£15 + p&p
Written by leading housing academics, The future of social housing is the brand new title published by Shelter. In the wake of wide-ranging debates about the role and purpose of social housing in the twenty-first century, this timely collection of essays takes an in-depth look at the strengths of the social housing sector and the key challenges that it faces.
Order online at www.shelter.org.uk/futuresocialhousing; or email publications@shelter.org.uk or call 0844 515 2036 for other order options.
If you are a lecturer and would like an inspection copy, please email publications@shelter.org.uk for further details.
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Monday, 27 October 2008
HSA Annual Conference 2009 - FIRST CALL
Housing and Government: A Decade of Difference?
Cardiff University, April 15 -17 2009
Over the past decade we have seen the emergence of fragmented policy-making in the UK. Constitutional change has led to varying amounts of power being devolved to new government structures in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This has allowed the development of different approaches to the provision and consumption of housing across the four jurisdictions and has impacted upon policy-making and service delivery. However, the potential for the emergence of new forms of relationships between different levels of government and service providers is constrained by external factors.
This conference is intended to provide a space for reflection on the differences, similarities, constraints and opportunities that have emerged and explore the responses to problems and issues that have arisen both between and within individual countries
Confirmed contributors include:
- Dr Matthew Watson, Warwick University
- Professor Kevin Morgan, Cardiff University
- Jocelyn Davies AM, Minister for Housing, Welsh Assembly Government
- Ken Gibb, Glasgow University
- Grainia Long, Director, CIH Northern Ireland
Further details of the conference can be found on the conference website.
Major themes for the conference, which is being organised by Pauline Card of Cardiff University and Jane Mudd of University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC), are:
- Housing Policy: A Decade of Difference?
- How different are the responses to common problems? What impact has the fragmentation of government had on the policy making process?
- Providing and Governing Housing
- Are new types of housing organisation emerging? Have financial and regulatory frameworks diverged? How have housing organisations developed within, and responded to different financial, legislative and regulatory frameworks?
- Consuming Housing
- Have issues of access to housing diverged? How are the needs of different groups being met? What issues are emerging as priorities for the next ten years?
The questions raised can be explored within a number of key policy contexts, including: homelessness, community participation, regulation, housing strategy, housing management, allocations, housing market analysis etc.
Following its success at last year’s conference, an Early Career Housing Scholar Stream will again run in parallel with the main conference.
CALL FOR PAPERS
Offers of papers (title plus 200 word abstract) should be e-mailed to CardPD@cf.ac.uk and jmudd@uwic.ac.uk . The closing date for abstracts is Friday, 30th January 2009. We welcome papers that fall outside the main conference themes and particularly papers from those with policy and practice backgrounds.
Monday, 13 October 2008
New Poll: Should the ‘the tenancy for life’ for social housing tenants be scrapped as the CIH has recently proposed?
Please leave comments on the latest HSA poll here.
Ed.
Ed.
Monday, 6 October 2008
Poll Result
Securing an urban renaissance: crime, community and British urban policy
Rowland Atkinson and Gesa Helms (2007)
The Policy Press
Paperback £22.99 ISBN 9781861348142Hardback £60.00 ISBN 9781861348159
Sometimes it’s good to stand back and, as Craig Raine would have it, see things as a Martian visitor. My postcard home recently would have been about the 83,000 adults currently locked up in UK jails – plus another 2,500 children. Yet another ‘record high’ was announced in May. According to the Howard League for Penal Reform (2008), fifteen years ago the number of adults in prison was 42,000.
Is this what New Labour meant when it said it would be ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’ (Labour Party, 1997)? Over much the same period of this unwanted aspect of growth, recorded crime has been falling (Jansson, 2006). Yet new punitive measures are always on the agenda for governments keen to show they are taking decisive action on behalf of ‘communities’. For some pointers to how and why we have come to this, ‘Securing an urban renaissance’ gives excellent food for thought. It’s not about prisons, but about the urban settings, ordinary lives and high politics that condition us, and that shape all our futures whether with liberty or its opposite.
