Jenny Muir

Public participation in area‐based urban regeneration programmes

This paper reports the findings of research into the representation of local interests in area‐based urban regeneration programmes in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The two case studies are contextualised by a review of the promotion of public participation in urban regeneration in both parts of Ireland and theorised as a site of interaction between state agencies and civil society. It is argued that the practice of public participation is a hegemonic project, which, within urban regeneration, is operationalised through partnership structures. The paper concludes that many factors from within and outside the case study programmes affected their consultation processes. Therefore the design and implementation of regeneration programmes should be undertaken in the context of an understanding of the relationship between the state and civil society in the empirical case.

Research ethics committees: values and power in higher education

The rise of research governance structures in universities has created huge disquiet amongst academic researchers. The unquestioning adoption of a medical model of ethical review based upon positivist methodological assumptions has created for many a mismatch between their own ongoing ethical research practice and the process of obtaining clearance from Research Ethics Committees (REC). This paper examines the issues that have contributed to dissatisfaction with the ethical review model that is prevalent within the modern university. Using examples from the authors’ own experiences, the dynamics of values, interests and power in research governance is examined from multiple perspectives including that of REC member and applicant; lecturer/student supervisor; researcher; and university administrator. The paper reveals a rift between the values and objectives of the key players in research governance within the modern university and concludes by asking whether differences can be resolved so that a collaborative approach to ethical review may be incorporated into a renewed academic research culture. It is suggested that the alternative is increasing alienation from anything to do with ‘ethics’, with potentially serious consequences for the ethical standards of social research.

Housing Policy in the UK : the importance of spatial nuance

Abstract The UK has been engaged in an ongoing process of constitutional reform since the late 1990s, when devolved administrations were established in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. As devolution has evolved there has been a greater trend towards divergence in housing policy, which calls into question any notion of a ‘UK experience’. Whilst the 2014 Scottish independence referendum again returned constitutional reform high onto the political agenda, there still remain tensions between devolved governments and the UK Government in Westminster, with England increasingly becoming the outlier in policy terms. Informed by ideas of social constructionism, which emphasises the politics of housing, this paper draws on an analysis of policy narratives to highlight the need for greater geographical sensitivity. This requires not only more spatial nuance, but also a recognition that these differences are underpinned by divergent political narratives in different parts of the UK. This emphasis on the politics underpinning policy has relevance internationally in other geographical contexts.

Devolving Housing Policy and Practice in Northern Ireland 1998-2002

This paper reviews the effect of devolution on housing policy and practice in Northern Ireland. It outlines the history and context of devolution and housing policy in Northern Ireland, including the legacy and persistence of intense social conflict. Current devolution arrangements are reviewed, including the implications of enforced coalition for policy governance. The paper focuses on three dimensions of housing and housing-related policy development and implementation: social housing, especially the distinctive history and changing organisation of social housing provision; policies affecting the housing market, including the changing regime for spatial planning; and, regeneration and tenant participation. The paper argues that housing policy has tended to converge with policies in England, rather than moving towards a distinctively local agenda. Local political agendas remain dominated by disagreements over constitutional status thus policy formulation is determined more by officials than by elected politicians.

An Introduction to the Special Issue – Housing in Hard Times: Marginality, Inequality and Class

ABSTRACT ‘Housing in Hard Times’ was the theme of the Housing Studies Association annual conference in April 2011. The papers featured in this special issue are drawn from that conference. They examine the uneven impact of economic change on housing policy and related areas, with reference to conceptual ideas pertaining to urban marginality, inequality and class. Whilst the empirical focus of the papers is the UK, their intellectual contribution represents an attempt to ‘bring class back in’ to the housing studies literature and encourage more critical, theoretically informed scholarship.

After Housing Policy: Housing and the UK General Election 2001

This paper describes the results of a review of the housing content of UK General Election 2001 manifestos. Housing policy was of little importance during the election campaign. The main British political parties had, essentially, a shared housing agenda--to promote and facilitate home ownership, support area and community regeneration, tackle homelessness, improve the private rented sector, and prevent building on greenfield sites. Many issues of importance to housing specialists received little or no attention, most notably that of low demand. Some policy variations within the UK were evident, for example in attitudes towards greenfield development, home ownership and stock transfer. The paper concludes that differences in housing policy are emerging within the UK as part of a new politics of devolution and that the days of a single housing policy approach for the UK are over.

An introduction to the special issue - Housing in hard times: marginality, inequality and class : (Special Issue Editors)

ABSTRACT ‘Housing in Hard Times’ was the theme of the Housing Studies Association annual conference in April 2011. The papers featured in this special issue are drawn from that conference. They examine the uneven impact of economic change on housing policy and related areas, with reference to conceptual ideas pertaining to urban marginality, inequality and class. Whilst the empirical focus of the papers is the UK, their intellectual contribution represents an attempt to ‘bring class back in’ to the housing studies literature and encourage more critical, theoretically informed scholarship.

The Dynamics of Policy-Making under UK Devolution: Social Housing in Northern Ireland

Housing policy formation under the United Kingdoms devolution settlement is currently under-researched and insufficiently understood. This article uses the example of social housing policy-making in Northern Ireland to reflect on its impact. Five factors with the potential to influence post-devolution policy-making are identified: common UK citizenship and ideology, policy networks, the political process, the mechanics of devolution and membership of the European Union. A post-devolution review of social housing policy in Northern Ireland is followed by a discussion of three key issues from the 2007 to 2011 administration: governance, procurement of new social housing, and ‘shared space’ and a shared future. Interviews with policy-makers indicate that 2007–2011 marked the beginnings of a trend away from the technocratic domination of officials towards greater intervention and policy ownership by politicians, but that the significance of this should not be overstated. The implications for multi-level and multi-jurisdictional policy-making in devolved and federal states are considered.

Neoliberalising a divided society? The regeneration of Crumlin Road Gaol and Girdwood Park, North Belfast

Regeneration projects take place within complex local policy environments and are also influenced by the global doctrine of neoliberalism, although the degree of influence will vary depending upon the historical, economic, social and political context. This article reviews and reflects upon the complexity of a neoliberalising policy environment in the regeneration of the divided city of Belfast. The territorial conflict in Northern Ireland has been expressed spatially and has thus affected urban regeneration. These issues are illustrated by a case study of the regeneration of the Crumlin Road Gaol and Girdwood Park in North Belfast, which sought to include both a neoliberalised economic development agenda and efforts to improve community relations through the promotion of shared space. The paper asks whether the management of community cohesion in cities experiencing conflict requires state intervention that at times goes beyond the ‘roll out’ and ‘roll back’ distinction found in neoliberal theory.

The Governance of Mandated Partnerships: The Case of Social Housing Procurement

Partnership working is nowadays a seemingly ubiquitous aspect of the management and delivery of public services, yet there remain major differences of opinion about how they best work for the different stakeholders they involve. The balances between mandate and trust, and between hard and soft power, are crucial to current debates about public service partnerships. This paper explores the example of social housing procurement in Northern Ireland, and the requirement to form mandated procurement groups. The research shows that the exercise of hierarchical power is still important in network governance; that mandated partnerships alter the balance between trust and power in partnership working, but the impact is uneven; and that these relationships are (re)shaping the ‘hybrid’ identity of housing associations. The balance between accountability for public resources and the independence of third sector organisations is the key tension in mandated partnerships. The Northern Ireland experience suggests that trust-based networks could provide more productive working relationships in partnerships for service delivery.