Call For Papers: Housing Studies Association Annual Conference 2014, Tuesday 15th - Thursday 17th April, University of York, 'The Value of Housing'

Papers are invited from academics and practitioners in housing and related disciplines for the HSA’s 2014 Conference. The value of housing in recent years has focused on the negative financial aspects arising from economic recession. As we move towards recovery, important debates are on-going around access to and availability of affordable and appropriate housing across all tenures and all generations. This draws attention to the wider value that we place on housing in society. Individually a house is valued for meeting the most basic of needs – something that is starkly exposed by the multitude of problems that arise from being homeless or repossessed. The value of housing also becomes inextricably linked with neighbourhoods, social environments and landscapes of opportunity; access to communities, labour markets, education, health. Increasingly housing is being re-positioned from wobbly pillar to lynch pin of asset-based welfare policy. In this new era, the HSA conference provides an opportunity to discuss and debate these economic, social and moral values of housing.

Keynote Speakers will focus on three main themes:

• The value of housing to welfare
• A discussion around who is best placed to judge the value of housing
• The value of housing to the national economy

Confirmed Speakers include:

• Julia Unwin, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Misa Izuhara, University of Bristol
• Paul Tennant, Orbit (and President of CIH)
• Vidhya Alaekson, Resolution Foundation
• Ruth Davison, National Housing Federation
• Ben Harrison, Centre for Cities
• Alex Marsh, University of Bristol

Papers addressing aspects of housing policy, practice or theory are welcome on (but not limited to):

• The value of housing in poverty eradication
• Value of housing to occupants - sociological, identity, family, health, etc
• Costs of not having housing - homelessness, temporary accommodation, and welfare benefit changes
• Measuring the value of housing
• Value for money of investment in housing
• Protecting the value of housing wealth
• The value of home across the life course
• The moral discourse of housing supply and availability
• The value of housing for asset-based welfare
• Land values; housing shortages
• The value of housing’s wider-role

Offers of papers (a title and 200 word abstract) should be emailed to Anna Clarke acc44@cam.ac.uk and Beverley Searle b.a.searle@dundee.ac.uk by Friday 31 January. (Please note the organisers reserve a right to edit abstracts that exceed the 200 word limit).
An Early Career Stream will run in parallel with the main conference. Abstracts for this stream (also 200 word limit) should be sent to Gareth Young gjyoung1@shef.ac.uk and Ben Pattison bmp248@bham.ac.uk by Friday 31 January. Early Career delegates will be invited to submit a written paper after the conference in order to be considered for the Valerie Karn Memorial Prize.
Six bursaries, jointly funded by the HSA and Housing Studies Charitable Trust are available providing financial support for attending the conference. Details can be found on the HSA website.
For further details see the HAS website: www.housing-studies-association.org    

CRESR Policy Forum – Understanding social value: perspectives from the public and voluntary sectors

This policy forum aims to bring together researchers, policy makers and practitioners from the public and voluntary sectors to discuss their understanding and experiences of social value, particularly in the context of the Public Services (Social Value) Act, and the drive to commission better outcomes for people from disadvantaged and socially excluded groups.Three short presentations will be followed 30-45 minutes of facilitated discussion involving panellists and wider attendees.

• Chris Dayson, Sheffield Hallam University – What is social value and how can it be commissioned? Different stakeholder perspectives and why they matter
• Rachel Rhodes, National Association of Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) – The voluntary sector and local authorities: working together to maximise social value
• Lerleen Willis, Sheffield City Council Public Health Intelligence Team - Reflections from the CLAHRC South Yorkshire 　Public Health SROI Development Programme

Wednesday 4 December 4.00-5.30pm Venue: Room 7506 in the Stoddart Building, City Campus, Sheffield Hallam University.