This multi-authored book came out of a conference held in 2005. Its claim is to bring together academics from the previously separate disciplines of urban studies, criminology and community studies. In truth, as the contributions show, there are close links across them.
In the early chapters first Kevin Stenson and then Mike Raco outline the ways that urban policy and ideas about urban renaissance have developed. Under New Labour there’s been a new impetus for city renewal, starting first with the city core and then extending to tackling other neighbourhoods. But as Stenson shows, the agenda has become strongly interwoven with government initiatives to reduce crime and disorder. The drive for sanitised, orderly urban places to replace the vivacious, chaotic life of cities has resulted in a situation where, he concludes, ‘the most powerful visions of order come from the corporate world, from the supermarkets and other massive retail chains’.
Governments’ use of urban renewal to pursue a crime and disorder agenda will be a familiar theme to social housing practitioners, who in England at least are obliged to fulfil a range of commitments from signing up to the Respect standard for housing management to helping shut down crack houses. Johnston and Mooney’s chapter in this book concentrates on council estates and the way that term has become synonymous with ‘problem’. In a paper that nicely situates current mores within a longer historical timespan, they outline how the idea of overcoming social exclusion has cloaked the reappearance of a much older moral framework that seeks to clamp down on the sites of disorder and disorganisation – and of course the disreputable poor who live there. They comment: ‘In relation to identifying the “worst” estates or neighbourhoods, definition comes a poor second to the stereotyping language that prevails.’
As several writers in this book point out though, New Labour’s social inclusion agenda relies on those same people, now recast as the backbone of their local community, to become active, ‘engaged’ citizens. The activities they are engaged in ensure order and socially acceptable forms of behaviour, while those who fail to engage remain stigmatised: they stay poor and disadvantaged not simply because their income is low, but ‘because they have not networked enough and have insufficient social capital’.
Other chapters deal with a refreshingly wide range of subjects, including prostitution, community-police relations, begging, and youth disorder. Wood et al’s study of the security for Labour’s 2005 conference in Gateshead, complete with ‘ring of steel’ (a wire fence) uses participant observation to apply the boltcutters with a certain flair.
Perhaps the most challenging piece is Lynn Hancock’s exploration titled ‘Is urban regeneration criminogenic?’. The editors say she is asking the question provocatively but that does not mean this is a polemic. Instead, Hancock builds her evidence carefully, beginning with why people suffering poverty and disadvantage become clustered geographically, and how New Labour promised joined-up government to tackle multiple urban issues. The problem was that the wrong bits got joined up. The new focus on ‘community safety’ became equated with crime reduction; increasingly draconian measures on anti-social behaviour were coupled with inclusion strategies that relied on eradicating undesirable behaviour and lifestyles.
Hancock points to the market-driven, consumption based nature of modern urban regeneration. That in turn leads to gentrification and a tendency to reinforce the values of consumption rather than citizenship. She adds that for some of the most disadvantaged and politically powerless, the right to occupy public space has been effectively suspended. ‘Property-led gentrification is reshaping the social mix of inner city communities in ways that not only undermine rhetorical communitarian ideals, but promote intolerance.’
As always with collections, this book lacks a clear single narrative. Nevertheless it builds a powerful impression in patchwork form of a control agenda seated within government renewal policies. Much of the book offers a gloomy prognosis of what the editors call ‘a new kind of vengeful urbanism’ where those communities that have the chance will withdraw, and then call for ‘the remote control and punishment of those that make them feel afraid’. To spur ourselves into doing better in future, we might perhaps first cast a glance to those crime and prison figures – oddly absent from this book but surely relevant to any discussion of trends in UK society. If the British Crime Survey is right in its assessment that crime has fallen at least in part because of the economic boom of the last decade, then in these harder times we may see yet more urban fracturing. On this book’s evidence of authoritarian control and redemption only for the deserving we should all be worried.
