Keith Kintrea

Disentangling Area Effects: Evidence from Deprived and Non-deprived Neighbourhoods

This paper focuses on the question of whether it is worse to be poor in a poor area or in an area which is more socially mixed; in short, does living in a deprived area compound the disadvantage experienced by its residents, and do area effects contribute to social exclusion? The idea of social areas having direct or mediated effects on the lives of their residents continues to interest and challenge academic and policy debates on the effect of concentrated poverty and on the creation of more mixed and, thereby, more sustainable neighbourhood forms. However, area effects remain contentious and British research evidence is scant. Following a review of the theoretical and empirical understandings of the relationship between households and neighbourhoods, the paper presents survey data from a comparative study of deprived and socially mixed neighbourhoods in Glasgow and Edinburgh. These data provide evidence that supports the area effects thesis, in particular in relation to area reputation and employment. The paper concludes that, with certain caveats, living in areas of geographically concentrated poverty creates additional problems for residents.

‘Opportunities and Despair, it’s all in there’ Practitioner Experiences and Explanations of Area Effects and Life Chances

This article looks at perceptions of the link between residential location and life chances. The idea of ‘area effects’ suggests that people’s prospects for social engagement and economic activity are related to the neighbourhood where they live. It permeates social and urban policy as well as theories of deprivation and social exclusion. However, while quantitative evidence on area effects has begun to suggest that such a link exists, there has been little evidence using qualitative data and no contrast between the social patterns of life in deprived and more socially diverse areas. In response to these concerns, this article uses data from in-depth interviews with practitioners and voluntary workers in both deprived and socially diverse neighbourhoods to throw more light on how the linkages between area of residence and life chances are understood locally. The article concludes that experiences of deprivation may be more entrenched and fatalistic in deprived areas in response to a range of perceived negative impacts of area on social action and engagement. However, this general position is also contradictory and fragmented depending on social position within the locale. The article concludes by drawing out these ideas in terms of how the experience and reproduction of poverty are theorized.

Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution? Social Housing Allocation Policies and Social Exclusion in Britain

This article examines claims that social housing allocations policies can, on the one hand, contribute to and on the other, counter, social exclusion. In setting the scene, the paper investigates connections between housing processes and social exclusion and describes the development of social housing allocations systems over the past few decades. Drawing on evidence from two recently completed national studies in England and Scotland it shows that allocation policies contribute to social exclusion in three main ways. First, a large proportion of social landlords restrict eligibility for social housing thereby contributing directly to exclusion. Second, mechanisms within allocation systems continue to segregate the most excluded to the worst residential areas. Third, through the 1990s allocation policies became increasingly coercive, so reducing or eliminating tenant choice over their own housing in distinct contrast to the choice that is available in the private market. The paper then reviews the dilemmas faced by policy-makers: whilst aspects of allocations contribute to social exclusion at the individual level, they may be justified by their role in promoting sustainable residential communities. Although there are hopes that the ‘choice-based’ approaches to lettings which emerged in the late 1990s can both boost community sustainability and counter the disabling impact of coercive approaches, the article suggests it is unlikely that such methods can significantly enhance social inclusion as long as social housing remains a housing sector of last resort, with in-built disadvantages.

Invisible Walls and Visible Youth Territoriality among Young People in British Cities

This paper explores how young people experience territoriality in six British cities. It challenges the prevailing view within existing literature that young people derive important benefits from their ability to shape their identities by occupying public spaces. The paper is based on an exploratory study using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and cognitive mapping with young people. The origins, motivations and impacts of territoriality among groups and ‘gangs’ are examined, especially among those groups who possess an acute sense of place attachment and rivalry with groups from other neighbourhoods. It finds that territoriality is a form of cultural capital passed from one generation to the next, often with rich, heavily mythologised histories. Territoriality comes from the close affinity between young people and place and is often expressed through periodic violent confrontations. The paper illustrates how territoriality limits mobility and subsequently imposes sanctions on access to leisure, education, employment and social opportunities.