News from Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research

New Appointments at CCHPR
Professor Michael Oxley, BSc (econ), MSc, PhD will take up the post of Director of CCHPR on 1st January 2014 succeeding Peter Williams who will continue as a fellow in the Centre. Mike is currently Professor of Housing at De Montfort University and a Visiting fellow at Delft University of Technology. After a lectureship in Economics at Reading University, he joined De Montfort in 1974, becoming Director of the Centre for Comparative Housing Research in 1995. He moved to Nottingham Trent University in 1999 to head the Centre for Residential Development before returning to De Montfort in 2005. Mike has an extensive publication list including his book Economics, Planning and Housing, published by Palgrave in 2004 and strong track record in funded research including the ESRC.

Sam Morris joins CCHPR from IFF Research, one of the largest independent research companies in the UK covering public and private sectors. Sam has a BA in Geography and a MA in Environment and Development. Between 2007 and 2011 he worked for Fordham Research on housing needs and strategic housing market assessments. Sam has a wide range of research expertise covering survey design and data analysis. He is working on the JRF funded project on poverty and housing organisations and the Shelter backed study on property investment.

New outputs
New estimates of housing demand and need in England, 2011-2031, by Alan Holmans
Key findings include the abrupt break with longer term trends in household formation in England between 2001 and 2011. Net additional household formation was down by some 20%,with almost 1 million fewer one-person households in 2011 than had been projected.
There were also other large scale shifts in the mix of household types, with far more couple-plus-other-adult households and multi-adult households than expected. In part this is about younger people staying at home or sharing accommodation for longer. But that is not the whole story as changes are observed in all age groups.
The official projections include the effects of the financial crisis and the subsequent recession, but these are not the only reason why household formation was so far below trend. A full copy of the paper is available from CCHPR

Managing hearing loss in vulnerable groups of the Cambridgeshire D/deaf communities　
This study is the second of two pieces of research exploring the use of different services in Cambridgeshire by people who are D/deaf. The first study found that there were gaps in service provision and knowledge about three vulnerable groups:
1. Older people in rural isolated areas
2. Older people in care homes
3. D/deaf people in need of advocacy services
This second report presents the findings of how these three groups are supported to manage their hearing loss in Cambridgeshire. Download the PDF here

The changing delivery of planning gain through Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy The aim of this research was to consider the issues shaping the delivery of planning obligations through S106 and to explore the potential impact of the new Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), particularly on the delivery of affordable housing. It builds on a previous study exploring the impact of the downturn on delivery of planning obligations through S106 and the impact of the transition to the CIL. The findings show that it is the complex interplay of local market conditions, site specific factors, local policy, practice and expertise that shape the level of planning gain that is viable on individual schemes, rather than simply the CIL rate or affordable housing policy. Download a PDF version here

Building an effective safety net for home owners and the housing market
Mortgage arrears and possessions have not risen to the levels suffered in the last housing market downturn – mainly due to the sharp fall in interest rates, and temporary industry and Government support measures – but with the downturn continuing they are forecast to rise substantially.Mortgage arrears are a systemic feature of home-ownership. Events beyond the control of the households concerned – e.g. loss of income due to unemployment, ill-health or household break-ups – cannot be eradicated by a more prudent mortgage lending regime.The current UK safety net for home-buyers is patchy, and is set to be weakened further under Universal Credit and with a further decline in the take-up of mortgage payment protection insurance because of new rules governing the sales process. Voluntary take-up had already declined before the downturn so there can be no credible return to the prior policy of relying on this.The study highlights two key options for providing a more effective safety net while balancing out risks, responsibilities, roles and costs. The most effective would be a compulsory new partnership, similar to the Sustainable Home Ownership Partnership (SHOP) scheme. The scope and costs of the scheme could be modified by making longer-term benefit payments a charge on the borrowers' homes. A second option would be a new partnership structure based around continued forbearance, an auto-enrolled private insurance system and a state-backed payment system, with longer-term costs being charged to homes. This report is available from the JRF website

Social housing in the East: Challenges for the region and implications for the UK
This report is designed to inform the strategic thinking of national and local government and the social housing sector. It also aims to build public understanding of the key challenges and opportunities that the region will face in the future. Download the report here