References
Howard League for Penal Reform, Weekly prison watch, web accessed June 2008 at http://www.howardleague.org/
Jansson, K (2006), British Crime Survey, Home Office
Labour Party (1997), New Labour because Britain deserves better, Labour Party
Janis Bright CRESR, Sheffield Hallam University
The Policy Press
Paperback £22.99 ISBN 9781861348142Hardback £60.00 ISBN 9781861348159
Sometimes it’s good to stand back and, as Craig Raine would have it, see things as a Martian visitor. My postcard home recently would have been about the 83,000 adults currently locked up in UK jails – plus another 2,500 children. Yet another ‘record high’ was announced in May. According to the Howard League for Penal Reform (2008), fifteen years ago the number of adults in prison was 42,000.
Is this what New Labour meant when it said it would be ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’ (Labour Party, 1997)? Over much the same period of this unwanted aspect of growth, recorded crime has been falling (Jansson, 2006). Yet new punitive measures are always on the agenda for governments keen to show they are taking decisive action on behalf of ‘communities’. For some pointers to how and why we have come to this, ‘Securing an urban renaissance’ gives excellent food for thought. It’s not about prisons, but about the urban settings, ordinary lives and high politics that condition us, and that shape all our futures whether with liberty or its opposite.
This multi-authored book came out of a conference held in 2005. Its claim is to bring together academics from the previously separate disciplines of urban studies, criminology and community studies. In truth, as the contributions show, there are close links across them.
In the early chapters first Kevin Stenson and then Mike Raco outline the ways that urban policy and ideas about urban renaissance have developed. Under New Labour there’s been a new impetus for city renewal, starting first with the city core and then extending to tackling other neighbourhoods. But as Stenson shows, the agenda has become strongly interwoven with government initiatives to reduce crime and disorder. The drive for sanitised, orderly urban places to replace the vivacious, chaotic life of cities has resulted in a situation where, he concludes, ‘the most powerful visions of order come from the corporate world, from the supermarkets and other massive retail chains’.
Governments’ use of urban renewal to pursue a crime and disorder agenda will be a familiar theme to social housing practitioners, who in England at least are obliged to fulfil a range of commitments from signing up to the Respect standard for housing management to helping shut down crack houses. Johnston and Mooney’s chapter in this book concentrates on council estates and the way that term has become synonymous with ‘problem’. In a paper that nicely situates current mores within a longer historical timespan, they outline how the idea of overcoming social exclusion has cloaked the reappearance of a much older moral framework that seeks to clamp down on the sites of disorder and disorganisation – and of course the disreputable poor who live there. They comment: ‘In relation to identifying the “worst” estates or neighbourhoods, definition comes a poor second to the stereotyping language that prevails.’
As several writers in this book point out though, New Labour’s social inclusion agenda relies on those same people, now recast as the backbone of their local community, to become active, ‘engaged’ citizens. The activities they are engaged in ensure order and socially acceptable forms of behaviour, while those who fail to engage remain stigmatised: they stay poor and disadvantaged not simply because their income is low, but ‘because they have not networked enough and have insufficient social capital’.
Other chapters deal with a refreshingly wide range of subjects, including prostitution, community-police relations, begging, and youth disorder. Wood et al’s study of the security for Labour’s 2005 conference in Gateshead, complete with ‘ring of steel’ (a wire fence) uses participant observation to apply the boltcutters with a certain flair.
Perhaps the most challenging piece is Lynn Hancock’s exploration titled ‘Is urban regeneration criminogenic?’. The editors say she is asking the question provocatively but that does not mean this is a polemic. Instead, Hancock builds her evidence carefully, beginning with why people suffering poverty and disadvantage become clustered geographically, and how New Labour promised joined-up government to tackle multiple urban issues. The problem was that the wrong bits got joined up. The new focus on ‘community safety’ became equated with crime reduction; increasingly draconian measures on anti-social behaviour were coupled with inclusion strategies that relied on eradicating undesirable behaviour and lifestyles.
