How market competitive is America's public housing? The case of Baltimore

This study estimates what would happen to one local Housing Authority (HA)-the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC), Maryland-if the public housing program were transformed to: eliminate certain key aspects of Federal government regulation, especially with respect to occupancy and rent rules; end Federal operating subsidies to HAs; provide current public housing residents with a portable housing certificate under the Section 8 Existing Housing program, permitting them to choose whether to use it in HA developments or in the private market; and require HAs to compete in the marketplace for residents and revenues. Martin Abravanel is a Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute. Terrence Connell is Manager of the Statistical Analysis Team, Real Estate Assessment Center, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Deborah Devine is a Social Science Research Analyst in the Program Monitoring and Research Division, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Debra Gross is Director of Research, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities. Lester Rubin is a Social Science Research Analyst in the Program Monitoring and Research Division, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.     

Book reviews

Comparing Housing Systems. Housing Performance and Housing Policy in the United States and Britain. Valerie Karn and Harold Wolman: Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992 pp274. £27.50.

A New Century of Social Housing. S. Lowe and D. Hughes (eds). Leicester University Press, 1991, pp189, £35.00.

Urban Housing for the Better‐Off: Gentrification in Europe. Jan van Weesep and Sako Musterd. Utrecht, The Netherlands: Bureau Stedekijke Net‐werken, 1991, pp148, D. Fr. 30.

Europe and 1992. A Handbook for Local Housing Authorities. Madeline Drake. Institute of Housing, 1992, £7.95.

The Shek Kip Mei Syndrome: Economic Development and Public Housing in Hong Kong and Singapore. M. Castells, L. Goh, R.Y. Kwok. London: Pion, 1990, pp351, $79.00

Issues in Post‐Divorce Housing. Peter McCarthy and Bob Simpson. Aldershot: Avebury, 1991. pp153. £30.00.     

Deconcentrating Poverty With Housing Programs

Problem: Housing programs of the past have exacerbated the problems of concentrated poverty. Current housing programs serving very low-income households, including homebuyers as well as renters, should be examined to determine the extent to which they help households make entry into neighborhoods with low concentrations of poverty.

Purpose: This research is designed to assist planners in understanding how well various approaches to resolving housing affordability problems can facilitate the poverty deconcentration process.

Methods: Administrative data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development are used to assess the degree to which federal housing programs help lowincome homebuyers and renters locate in neighborhoods where less than 10% of the population is below poverty.

Results and conclusions: Subsidizing households ought to be more effective than subsidizing housing units at helping lowincome households locate in low-poverty areas, and whether a household rents or buys should not matter to whether a program succeeds at deconcentration of the poor. Yet, analysis of national datasets across several housing programs finds neither of the previous propositions to be true. Housing vouchers suppliedto households are not helping renters locate in low-poverty areas any more effectively than are current project-based subsidies. It also turns out that tenure matters; a disproportionately higher share of low-income homebuyers are locating in low-poverty neighborhoods than are lowincome renters.

Takeaway for practice: I recommend that housing planners seeking to make poverty deconcentration more effective use housing placement counselors, administer programs at the metropolitan scale, lease and broker market-rate housing directly, promote mixed-income LIHTC developments, practice inclusionary zoning, and monitor the impacts of these efforts.

Research support: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.     

Race and the allocation of public housing: Changing perspectives,recurrent themes

Housing on Trial. By Elizabeth Burney. Oxford University Press (for Institute of Race Relations). 1967.

What Price Equality? Deborah Phillips, Greater London Council 1986.

Race, Class and the Allocation of State Housing. By Jeff Henderson and Valerie Kam. Aldershot: Gower. 1987.

Race and Housing: New Perspectives. edited by Susan Smith and John Mercer, University of Glasgow, Centre for Housing Research. 1987.     

The role of housing policy in perpetuating conditional forms of homelessness support in the era of housing first: Evidence from Australia

Abstract

Despite widespread enthusiasm for Housing First approaches to addressing homelessness, conditional models of support that require ‘housing readiness’ persist in many jurisdictions. Existing research cites an ongoing commitment to conditionality amongst homelessness services providers as a key reason for its persistence. In this paper, we argue that State housing policies also play an important role in perpetuating conditionality in the homelessness sector. Drawing on research carried out in an Australian jurisdiction, we show how policies regarding the supply and allocation of social housing compel homelessness service providers—including Housing First services—to employ conditionality practices. We also demonstrate the detrimental impact this has on the housing outcomes of homelessness people with complex needs. We conclude that our findings challenge the claim made by some that Housing First constitutes a ‘paradigm shift’, and instead highlight the complex processes of policy translation and assemblage that shape the adaptation of Housing First in different contexts.     

