Planning for Anywhere: Housing Policy in Northern Ireland

The establishment of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) in 1971 was a response to a complex crises in which the existence of the state, the objectivity of policy and housing allocation and supply decisions were questioned. By adopting highly technocratic values, systems and policies the NIHE successfully depoliticised housing in a short and highly productive period. However, the organisation's most recent strategic policy statements ignore the local ethnic context within which housing need is analysed and determined. This paper offers some explanations for this and highlights the need for a more positive and open engagement of the reality of ethnic cleavages and how they shape the local housing scene.