Hancock points to the market-driven, consumption based nature of modern urban regeneration. That in turn leads to gentrification and a tendency to reinforce the values of consumption rather than citizenship. She adds that for some of the most disadvantaged and politically powerless, the right to occupy public space has been effectively suspended. ‘Property-led gentrification is reshaping the social mix of inner city communities in ways that not only undermine rhetorical communitarian ideals, but promote intolerance.’
As always with collections, this book lacks a clear single narrative. Nevertheless it builds a powerful impression in patchwork form of a control agenda seated within government renewal policies. Much of the book offers a gloomy prognosis of what the editors call ‘a new kind of vengeful urbanism’ where those communities that have the chance will withdraw, and then call for ‘the remote control and punishment of those that make them feel afraid’. To spur ourselves into doing better in future, we might perhaps first cast a glance to those crime and prison figures – oddly absent from this book but surely relevant to any discussion of trends in UK society. If the British Crime Survey is right in its assessment that crime has fallen at least in part because of the economic boom of the last decade, then in these harder times we may see yet more urban fracturing. On this book’s evidence of authoritarian control and redemption only for the deserving we should all be worried.
References
Howard League for Penal Reform, Weekly prison watch, web accessed June 2008 at http://www.howardleague.org/
Jansson, K (2006), British Crime Survey, Home Office
Labour Party (1997), New Labour because Britain deserves better, Labour Party
Janis Bright CRESR, Sheffield Hallam University
New Academic Publications
Casey, R. (2008) “On Becoming a Social Housing Manager: work identities in an ‘invisible’ occupation”, Housing Studies 23 (5): 761 – 780.
Jeannot, G., Goodchild, B. and Hickman, P. (2008) ‘Les Nouveaux Métiers de la ville Pouvoirs Publics et Recherche Urbaine, Les Annales de la Recherche Urbain, No. 104 : 110-109.
Goodchild, B., Mboumoua, I, Hall, S, Hickman, P and Waeles, L. (2008) ‘Polarisation Sociale, Implication Habitante et Accès aux Services Publics Dans les Quartiers en Crise: Regards Croisés des Pratiques et Méthodes en France et en Angleterre’, in Aubertel, P. and Ménard, F. (eds) La Ville Pour Tous, Un Enjeu les Services Publics, pp 107-116, Plan Urbanisme Construction Architecture (PUCA), Paris.
Jeannot, G., Goodchild, B. and Hickman, P. (2008) ‘Les Nouveaux Métiers de la ville Pouvoirs Publics et Recherche Urbaine, Les Annales de la Recherche Urbain, No. 104 : 110-109.
Goodchild, B., Mboumoua, I, Hall, S, Hickman, P and Waeles, L. (2008) ‘Polarisation Sociale, Implication Habitante et Accès aux Services Publics Dans les Quartiers en Crise: Regards Croisés des Pratiques et Méthodes en France et en Angleterre’, in Aubertel, P. and Ménard, F. (eds) La Ville Pour Tous, Un Enjeu les Services Publics, pp 107-116, Plan Urbanisme Construction Architecture (PUCA), Paris.
A Geographical Fact or a Thing of the Mind? Rediscovering Ulster and the Northern Irish identity
The debate regarding the existence of a specific Ulster or Northern Irish 'identity' can be summed up in two statements made in the early stages of what later developed into the 'Troubles'. The first is a comment made by Edward Carson, one of the founding fathers of the Unionist movement in 1914 who argued that 'Ulster is a geographical fact'; the second was made by Eamonn De Valera, who later became Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, asserting that 'Ulster is a thing of the mind only, non-existent in the world of reality' (Graham 1994: 257). Although both of these statements were made some time ago, the two opposing views that they express are at the core of the 'Northern Ireland debate'. The recognition of Northern Ireland as a separate entity is a key component in each of the conflicting discourses. For Republican Nationalists, recognising Northern Ireland would almost be a sign of surrender, the acceptance of an eternally divided Ireland whereas for Unionists, Northern Ireland is the last bastion of the British Empire in Ireland, a protective zone without which they would be 'pushed into the sea' by the Nationalist majority in Ireland.