Book reviews

Housing Systems in Europe Part I A Comparative Study of Housing Policy. Peter Boelhouwer & Harry van der Heijden 314 pp

Part II A Comparative Study of Housing Finance. Oscar Papa 207 pp Delft University Press, 1992

Time to put our House in Order. John Newton The Catholic Housing Aid Society, 1993, 88 pp., £9.50 paper

Repossessed. A Fresh Look at Mortgage Lending Practice. Sarah Jenkinson The Catholic Housing Aid Society, 1992, 73 pp., £7.50, paper

All in One Place. The British Housing Story 1971–1990. John Newton The Catholic Housing Aid Society, 1991, 109 pp., £7.99, paper

Housing for Life. Christine Davies E. & F. N. Spon, 1992, 168 pp., £14.95

Whatever Happened to Local Government?. Allan Cochrane Open University Press, 1993, 124 pp., £10.99

In Search of a Home: Rental and Shared Housing in Latin America. Alan Gilbert, in association with Oscar Olinto Camacho, Rene Coulomb and Andres Necochea. London, UCL Press, 1993, pp. 192, £35     

Innovation in Homebuilding and the Future of Housing

Problem: The future of housing depends in part on innovation by homebuilders. Planners should know how to influence innovation in homebuilding in order to promote innovative practices that conserve the environment, improve quality, and reduce costs.

Purpose: This article explains challenges involved in innovation in home building, as well as providing planners with strategies to influence innovation in the industry.

Methods: I review the literature and identify sources of resistance to or acceptance of innovation in home building. I also report the results of two national surveys of innovation adoption and use regression analysis to test variables likely to inhibit or promote innovation.

Results and conclusions: Small builders receptive to innovation are likely to be led by a technology champion and to build custom homes for a relatively affluent and informed clientele. These firms provide a likely audience for technology innovations that require more upfront investment, as with some green building products, but can be marketed as highly innovative to homebuyers interested in higher performance in energy efficiency, sustainability or durability. In order to impact a larger portion of the housing market, large production builders should be the target for innovations that contribute to affordability in entry-level homes or to energy efficiency, sustainability and durability in higher priced houses.

Takeaway for practice: Planners aiming to encourage innovation in homebuilding should craft strategies that recognize the opportunities, the structure of the industry, and the factors influencing innovation adoption. Local builders with owners who champion innovation are good targets for demonstration programs that involve custom homes. Larger production builders will want strategies that can be replicated in multiple market areas, and are likely to avoid localities whose codes and regulations would require them to change their production models.

Research support: This research was partially funded by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Partnership to Advance Technology in Housing (PATH) program.     

Designs on the Public: The Private Lives of New York's Public Spaces

America's Housing Needs to the 2lst Century Raymond J. Struyk and Christopher Walker. The Urban Institute and the National Association of Realtors, Washington, D.C. 1988. $7.50.

A Blueprint for National Housing Policy National Association of Home Builders, Washington, D.C. 1987. Free.

A Decent Place to Live: The Report of the National Housing Task Force. National Housing Task Force. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 1988.

Future U.S. Housing Policy: Meeting the Demographic Challenge Raymond J. Struyk, Margery A. Turner, and Makiko Ueno. The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C. $14.95.

Preventing the Disappearance of Low Income Housing National Low Income Housing Preservation Commission, National Corporation for Housing Partnerships, Washington, D.C. 1988. Free.

The Report of the president's Commission on Housing President's Commission on Housing. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 1982.

The State of the Nation's Housing William C. Apgar, Jr., and H. James Brown. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. 1988.

Subsidizing Shelter: The Relationship between Welfare and Housing Assistance Sandra J. Newman and Anne B. Schnare. The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C. 1988. $14.95.

Toward a National Housing Policy National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Realtors, and Mortgage Bankers Association of America, Washington, D.C. 1987. Free.

Private Supply of Public Services: Evaluating of Real Estate Exactions, Linkage, and Alternative Land Policies, Rachelle Alterman, editor. New York University Press, New York and London, 1988. 273 pp. $40.00.

Homeowners and Neighborhood Reinvestment, George C. Galster. Duke University Press, Durham, NC, 1987. 354 pp. $60.

Small Scale Municipal Solid Waste Recovery Systems Gershman, Brickner &; Bratton, Inc., Van Nostrand Rein-hold, New York, 1986. 272 pp. $42.00.