Rationing, Choice and Constraint: The Allocation of Public Housing in Glasgow

Social segregation in public housing has usually been explained in institutional terms by reference to the policies and practices of the local authority. This paper draws on data from a household survey of new council tenants in Glasgow to demonstrate that the outcome of the rationing process cannot be attributed to factors originating at the level of the institution alone. The research examines stages of the allocation process, in particular the behaviour of applicants in expressing preferences and their propensity to reject offers, as well as institutional factors. It is suggested that household choice behaviour, which is related to income, is important in determining social patterns in council housing.

Policies and Programmes for Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods: Recent English Experience

This paper sets out to review to what extent policies aimed at improving the quality of ‘council-built’ neighbourhoods achieved their objectives in the period 1975–2000, and the relevance of the experience for current policy. It discusses the main approaches to and diagnoses of problem estates, including the failure of the welfare state, the absence of enterprise, the failure of housing management, ‘housing is not enough’ and ‘effort fragmentation’, and provides an evaluation of the impacts of the main programmes, based mainly on the results of official evaluations. The paper notes the difficulties in making assessments of impacts in this area due to data shortcomings, but concludes that over 20 years of policies and programmes did not resolve the complex problems of these estates, nor reposition council-built estates from the bottom of the residential hierarchy. It suggests the reason for this failure was partly that the macro-economic climate and other government policies were countervailing, but also that policy lacked both clear goals and a good understanding of the problems to be faced. It also notes that housing improvements were often compromised by the failure to deal with wider problems. The paper argues that recent policy shows more promise, and seeks to better integrate mainstream spending programmes with area initiatives, although there is little evidence yet on how this is really working.

Having it All? Housing Reform Under Devolution

This paper aims to make an assessment of housing reform in Scotland since devolution in 1999. It is not concerned with a detailed analysis of any one particular policy but instead looks at whether housing reform is likely to contribute successfully to its own high level goals, which are identified as social justice, social cohesion, economic competitiveness and the empowerment of citizens and communities. It proceeds by examining those goals and the context for their development, and examining how they have been pursued, mainly through legislative change but also by administrative reform and financial inducement. The paper contends that in respect of some goals, especially achieving greater social justice, the reforms are likely to make considerable inroads. However, it also notes that the goals open up areas of conflict that are not fully acknowledged and are not resolved by the reforms.

Whose partnership? Community interests in the regeneration of a Scottish housing scheme

Urban Partnerships are multi‐agency projects led by central government in Scotland intended to regenerate run‐down and deprived housing estates. They are multi‐sectoral projects but a large part of their agenda concerns housing. The Partnerships are explicitly based on the principle of resident involvement, taking lessons from previous projects. This paper examines one Partnership area, Ferguslie Park in Paisley where there had been a long tradition of resident involvement. It finds that in the early years of the Partnership the community was largely set aside while more powerful members of the Partnership pursued their own agendas. The reason for this is not simply that community interests were ignored, but that the political objectives of government, the complexity of the project and its timescale prevented meaningful local involvement.

Allocation systems and housing choice

This article examines the major approach to the study of allocation in British public housing, i.e. the institutional approach. It argues that the approach is unsatisfactory because it ignores factors which originate from outside of the institutional context and also the interaction between the individual household and the institution. These drawbacks can be remedied by focusing on the choices facing households, by using household choice models similar to those used in studying the movement of households in the private market. It is only by using this approach that the major problems of allocation in British public housing will be identified.

Silver Bullet or Red Herring? New Evidence on the Place of Aspirations in Education.

This article reports on a longitudinal study of student aspirations at the ages of 13 and 15 in three schools in the United Kingdom, where there has been a great deal of emphasis placed on aspirations in recent policy making. The data, based on individual interviews with 490 students in areas with significant deprivation as well as interviews with parents, teachers and community members, call into question the effectiveness of concentrating educational efforts on raising aspirations. Aspirations, even in these communities struggling with poverty, are very high—the missing element is the knowledge of how to make these aspirations concrete and obtainable. Implications for educators include insights into the highly aspirational nature of marginalised communities, the key role teachers play in helping aspirations come to fruition, and the need to focus on supporting young people to achieve aspirations that already substantially exceed the jobs available in the UK workforce.