What is interesting about both of these points of view is that each views Northern Ireland's 'regional identity' so to speak as inherently tied to the identity politics of another area. The rhetoric of both sides, both Nationalist and Unionist, conflates the identity of Northern Ireland with the identity of the island of Ireland as a whole or the identity of the United Kingdom as a whole. Although this is not entirely surprising given the historical and cultural experiences of inhabitants of Northern Ireland, is does cause some problems for analyses of Northern Ireland within the present political context in Britain. Given the drive towards devolution and recognition of regional identities within Britain, the debate regarding the existence of Northern Ireland as a specific region raises some serious questions for the politics of the region not least the question of whether a Northern Irish identity exists at all.
Of course this is not to say that a region needs to have a homogeneous identity, but in light of the attempt to graft further decision-making power onto regions in the UK, the continuing confusion regarding the existence of Northern Ireland as a socio-political region onto itself appears at best anachronistic and at worst prohibitive to political development within the area. Fundamentally, the question of how political power can be devolved to Northern Ireland if a sizeable proportion of Northern Ireland's population still believe that the political entity of Northern Ireland does not exist still remains unasked.
However, this is not a blanket criticism of the worth of existing explorations into the politics of Northern Ireland or attempts to devolve political power to Northern Ireland. On the contrary, I applaud efforts to involve residents of Northern Ireland in the decision-making process and in light of the political debates particular to Northern Ireland a move towards some form of devolved 'self-rule' cannot be praised enough and it would be wrong to condemn the steps that have been taken to allow this 'self-rule'. Nevertheless it would be equally wrong to ignore the continuing gaps in research into the politics of Northern Ireland specifically with regard to regional identity in the area. Despite the proliferation of research into partnership working and cross-community initiatives since the conflict in Northern Ireland (or the 'Troubles') has lessened, it would appear that little attention has been paid to the nature of Northern Ireland as a whole by social scientists and few empirical investigations explore the views expressed by De Valera and Carson sufficiently.
For this reason, I wish to suggest two things. Firstly, that there is a dearth in investigations, both theoretical and empirical, into the identity of Northern Ireland as a whole. Admittedly the process of identification amongst differing groups in Northern Ireland - e.g. the Catholics in Northern Ireland, the Protestants in Northern Ireland, young people in Northern Ireland and so on - has long been the subject of in-depth empirical analyses but this does not negate the fact that the question of what Northern Ireland actually is remains largely unanswered.
Secondly, I seek to suggest that the very fact that existing investigations into identity politics in Northern Ireland are rooted in this conflict schematic could potentially skew these analyses. By this I mean that, by using the conflict in Northern Ireland as the base of all research, research into the identity of Northern Ireland as a whole could be, in some respects, impossible. Identity in Northern Ireland will always be contested, always an area of conflict and never over-arching. Although this could of course be due to the socio-political and cultural history of the area and in the absence of detailed empirical evidence it is difficult to draw any real conclusions other than theoretical observations, it is an issue which requires further attention by researchers.
Overall, although there has been quite a substantial amount of attention paid to identity politics in Northern Ireland, I would argue that there is an equally substantial gap in existing research specifically in relation to the existence of a Northern Irish identity. Certainly previous research has highlighted the distinct characteristics of different groups in Northern Ireland but I would argue that this is still not enough. Essentially, as social science research, how can we investigate, with any degree of certainty, the politics of Northern Ireland after the Troubles if we don't first investigate what Northern Ireland actually is?
Deirdre Duffy, Research Associate
CRESR, Sheffield Hallam University
References
Graham, B.J. (1994) “No Place of the Mind: Contested Protestant Representations of Ulster”, Cultural Geographies 1(3): 257-281.