Economic Valuation Techniques for the Environment: A Case Study Workbook John A. Dixon and Maynard M. Hufschmidt, editors. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1986. 203 pp. $25.00 (cloth), $8.95 (paperback).

The Health of Nations: True Causes of Sickness and Well-Being Leonard A. Sagan. Basic Books, New York, 1987. 240 pp. $19.95.

The Geography of De-Industrialisation Ron Martin and Bob Rowthorn, editors. Macmillan, London, 1986. Distributed by Sheridan House, New York. 365 pp. $45.00.

Spaces for Children: The Built Environment and Child Development Carol Simon Weinstein and Thomas G. David; editors. Plenum Press, New York, 1987. 322 pp. $39.50.

Play for All Guidelines: Planning, Design, and Management of Outdoor Play Settings for All Children Robin C. Moore, Susan M. Goltsman, and Daniel S. lacofano. MIG Communications, Berkeley, CA, 1987. 280 pp. $39.95.

Privatization: The Key to Better Government E. S. Savas. Chatham House Publishers, Chatham, NJ, 1987. 308 pp. $14.95 (paperback).

When Government Goes Private: Successful Alternatives to Public Services Randall Fitzgerald. Universe Books, New York, NY, 1988. 330 pp. $24.95.

The Metropolis Era. Volume 1: A World of Giant Cities; Volume 2: Mega Cities Mattei Dogan and John D. Kasarda, editors. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, California, 1988. Volume 1: 394 pp. $40.00. Volume 2: 322 pp. $40.00.

FDR's Utopian: Arthur Morgan of the TVA Roy Talbert, Jr. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson and London, 1987. 218 pp. $25.00.

Urban Shelter and Services: Public Policies and Management Approaches G. Shabblr Cheema. Praeger, New York, 1987. 221 pp. $39.95.

Spontaneous Shelter: International Perspectives and Prospects Carl V. Patton, editor. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1988. 380 pp. $39.95.

Shelter, Settlement and Development Lloyd Rodwin, editor. Allen &; Unwin, Boston, 1987. 476 pp. $39.95.

Hopeful Openings: A Study of Five Women's Organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean Sally Yudelman. Kumarian Press, West Hartford, CT, 1987. 127 pp. $14.95 (paperback).

Women, Human Settlements, and Housing Caroline O. N. Moser and Linda Peake, editors. Tavistock, London and New York, 1987. 222 pp. $49.95 (cloth), $14.95 (paperback).

The Role of Women in Developing Countries: A Study International Center for Public Enterprises in Developing Countries, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. Distributed by Kumarian Press, West Hartford, CT. 1986. 121 pp. $10.00 (paperback).

Architecture of the Private Streets of St. Louis: The Architects and the Homes They Designed Charles C. Savage. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, 1987. 237 pp. $25.00.

Main Street Ready-Made: The New Deal Community of Greendale, Wisconsin Arnold R. Alanen and Joseph A. Eden. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, 1987. 156 pp. $20.00.

Black Philadelphia Street Life: South Philadelphia, 1969–1971 Dan Rose. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1987. 278 pp. $37.50 (cloth), $14.95 (paperback).     

Costs of Suburban Services

Abstract

A BASIC PROGRAM FOR WAR HOUSING: A Program for Housing Workers in War Industries: Recommendations of the National Committee on the Housing Emergency. National Committee on the Housing Emergency, 512 Fifth Avenue, New York City; Mrs. S. I. Rosenman, Chairman. May 1942. 10c per copy.

A TEXTBOOK FOR PLANNING IN LOS ANGELES: Cities Are For People. By MEL SCOTT, Pacific Southwest Academy, Los Angeles. 1942. 110 pages.

PLANNING EDUCATION IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS: Education for Planners. By HUCRI S. MORRISON. National Resources Planning Board, Region 1, 2100 Federal Building, Boston, Massachusetts. June 1942. 80 pages, mimeo.     

Book reviews

Women, Housing and Community. W. Van Vliet, (ed). Avebury: Aldershot. 1988. pp204. £30.00, cloth.

Accommodating Inequality: Gender and Housing. S. Watson, Allen and Unwin: London. pp157. £9.95 paper, £25.00 cloth.

Social Housing and the Social Services. by Paul Spicker. Harlow: Longman and the Institute of Housing, 1989. 143pp. £11.95 (paper).     

Book reviews

Implementing Housing Policy. Peter Malpass and Robin Means (eds) Buckingham: Open University Press, 1993, pp 194, £12.99.

Housing Policy in the 1990s. Johnston Birchall (ed) London: Routledge, 1992, pp 193, £12.99.