Analysis of the potential value for money to the public purse of the Lincolnshire Home Improvement Agency Housing Options Advice service
This report analyses the potential savings to the public purse of the Lincolnshire Home Improvement Agency (LHIA) housing options advice service. The methodology builds on research conducted for the large scale evaluation of the national FirstStop service conducted by the University of Cambridge. The analysis shows that the service has the potential to not only improve the quality of life, health, wellbeing and social isolation of individuals who use the housing options service, but to also generate savings to the public purse by preventing homelessness, unwanted or early entry into residential care, falls in the home, health deterioration as a result of unsuitable housing and can reduce under-occupation and free up much needed family housing, whilst helping older people to remain healthy and independent in the most suitable housing for their needs. A PDF version of this report can be downloaded here

New Projects
Evaluation of the FirstStop Information and Advice Initiative
FirstStop is an independent, free service offering advice and information to older people, their families and carers about housing and care options in later life. It is led by the charity Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC) in partnership with other national and local organisations and funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). FirstStop delivers information and advice through a national telephone helpline and website. FirstStop has also seed-funded a number of local information and advice services which aim to raise the profile of housing options for older people in their area and to provide a face to face case work service to older people. The Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research has been evaluating the FirstStop service since 2009 and will continue to work closely with FirstStop through 2013/14.

Poverty focused review of housing organisations’ strategic and business plans The Joseph Rowntree foundation has commissioned CCHPR to carry out a poverty-focussed review of housing organisations’ strategic and business plans. With input from Savills, this project will explore where poverty fits within the strategies, policies and business plans of local authorities, housing associations and private landlords. It will involve detailed analysis of business plans, housing and organisational strategies, annual reports, tenancy strategies, allocations and lettings policies and other relevant strategies. It will also assess the implementation of strategies, policies and business plans, with a view to assessing how far practice converges with, or diverges from, strategy. It will cover different housing market areas in order to assess how far housing market type is a factor affecting organisations or individuals approach to addressing poverty within their strategic and operational functions.

Sustainable Access for Starters on the the Amsterdam Housing Market - Centre for Urban Studies, The University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

This report has been commissioned by the Ministry of Interior Affairs in the Netherlands and conducted by four researchers from the Centre for Urban Studies: Richard Ronald, Willem Boterman, Cody Hochstenbach and Marijn Sleurink. The executive summary is available for download from Center for Urban Studies

Meeting of the Royal Statistical Society Social Statistics section “Recent Advances in Research on Housing Transitions and the Life Course”

Date: Tuesday 10 December 2013
Time: 10am-5pm (followed by a drinks reception)
Location: Royal Statistical Society, 12 Errol Street, London EC1Y 8LX
Details:The Royal Statistical Society, Social Statistics Section is pleased to announce a one-day symposium on recent developments in research on housing transitions through the life course. The event will feature presentations from leading international demographers, geographers and economists on different aspects of housing careers. Topics include:

• the interrelationship between housing and fertility: childbearing patterns by housing conditions and housing changes after the birth of a child
• wage, employment and house-price effects on migration
• intergenerational transmission of home ownership and neighbourhood poverty
• residential mobility, neighbourhood poverty dynamics and neighbourhood choice among families

The symposium is sponsored by the ESRC-funded project "Interrelationships between housing transitions and fertility". For further details go to University of Bristol - housing research
Speakers:
William A.V. Clark (University of California, Los Angeles)
Clara Mulder (University of Groningen),
Heather Joshi (Institute of Education)
Hill Kulu (University of Liverpool)
David Manley (University of Bristol)
Birgitta Rabe (University of Essex)
Elizabeth Washbrook (University of Bristol)
The programme and abstracts are at Housing symposium
Registration: All are welcome and attendance is free. Refreshments will be provided, including lunch and a drinks reception. However, advance registration is essential. Please complete the online registration form at Symposium bookings to reserve your place.　　

