BOOK REVIEW

Brian Lund
Understanding Housing Policy
Bristol: The Policy Press
2006
£18.99 pbk pp.262

Lund’s Understanding Housing Policy is a volume within the Bristol Policy Press's practical 'Understanding Welfare' series, which present topical and innovative approaches to understanding social issues, policies and welfare delivery by leading experts. The book's main purpose is to provide a digest and explanation of the issues, problems and policies that have fashioned housing policy from the recent past to the present day. This it certainly achieves in a very clear and helpful manner.

The book's primary objective is housing in modern Britain and, as Lund writes in the Preface, is "…about why the state has intervened in the housing market, the forms this intervention has taken and the impact it has made". Thus social and economic developments and the policy reaction to them which have fashioned contemporary housing policy and practice are the essence of the book. Other topics such as theoretical perspectives, politics and comparative studies are also included.

Understanding Housing Policy is an introductory textbook aimed primarily at students new to housing studies. But it would also be of use to students studying subjects such as social and public policy, town planning, sociology, economics and politics and to anyone who wishes to know more about housing policy over the last decade or so. In my opinion it would also be of interest to researchers and housing practitioners and those in associated fields such as planning or other public services who want or need a useful summary and source about recent housing policy.

The format of each chapter seems ideal for such a book and particularly for those new(ish) to a topic. Each chapter begins with a summary of its contents and includes clear themed sections, which are necessarily abbreviated. Each chapter ends with an overview, questions for discussion and suggested further reading. Little or no prior knowledge of social or housing policy is assumed and important concepts, ideas and terms are carefully explained. A great deal of effort is made to counteract the alarm felt by many people when new to a subject – of being crushed by gobbledegook and jargon Throughout clear and simple language is used. Throughout too are helpful figures and tables together with useful little boxes emphasising or explaining key points.

In Chapter 1, Lund examines five theoretical approaches to understanding housing policy: laissez-faire economics, social reformism; Marxist political economy; behavioural and social constructionism. This is extremely helpful when attempting to understand the origins of housing policy although I suspect there may be other perspectives that Lund does not include. Certainly social science theory about the welfare state has traditionally included approaches such as convergence theory or technological determinism and functionalist perspectives. But perhaps Lund's choices are more appropriate and relevant today. Chapter 2 gives an account of housing policy from the mid-19th century when it began to be widely recognised that poor housing was a social problem that had to be addressed to the marketisation of housing supply and distribution by the Conservatives during the 1980s and 1990s. New Labour's approach to housing from 1997 is dealt with in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 introduces a comparative dimension by using five case studies chosen to illustrate housing policy in different country settings characterised by Esping-Andersen's 1990s classifications.

The rest of the book (Chapters 5 to 10) covers most of the important concerns impacting on housing and consequently on housing policy choices in the recent past, now and into the future. These are affordable housing, homelessness, decent homes, overcrowding/houses in multiple occupation, low demand and the relationship between housing and social justice. Each topic is covered succinctly, revealingly and intelligently, with regard to the main issues, problems and connections around and between them.

I have one minor quibble about the choice of topics. There is little about housing finance and might well have deserved a chapter of its own. New Labour has made several significant and far-reaching changes to public sector finance rules and practice, especially to those affecting local government including to capital finance, housing revenue accounts and rent restructuring/influencing. This could have replaced the chapter on comparative housing which has been better covered elsewhere and is of only marginal interest to most students on housing courses, especially since little is said about housing in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.

Lund’s conclusions (Chapter 11) about the future draw together the main themes of the book. He uses a ‘social constructionist’ perspective to explain New Labour’s interpretation of housing problems within ‘Third Way’ thinking. He suggests that New Labour’s emphasis on building strong communities and promoting choice can generate conflicting messages for those remaining in deprived areas.

Although up-to-date at the time of publication, inevitably the time elapsed since then has meant that in some cases the situation has changed – for example statutory homelessness is no longer rising and annual acceptances are now below the level experienced when New Labour came into office. Inevitably too some of the subject matter of the book has been overtaken by recent developments such as the replacement of the Housing Corporation with the Homes and Communities Agency and the Tenant Services Authority, the decision to allow local authorities to build again and, of course, the impact of the 'credit crunch' and economic recession on housing.

Understanding Housing Policy compares extremely well with alternative books covering similar or the same territory such as Mullins and Muries’ Housing Policy in the UK (2006) and Harriott and Matthews' Introducing Affordable Housing (2009).

Frankly I am unable to find serious fault with this book. Lund certainly fits the publisher's claim that this series is written by experts with his extensive experience and knowledge of housing affairs. Every student of housing should have a copy and keep it on their shelves. It does everything it says it will do and does it all extremely ably. It does, however, need updating. With a General Election imminent as I write, I hope the publisher is planning to ask the author to start thinking about and preparing for a new edition.

Paul Walentowicz
Senior Lecturer in Housing
Anglia Ruskin University