Housing Policy and Action. Peter Malpass, Matthew Warburton, Glen Bramley and Gavin Smart (eds) Bristol: SAUS, 1993, pp 115, £9.75.

Built to Last? Reflections on British Housing Policy. Carol Grant (ed). London: Roof, 1992, pp 177 £7.95 (paperback)

Dislodging the Welfare State? Housing and Privatization in Four European Nations. Lennart J. Lundqvist, Delft: Delft University Press. 1992. 144 pp.

The Crisis of London. A. Thornley (ed) London: Routledge, 1992. pp 213. £40 (hardback), £9.99 (paperback).

Hovels to High Rise. State Housing in Europe Since 1850. Anne Power. London and New York: Routledge, 1993. pp 434, £45.00 (hardback), £15.99 (paperback)

Government and Housing. W. van Vliet and J. van Weesep (eds).

Developments in Seven Countries. (1990). Volume 36, Urban Affairs Annual Reviews. Sage Publications, 1990. pp. 293 16.95

Housing Strategies in Europe, 1880–1930, C. Pooley (ed). Leicester University Press, 1992, £49.95

Housing Finance in the UK: An Introduction. Kenneth Gibb and Moira Munro, London: Macmillan Education Ltd, 1991. pp 266. £11.99 (paperback).     

Themes and contradictions in housing management: An analysis of bureaucratic discourse

The aim of this paper is to examine the ways in which housing management is socially constructed through analysis of the language and meaning used in one policy document, the Housing Management Standards Manual, produced by the Chartered Institute of Housing. Four recurrent themes are identified in the Manual which illustrate the ways in which language is used to construct the nature of the housing management task and build the professional and organizational structure which provides the framework for relations between housing managers and tenants. An analysis of the document illustrates the impact of contextual factors such as economic change, government policy and the restructuring of public sector management, which are facing housing management in Britain. The research on which this paper is based was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Lise Saugeres worked as a Research Associate with Bridget Franklin and David Clapham in the Centre for Housing Management and Development at Cardiff University on a two-year project on ‘the social construction of the occupational role of housing management’, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. She has recently obtained her Ph.D. from Manchester and has now been appointed as a Lecturer in Human Geography in Plymouth.     

Mediating the Medium

Abstract

Housing must be re-conceived as a generator—rather than the result—of a broader urban paradigm. The research and design of new forms of housing must emerge from contemporary urban topics and engage larger metropolitan and regional systems. Housing can become a viable initiator of new ways and forms of life in the contemporary metropolis only if we understand housing as a form of urbanism in and of itself.     

Book reviews

Policy, Organisation and Tenure: A Comparative History of Housing in Small Welfare States. Lennart J. Lundqvist (ed) Gothenburg, Scandinavian University Press, 1992, pp139, (hardback).

Social Work and Housing, G Stewart and J Stewart, Macmillan, 1993 pp188. £32.50 (hardback), £9.50 (paperback).

Markets, States and Housing Provision: Four European Growth Regions Compared, Progress in Planning, 38, part 2, p93–177. J. Barlow and S. Duncan. Oxford‐New York‐Seoul‐Tokyo: Pergaman Press, 1992.

Housing Conditions in Barbados: A Geographical Analysis. R. B. Potter, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1992, pp129 US$15.00.     

Accommodating New Housing Development in Rural Areas? Representations of Landscape,Land and Rurality in Ireland

Abstract

Housing development in rural localities represents one of the most visible and contested indicators of landscape change, as many European rural landscapes that are regulated by weak planning regimes are transformed by incremental suburbanisation. However, scant attention has been given to understanding stakeholder perceptions and interpretations of the physical processes of landscape change and preferences towards accommodating new housing development in rural areas among stakeholder groups. We address this deficit by drawing on a series of stakeholder focus groups undertaken in Ireland addressing: 1) stakeholder perceptions of landscape change and 2) attitudes towards future change scenarios based on digitally manipulated images of landscape change. The focus group analysis suggests a nuanced interpretation among rural residents of the impact of accommodating housing development, particularly in balancing local demand for rural housing with preferences for maintaining a sense of ‘rural character’; however, there were variations across rural space dependant on the extent of development experienced in recent years.     

