Nicola Morrison

Neighbourhoods and Social Cohesion: Experiences from Europe

In recent years, neighbourhoods have become the key spatial scale for policy intervention. Yet as policy makers focus at this localised level, they need a clear understanding of the nature and causes of social exclusion. The purpose of this paper is to draw on the preliminary findings of a European Commission project named NEHOM (Neighbourhood Housing Models) that examined the characteristics of twenty-six socially excluded neighbourhoods across Europe. An in-depth examination of this different array of neighbourhoods confirms much of the theorising about the nature of social exclusion and the way that economic, social and cultural processes of exclusion reinforce one another. Distinguishable groupings of neighbourhoods are emerging from the research and the differences between them appear to be attributed to the nature and functioning of the housing tenure, cultural identity of the residence and the overall level of turnover and hence commitment to the neighbourhood. The paper concludes by suggesting that policy initiatives attempting to rebuild social capital and promote social cohesion will only be effective if they have a full appreciation of the interplay of these complex dynamics.

Job – housing mismatch: affordability crisis in Surrey, South East England

Rising housing costs and lack of affordable housing in London are affecting labour recruitment and retention, particularly in the public sector—the ‘key-worker problem’ of recent government statements. But housing and labour-market problems are not confined to London. In this paper we highlight the extent and nature of affordability, recruitment, and retention problems in a high-cost location outside the capital: Surrey in South East England. We suggest that changes towards a more professional and managerial workforce have impacted on housing demand and hence prices. Planning and physical constraints have contributed to housing shortages and exacerbated rising housing costs. High housing costs are linked to recruitment and retention difficulties not only for public-sector employers but also for certain types of private-sector employers in Surrey. This raises problems for the sustainability of the local economy. Measures introduced to address these difficulties are helping ‘key workers’ to access housing locally, but this simply bids up house prices rather than increasing the overall supply of housing that is affordable.

The compact city: Theory versus practice—The case of Cambridge

Urban compaction has become a policy direction which has been followed in a number of European countries throughout the 1990s. Although this policy direction may have both theoretical and political appeal, there is concern over the likelihood of being able to concentrate the majority of future development within existing urban areas. Most analysis would suggest that urban decentralisation is set to continue. Reversing these established patterns, as well as past policies which have encouraged dispersal, is likely to be a tall order. The aim of this article is to provide a closer examination of a particular city-region to assess whether national policy, which promotes compact cities, is feasible at the local level. The Cambridge subregion, within the UK, has been chosen as it has a tradition of policies which have encouraged dispersal and are in direct contrast to Governments new policy direction. Past spatial planning policies within the sub-region have left a legacy of dispersed settlement patterns, separating homes from workplace and encouraging inward commuting into Cambridge. The effects of this past policy stance are so ingrained that it will be hard to reverse such trends and accommodate additional development, particularly housing, within Cambridges existing boundaries.

Meeting the Decent Homes Standard: London Housing Associations’ Asset Management Strategies

The English government’s 10-year flagship Decent Homes programme ended in 2010. The purpose of this article is to examine the asset management strategies that a sample of London housing associations took to meet the Decent Homes Standard. Drawing on the concept of institutional logics, the article outlines the social housing sector’s conflicting regulatory context, whereby organisations were statutorily obliged to improve housing standards, without being able to raise rents as a way to fund improvements. Depending on whether the housing association adopts a market-orientated or traditional, task-orientated approach to asset management, the associations sampled have either disposed of non-decent stock to generate cash flows or else retained the stock, undertaking minimal repairs to meet the government’s target deadline. The article concludes that not only has this national performance target triggered different organisational responses, it has also led to longer-term unintended consequences for existing and future tenants.

Examining the difficulties in letting social housing within England

This paper provides an overview of the current literature on why difficulties are being experienced in letting social housing within England. The first part of the paper focuses on whether the management of the social housing stock, and in particular the current allocation system, has contributed to the growing number of difficult to let (DTL) properties in the social sector. Drawing on findings from in-depth interviews with twenty local authorities, the paper provides evidence to support this argument and also highlights a number of initiatives which authorities have adopted to fill DTL properties. However, the paper argues that these initiatives are likely to have limited value in the long run in stemming the fall in demand for social housing, particularly in the North of England. The second part of the paper focuses on the changing aspirations of tenants and the way that social housing is in competition with alternative forms to housing provision, such as private rented housing. It concludes by advocating that an appropriate response to difficulties in letting social housing has to go beyond internal housing management initiatives. Instead a more strategic approach needs to be adopted which builds up an understanding of the operation of the local housing market and the complex interaction of neighbourhoods.

Building talented worker housing in Shenzhen, China, to sustain place competitiveness

In China, economic reforms over the last three decades, have transformed its urban governments so that economic growth takes priority over other policy goals. The purpose of this paper is to explore how talented worker housing policies have emerged within one of China’s first-class cities, namely Shenzhen, to address its affordability problems but also to enhance local economic competitiveness. Whilst Shenzhen is heading in the direction of an international, entrepreneurial city focusing, in particular, on high value-added industry, it needs to attract and retain professional, skilled workers to sustain this growth trajectory. Drawing on the concept of urban entrepreneurialism, the paper examines how talented worker housing policies and procedures have been initiated and implemented in Shenzhen in relation to its economic development strategy and affordable housing programme. The paper suggests that not only is policy delivery proving problematic, but affordability problems remain insurmountable, thus potentially limiting the effectiveness of this particular urban entrepreneurial strategy in supporting place competitiveness.

Selling the family silver? Institutional entrepreneurship and asset disposal in the English housing association sector

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on English housing associations’ asset management strategies through an analysis of strategic decisions to either dispose of or retain valuable property assets. Drawing on the concept of institutional logics and the use of organisational archetypes, the paper identifies contrasting strategies that London-based housing associations have adopted in response to contemporary challenges. The first, classified as ‘defender’ organisations, represent those who choose to generally retain their stock to leverage finance for future house building and who, in principle, would not countenance property sales. Second, are organisations described as ‘analysers’ who offer pragmatic justifications for the disposal of properties, primarily on economic grounds, arguing that properties are no longer fit for purpose, with proceeds used for replacement stock. The last category represents those depicted as ‘prospectors’ who willingly dispose of their high-valued assets to generate stronger income streams and reposition themselves as institutional entrepreneurs within the housing sector. The paper argues that the strategic decisions taken by these ‘prospector’ housing associations have shaped an agenda, founded on institutional entrepreneurship, to which other organisations are forced to respond. In wider terms, the cumulative effects of selling valuable assets carry the risk of not only undermining core social principles but also potentially exacerbating socio-spatial segregation across the London area.

Playing by the rules? New institutionalism, path dependency and informal settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa:

The scale of contemporary urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa has culminated in the proliferation of informal settlements, with governments claiming a legitimate right to remove them. Drawing on new institutionalism as a conceptual framework and presenting the case of Old Fadama, an informal settlement within central Accra in Ghana, this paper sheds light on the way in which both formal and informal rules shape these legally unauthorized spaces. Using the analogy of a game, the author devises a novel typology to highlight the way in which different players maximize their personal advantage from maintaining the status quo. The paper concludes that as long as different interests are served by the existing socio-political arrangements then path dependency will endure, with government officials as the dominant playmaker in the locality ultimately controlling the rules and pace of the game.