Job advert: Senior Lecturer/Reader in Town & Regional Planning at University of Sheffield

The Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Sheffield seeks to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced individual to the post of Senior Lecturer/Reader. Further details can be found at http://tinyurl.com/o8jovyd
The deadline for applications is 23 October, and interviews will be held on Thursday 07 November.

New posts in Quantitative Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University

The Faculty of Development Society at Sheffield Hallam University is seeking to make two appointments: one to research fellow/senior research fellow and one to research associate. Both posts are to strengthen our capacity in quantitative social research.

More details are at: http://www.shu.ac.uk/jobs/vacancies/academic/

The Faculty of Development and Society has a national reputation for policy research. Its expertise lies primarily in four contract research and knowledge transfer centres: Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR); Hallam Centre for Community Justice (HCCJ); Centre for Education and Inclusion Research (CEIR); Centre for Science Education (CSE).

From Autumn 2013 CRESR and HCCJ will be co-located in a new institute of policy research, with close links to both CSE and CEIR as well as other policy related centres across the University. Building on our existing high profile in data analysis and reputation for quantitative social research, the University is investing in a new Research Fellow/ Senior Research Fellow.

Applicants are sought who can make a major contribution to our work in the following areas: value for money and impact evaluation studies; measurement of social value and wellbeing; application of statistical and econometric techniques; analysis of spatial data drawn from secondary and primary sources; design, administration and analysis of survey data using appropriate packages.

You will need strong analytical and organisational skills as you will work within project teams and deliver to deadlines. It is essential to be able to communicate complex findings to a variety of audiences in a straight forward manner. At Research Fellow/ Senior Research Fellow level you will have experience of income generation, project management, and policy and academic publication.

Housing Studies Association, Annual Conference 2014, Tuesday 15th- Thursday 17th April, University of York, UK, 'The Value of Housing'

Papers are invited from academics and practitioners in housing and related disciplines for the HSA’s 2014 Conference.The value of housing in recent years has focused on the negative financial aspects arising from economic recession. As we move towards recovery, important debates are on-going around access to and availability of affordable and appropriate housing across all tenures and all generations.This draws attention to the wider value that we place on housing in society. Individually a house is valued for meeting the most basic of needs – something that is starkly exposed by the multitude of problems that arise from being homeless or repossessed. The value of housing also becomes inextricably linked with neighbourhoods, social environments and landscapes of opportunity; access to communities, labour markets, education, health. Increasingly housing is being re-positioned from wobbly pillar to lynch pin of asset-based welfare policy. In this new era, the HSA conference provides an opportunity to discuss and debate these economic, social and moral values of housing.
Keynote Speakers will focus on three main themes:　

• The value of housing to welfare
• A discussion around who is best placed to judge the value of housing
• The value of housing to the national economy

Confirmed Speakers include:

• Julia Unwin, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Professor Susan J Smith, University of Cambridge
• Paul Tennant, Orbit (and President of CIH)　
• Vidhya Alaekson, Resolution Foundation
• Ruth Davison, National Housing Federation
• Ben Harrison, Centre for Cities

Papers addressing aspects of housing policy, practice or theory are welcome on (but not limited to):

• The value of housing in poverty eradication
• Value of housing to occupants - sociological, identity, family, health, etc
• Costs of not having housing - homelessness, temporary accommodation, and welfare benefit changes
• Measuring the value of housing　
• Value for money of investment in housing
• Protecting the value of housing wealth
• The value of home across the life course
• The moral discourse of housing supply and availability
• The value of housing for asset-based welfare
• Land values; housing shortages
• The value of housing’s wider-role

Offers of papers (a title and 200 word abstract) should be emailed to Anna Clarke (acc44@cam.ac.uk) and Beverley Searle (b.a.searle@dundee.ac.uk) by Friday 31 January.　 (Please note the organisers reserve a right to edit abstracts that exceed the 200 word limit).　

