声环境品质提升策略.     

改善老年人的住房与社区环境:规划设计如何应对衰弱与独居的挑战?

需要日常照料的老年人数量正在急速增长。即使老年人自理能力不断减弱并越来越趋向于独居,当代社会的主流选择与政策目标仍着重于协助他们在原先的居所度过晚年。然而现阶段,美国和其他很多国家的住房均未针对日益严峻的老龄化挑战采取应对措施,为居家老年人提供的公共服务与支持相当匮乏。本文基于满足老年人在衰弱过程中的各项需求,从空间和社会的视角系统地检视了社区和住房层面的创新模式,内容包括服务强化型社区、集中照料型社区、全龄型社区,为老人服务型住房组团,小规模代际融合居住型住房,以及交通、输送和通信等方面技术手段的创新。这些对策目前尚未得到广泛应用,但有理由相信这些手段有助于推进居家和社区养老战略目标的实现。规划与设计人员应认识到老年人在生理、感官、认知障碍和独居时面临的挑战,利用设计手段改善公共空间及其连接性。