Book reviews

Housing Finance in the 1990s. C. Whitehead & B. Turner (Eds)National Swedish Institute for Building Research, Gavle, 1993, 330 pp., ISBN 91–7111–068–2

Markets and Managers—New Issues in the Delivery of Welfare. Peter Taylor Gooby & Robyn Lawson (Eds) Buckingham, Open University Press, 1993, 190 pp., £37.50 hardback, £12.99 paperback

Housing Finance and Subsidies in Britain. Duncan Maclennan & Kenneth Gibb (Eds) Aldershot, Avebury, 1993, 218 pp., £35

The Estate Action Initiative: Council Housing Renewal, Management and Effectiveness. Ricardo Pinto Aldershot, Avebury, 1993, 286 pp., £35

Keeping to the Marketplace: the Evaluation of Canadian Housing Policy. John C. Bacher Montreal and Kingston, McGill‐Queens University Press, 1993, 327 pp., C$55.00, £42.45 UK

The Reform of Housing in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. B. Turner, J. Hegedüs & I. Tosics London, Routledge, 1992, 362 pp., £45 hardback

Neighbour Disputes: Responses by Social Landlords. Valerie Karn, Rachel Liskinn, David Hughes & John Cawley Coventry Institute of Housing, 1993, 158 pp.     

Trouble in paraside? On increasing housing problems in flanders

The survey data for this article was collected by the Center for Social Policy (Antwerp University). At regular intervals, they question a representative number of Belgian families in order to make the operation and effects of social policy measurable. On the basis of that data, this article traces the evolution of housing indicators in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. After outlining the key issues in housing policy in Belgium and Flanders, the article presents the facts: for several population groups, it sketches the developments of tenure, housing amenities, housing costs, and affordability. The emerging picture is one of overall improvement. Nevertheless, some groups lag behind, while new social groups in need of housing emerge (e.g., lone parents). Age and the number of incomes per family seem to be the breaking points. The second part deals specifically with the housing situation of young families (head under 40 years of age). This population group is (historically) responsible for most new building of houses in Belgium and Flanders. Since we observe a decline in ownership, the reasons for this decline are of strategic importance to our understanding of the level of new housing construction and scarcity on the housing market. At the time of the research,Pascal De Decker (sociologist and urban planner) held an appointment at the Center for Housing and Housing Policy (Steunpunt voor Wonen en Woonbeleid) at Antwerp University (UFSIA). At present, he is an expert consultant to the Cabinet of the Flemish Minister for Urban Policy and Housing. Bert Meulemans (sociologist) supervised the reported research on target groups. He is a researcher at the Center for Social Policy (Centrum voor Sociaal Beleid) at Antwerp University (UFSIA) Veerle Geurts (criminologist) is a researcher at the Center for Housing and Housing Policy (Steunpunt voor Wonen en Woonbeleid) at Antwerp University (UFSIA)     

Book reviews

Housing, Race and Law. Martin MacEwen. London: Routledge, 1991. ppxvii + 490.

Deterioration of the Public Sector Housing Stock. Diane Diacon. Aldershot: Avebury, 1991. pp267, £32.50 hardback.

The Colour of Money. The Impact of Housing Investment Decision Making on Black Housing Outcomes in London. Beverley Mullings. London: London Race and Housing Unit, Runnymede Trust 1991. pp142. £7.95.

Third World Housing in Social and Spatial Development: The Case of Jakarta. Lars Marcussen. Aldershot: Avebury, 1990. pp205. £28.50.

Clearance: The View from the Street. Frances Heywood and Mohammed Rashid Naz. Birmingham: Community Forum, 1990. pp284. £10.95.

No Place Like Home: The Hostels Experience. P. L. Garside, R. W. Grimshaw and F. J. Ward, Department of the Environment. London: HMSO. pp131, plus four Appendices and Bibliography. £16.00.

Housing and Labour Markets: Building the Connections. John Allen and Chris Hamnett (eds). London: Unwin Hyman, 1990. pp304, £14.95 (paper).     

Book reviews

Housing in Europe. edited by Martin Wynn. London: Croom Helm. 1983. pp. 325. £19.95.

National Housing Finance Systems: a Comparative Study. by Mark Boleat. 1985. London: Croom Helm, in association with the International Union of Building Societies and Savings Associations, pp. 489. £30.00.

Private Rented Housing in the United States and Europe. by Michael Harloe. London: Croom Helm. 1985. pp. 366. £22.50.     

Housing policy: Comparing international comparisons

Land and Housing Policies In Europe and The USA. Graham Hallett (ed). London: Routledge, 1988. pp216. £27.50.

Housing and Social Change in Europe and The USA. Michael Ball, Michael Harloe and Maartje Martens. London: Routledge, 1988. pp222. £30.00.

Polarisation and Social Housing: The British and French Experience. Peter Willmott and Alan Murie. London: Policy Studies Institute, 1988. pp101. £5.95.