What is interesting about both of these points of view is that each views Northern Ireland's 'regional identity' so to speak as inherently tied to the identity politics of another area. The rhetoric of both sides, both Nationalist and Unionist, conflates the identity of Northern Ireland with the identity of the island of Ireland as a whole or the identity of the United Kingdom as a whole. Although this is not entirely surprising given the historical and cultural experiences of inhabitants of Northern Ireland, is does cause some problems for analyses of Northern Ireland within the present political context in Britain. Given the drive towards devolution and recognition of regional identities within Britain, the debate regarding the existence of Northern Ireland as a specific region raises some serious questions for the politics of the region not least the question of whether a Northern Irish identity exists at all.
Of course this is not to say that a region needs to have a homogeneous identity, but in light of the attempt to graft further decision-making power onto regions in the UK, the continuing confusion regarding the existence of Northern Ireland as a socio-political region onto itself appears at best anachronistic and at worst prohibitive to political development within the area. Fundamentally, the question of how political power can be devolved to Northern Ireland if a sizeable proportion of Northern Ireland's population still believe that the political entity of Northern Ireland does not exist still remains unasked.
However, this is not a blanket criticism of the worth of existing explorations into the politics of Northern Ireland or attempts to devolve political power to Northern Ireland. On the contrary, I applaud efforts to involve residents of Northern Ireland in the decision-making process and in light of the political debates particular to Northern Ireland a move towards some form of devolved 'self-rule' cannot be praised enough and it would be wrong to condemn the steps that have been taken to allow this 'self-rule'. Nevertheless it would be equally wrong to ignore the continuing gaps in research into the politics of Northern Ireland specifically with regard to regional identity in the area. Despite the proliferation of research into partnership working and cross-community initiatives since the conflict in Northern Ireland (or the 'Troubles') has lessened, it would appear that little attention has been paid to the nature of Northern Ireland as a whole by social scientists and few empirical investigations explore the views expressed by De Valera and Carson sufficiently.
For this reason, I wish to suggest two things. Firstly, that there is a dearth in investigations, both theoretical and empirical, into the identity of Northern Ireland as a whole. Admittedly the process of identification amongst differing groups in Northern Ireland - e.g. the Catholics in Northern Ireland, the Protestants in Northern Ireland, young people in Northern Ireland and so on - has long been the subject of in-depth empirical analyses but this does not negate the fact that the question of what Northern Ireland actually is remains largely unanswered.
Secondly, I seek to suggest that the very fact that existing investigations into identity politics in Northern Ireland are rooted in this conflict schematic could potentially skew these analyses. By this I mean that, by using the conflict in Northern Ireland as the base of all research, research into the identity of Northern Ireland as a whole could be, in some respects, impossible. Identity in Northern Ireland will always be contested, always an area of conflict and never over-arching. Although this could of course be due to the socio-political and cultural history of the area and in the absence of detailed empirical evidence it is difficult to draw any real conclusions other than theoretical observations, it is an issue which requires further attention by researchers.
Overall, although there has been quite a substantial amount of attention paid to identity politics in Northern Ireland, I would argue that there is an equally substantial gap in existing research specifically in relation to the existence of a Northern Irish identity. Certainly previous research has highlighted the distinct characteristics of different groups in Northern Ireland but I would argue that this is still not enough. Essentially, as social science research, how can we investigate, with any degree of certainty, the politics of Northern Ireland after the Troubles if we don't first investigate what Northern Ireland actually is?
Deirdre Duffy, Research Associate
CRESR, Sheffield Hallam University
References
Graham, B.J. (1994) “No Place of the Mind: Contested Protestant Representations of Ulster”, Cultural Geographies 1(3): 257-281.
News from CLG
As part of CLG's Analysis Week, Michael Ball, Mark Stephens and other members of the Housing Markets and Planning and Housing Analysis and Surveys gave a series of short presentations on aspects of the credit crunch and the housing market. These were well attended and well received by CLG analysts and policy staff.
Recent publications include:
Housing in England
Statutory Homelessness statistics
Recent publications include:
Housing in England
Statutory Homelessness statistics
Occupancy Controls in Rural Housing
Madhu Satsangi and Joe Crawford (Stirling University) have been commissioned by the Scottish Government to review the use of occupancy controls in rural housing. The work is looking at experience in the different nations and territories of the UK and in the Nordic countries. You can find out more by emailing Madhu Satsangi.