An Early Career Stream will run in parallel with the main conference.　 Abstracts for this stream (also 200 word limit) should be sent to Gareth Young (gjyoung1@shef.ac.uk ) and Ben Pattison (bmp248@bham.ac.uk) by Friday 31 January.　 Early Career delegates will be invited to submit a written paper after the conference in order to be considered for the Valerie Karn Memorial Prize.
Six bursaries, jointly funded by the HSA and Housing Studies Charitable Trust are available providing financial support for attending the conference.　 Details can be found on the HSA website.
For further details also visit  the HSA website
　

European Housing Markets, Economics and Finance – After the Crisis (Special issue call for papers from Journal of European Real Estate Research)

Guest editors: Kenneth Gibb (University of Glasgow), Alex Marsh (University of Bristol)

Introduction to the Special Issue
National European housing systems were affected to different degrees by the immediate and longer-term impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) after 2007. In some cases the effect was profound. Not only did the GFC bring an end to the benign macroeconomic conditions of the ‘great moderation’ but it exposed the fragility of highly-leveraged mortgage markets. This led to an historic downturn in real housing markets: in new development; in property transactions; and, often, in prices for housing and land. In several countries this market downturn had wider effects on national and regional economies, as well as disadvantaging citizens, communities and opportunities. It is arguably the case that many economists including those working in housing and real estate research either missed or misunderstood the evidence prior to the crash.

In this special issue papers are invited that reflect on this housing market reversal from a national and comparative European perspective (and a regional focus where that is appropriate). The editors are interested in original conceptual, empirical and policy papers. They are not seeking simple factual accounts of the downturn and its impacts on national housing systems – much of this ground has already been covered. Rather, the opportunity is offered for authors to contribute papers that go further and genuinely add to our understanding by exploring the underlying processes and their implications.

Scope
Specifically, the editors would welcome papers addressing the following subjects (or clearly related subjects, by agreement):

• Why were some national housing systems more resilient than others and less affected by the crisis? What are their key features and what lessons can be learned?
• To what extent were the housing economics profession and its models of markets ready and fit for purpose? How well were we able to explain the transmission mechanisms that resulted in serious damage to national housing markets and economies in different parts of Europe after 2007? How well were we predicting the scale of these impacts in advance of the GFC? What lessons can we take from the experience? What lessons have been taken by market actors (including Governments) from the experience?
• How have national housing market policies responded to the crisis and how do those responses relate to macroeconomic policy responses post 2007?
• How has national mortgage market and related policy responded? What impact has that had upon the functioning of the housing market?

Papers are welcome that focus on a single country, undertake comparative research (suitably methodologically grounded), or distinguish contrasting regions within a nation. Papers are also welcome from a non-mainstream economic perspective as well as rigorous conceptual and empirical mainstream contributions.

Submission
The editors would welcome correspondence about potential submissions. In the first instance, please send abstracts to Ken Gibb at ken.gibb@glasgow.ac.uk.

All papers will be double blind peer reviewed and read by the Editors. Papers should be submitted in the normal way to JERER, but in order for papers to be considered for this Special Issue authors must conform to the following timetable.
Key dates:

• Deadline for submission of abstracts and editorial approval to submit – by 31st October 2013
• Deadline for submission of draft papers – 31st January 2014 (this is a hard and non-moving deadline)
• Review of draft papers returned to authors by 31st March 2014
• Deadline for revised & finalized papers by 30th June 2014 (this is another hard non-moving deadline)

Please note that, as there are size restrictions on any one issue of JERER, papers maybe accepted for publication by this route but might not be accepted for the special issue. Such papers will be published in the first available spaces of the journal in a standard issue thereafter.
Please contact the editors if you would like to discuss any aspect of this special issue, including the possible submission of a paper and whether or not it would be in scope. Details are also available from Emerald
 

Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (Sheffield Hallam University) 2013/14 Seminar Series

CRESRs 2013/14 monthly seminar series starts on 2 October 2013 with a presentation from Henk Vissche of TU Delf entitled 'Sustainable Housing Transformations - reflections on the experience of the Netherlands'.
For details of the 2013/14 programme visit CRESR Events