North Derbyshire and Bassetlaw Housing Market Area
Professor Ian Cole and Dr Stephen Green (CRESR, Sheffield Hallam University) have been appointed to work with the four local councils of the North Derbyshire and Bassetlaw Housing Market Area (HMA) to develop a Joint Housing Strategy. The HMA is a partnership between Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire who are working together to develop common and mutually beneficial housing strategies and initiatives. CRESR’s involvement includes advising on partnership and governance structures, aligning the strategy with other regional and local strategies, analysing the evidence-base and enhancing it with primary research. Ian and Stephen will produce a draft strategy by January 2009, which will then undergo a period of consultation. For further information about this project, please contact Ian Cole or Stephen Green, tel: 0114 225 3073.
Developer Housing Land Transactions (CLG)
Lucy Cartlidge and Craig Watkins (University of Sheffield) with David Adams and Chris Leishman (University of Glasgow) have recently completed a study of developer to developer housing land transactions for CLG. The report reveals that land transaction have become an increasingly important source of short term finance for housebuilders. It highlights that the differences in responses to the credit crunch are not driven by the size of the firm or the niches in which they operate. Rather they are more closely related to the financial structures and business models adopted. Contact: Craig Watkins.
Monitoring Housing Market Trends (West Yorkshire Housing Partnership)
Town and Regional Planning (University of Sheffield) in partnership with CRESR at Sheffield Hallam University have recently completed a short commission to establish a housing market monitoring framework for the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership. Drawing on up to date small area data sources, the framework has developed a number of Key Market Indicators capable of tracking change in West Yorkshire’s housing markets. The project was completed by Ed Ferrari (Sheffield) and Tony Gore (Sheffield Hallam). Contact: Ed Ferrari, e.t.ferrari@sheffield.ac.uk
A New ESRC Project Led by Queens University, Belfast
Funding has been received from the ESRC (£220,000) for a two year project entitled: “The Retirement Transition and the Celtic Fringe: Mobility Trends and Migrant and Rural Community Well-being” (RES-062-23-1358). Led by Dr Aileen Stockdale, the project seeks evidence of a retirement transition affecting the mobility patterns of the 50-64 year old age group within the UK’s Celtic fringe. The retirement transition concept refers to the behavioural changes affecting pre-retirement age groups, and assumes that the expectation of retirement acts as a catalyst for change, including a change of residence. Such migration is commonly associated with peripheral and scenically attractive areas. Accordingly, the project focuses on rural areas of Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland. The methodology involves four main stages: an analysis of Census datasets to explore the migration patterns of the 50-64 age cohort; a household survey and migrant interviews; a postal survey of non-movers. This will focus on the migrants’ areas of origin and seeks to determine reasons for not moving (by those age 50-64 years); and finally, interviews with local service providers and local/national policy-makers. A series of stakeholder seminars will also be arranged.
Empowering Glasgow’s Tenants through Community Ownership: a tenants’ perspective
Kim McKee (University of Glasgow) has been awarded a Small Grant (£1k) by the British Academy, to research tenant empowerment in the context of the whole-stock transfer in Glasgow. Building upon her previous doctoral research, this project will use focus group research to explore the perspective of ‘lay’ tenants. In particular, whether they feel they have been ‘empowered’ by the transfer to date; their attitudes about community empowerment and the priority they attach to it; and their support of community ownership, a goal which is to be achieved in Glasgow through further Second Stage Transfers of the housing stock. For further information contact Kim McKee: kim.mckee@ges.gla.ac.uk.
The "Cole Report" Published
The government has published the report of the panel of independent stakeholders chaired by Professor Ian Cole, the Director of CRESR (Sheffield Hallam University), on the future regulation of the social housing sector in England. The report makes a series of recommendations to bring both local authorities and housing associations within the new regulatory framework being established by the Tenants Services Authority. The Cole Report is available from:
www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/thecolereport
www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/thecolereport
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