Social Aspect of Housing Redevelopment" Proceedings of CIB W069 – 22nd Housing Sociology Conference Maribor 28 September –2 October 2005 and Housing in Ideologies/Ideologies in Housing Proceedings of CIB W069 – 21st Housing Sociology Conference Helsinki 7–10 October 2004
CIB Publication 317
ISBN 978-90-6363-058-4
Published by: International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction CIB General Secretariat Post Box 1837, 3000 BV ROTTERDAM The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] http://www.cibworld.nl
June 2008 1 2 CONTENS
Foreword 5
I. CIB Maribor 2005
Judit Székely 8 Housing Market Dynamics in Hungary
Barry Hills and Kevin Gilliam 25 Non Zero Sum Theory and Social Aspects of Housing Developments: The Sociology of Positive Sum/Negative Sum Situations and the less powerful
Barbara Strajnar 44 Momentary housing situation in Slovenia and future priorities
Barbara Černič Mali, Ronald van Kempen, Sako Musterd 50 Restructuring Large-scale Housing Estates in European Cities: An overview of the restate project results
Srna Mandič 78 Housing Renovation and Deficit of Social Capital
Jurgis Vanagas 92 The Development of Kaunas Old Town: Social Consequences
Graham Towers 98 Key Elements Of European Regeneration Schemes
Liis Ojamäe 104 The development of Estonian housing market: discursive practices in real estate columns II. CIB Helsinki 2004
Arild Holt-Jensen 118 The Dual City Theory and Deprivation in European Cities
Kęstutis Zaleckis 141 The cityscape of a contemporary megapolis: linear or hypertext? (The Dwelling house as one of the carriers of the hypertextual features in the cityscape)
Graham Towers 163 The impact of ideology on housing design
Roode Liias 172 The concept of an intelligent client transferred for privatised housing sector
Judith Allen 183 it ain't necessarily so: social exclusion, social capital and local associational activities
Katrin Paadam and Liis Ojamäe 208 Ideological shifts and shifting relations of actors in the field of housing
Kevin Gilliam and Barry Hills 223 The commodification and selling of ‘community’ in the built environment FOREWORD
This collection of contributions originates from two recent W069 conferences in Helsinki 2004 and Maribor 2005, which are linked in ways of looking at the recent developments in the housing field. The discussions on either of the occasions underlined the common concerns arising from the changing nature of housing policies in most European societies and its impact on individuals’ opportunities and performance in the field as well as the transformation of the urban residential scene on a broader scale.
Both conferences were highlighting the importance of re-defining the gradually weakening relationship between public and individual agencies. Despite the distinct paths of the 20th century having characterised the socio-structural formation of European societies, and therefore specific expression and context of problems, the modern trends in the housing field in their relational, cultural and economic terms forming upon the interconnectedness of policies and people’s daily residential experiences evoke continuous interest shared in an interdisciplinary perspective.
We are not following in this collection the chronology of events but rather the logic of moving from reflections of actual practices in the housing field clearly defined for the Maribor conference on ‘Social Aspects of Housing Redevelopment’ and continued in a wider scope of a theoretical framework of ‘Housing Ideologies/Ideologies in Housing’ set for Helsinki.
The first part of this publication of proceedings begins with an introduction to Slovenian housing situation taking after a long-term tradition in the group. Assessments on the renovation practices, needs, collective and individual opportunities for the construction of future strategies in the field and in the public sector, in particular, are brought to the level of commonly shared housing problems in European cities. The discussion of issues of renovation and regeneration is continued on specific urban contexts and housing policies in national cases from various theoretical perspectives and concluded by conceptualisations on market dynamics, the symbolic aspects of its discursive practices and impact on the formation of actors’ dispositions in the field.
The discussions in the second part aim at reviewing and re-conceptualising understandings of the processes observed in the field informed by the actual transformations of relations and residential culture. The trans-disciplinary approaches from architectural philosophy, housing design, facilities management, housing policy debate and sociology highlight the changing nature of a relationship between diversified individuals’ opportunities for empowerment and ideological shifts affecting the current developments in the housing field. In the abundance of various conceptual frameworks applied most contributions tend to emphasise the need for continuous capacity building combining individual and collective efforts to combat the
5 problems associated with socio-spatial segregation, exclusion, sustainability of the quality of housing, a sense of belonging and personal fulfilment. All contributors to this collection of papers extend their sincere gratitude to Lidija Zvaijker and the Maribor Housing Fund as well as the City of Maribor for their kind support and efforts taken to issue this publication.
Katrin Paadam W069 Coordinator
6 7 JUDIT SZÉKELY
HOUSING MARKET DYNAMICS IN HUNGARY
The paper investigates regional housing market dynamics and aims to understand more about the factors lying behind its differences in Hungary. According to our1 concept, dwelling construction markets reflect the more general processes of the whole housing sector therefore we concentrate on the market of new housing and take it as an indicator of overall housing market dynamism. By means of principal component analysis, we identify Hungarian settlements in which the housing market can be regarded as dynamic. In the following, four groups of factors are identified which are deemed to have an influence on the construction market, namely: demographic and economic factors, suburbanisation and tourism. Relying on the data of the 2001 Hungarian census, which is supplemented with data on dwelling construction, household incomes and geographical indicators of accessibility, the main driving forces of housing market dynamism are identified for all dynamic settlements. The results, which are also shown by maps, demonstrate that different components of housing market dynamism are attributed to well-defined geographical locations within the country. Finally, the connection between research findings and local housing market price levels is investigated by using Housing Survey data.
INTRODUCTION
This research is based on a data stock which originally served as a background information source for local planners. After the 2001 census, the Social Statistics Department of HCSO2 worked out a comprehensive set of indicators to provide help for municipalities in making their own local housing programmes and policies. All available statistical indicators were included that might be useful for planners and local decision-makers. Besides housing, the relevant demographic, economic, mobility and other indicators were listed for every single Hungarian settlement. Together with the indicator list, a series of maps was published where all primary indicators were demonstrated. The mapping of these indicators already suggested that regarding the housing market, some more dynamic areas, groups of settlements could be identified. Moreover, in the background of housing marked dynamism, a different combination of explaining factors could be assumed in different areas. At this point, it was apparent that a more complex statistical analysis would help to understand more about the
1 The research was carried out in cooperation with Zoltan Kovacs and Balázs Szabó, both are researchers of the Reasearch Institute of Geography of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Maps are designed by Balázs Szabó. 2 Hungarian Central Statistical Office
8 underlying factors of housing market dynamism. Consequently, the first aim of the following investigation was to determine a group of settlements with high housing market dynamism. After that, we defined four groups of indicators that influenced dynamism and investigated the role of these factors in different areas of the country.
GENERAL BACKGROUND
We decided to rely mainly on indicators that reflected the development of the 1990–2001 period. In the case of dwelling construction data, we considered a little longer period (1990– 2002). Fortunately, this period on which we had available data from censuses coincided with the first decade of the transitional period when fundamental changes have undergone in the housing market. As regards the housing sector, the transition meant a rapid deconstruction of state interference, privatisation and polarisation of household incomes that – with a time lag – resulted in polarisation in housing conditions too. The social aspect of the polarisation has been described by many researchers and the regional differences of development have been widely discussed. However, from the point of view of the housing market, the last decade’s regional differentiation has not yet been investigated in Hungary. Besides the economic polarisation, other general processes must be mentioned which have had an influence on the transformation of the housing market: The demographic background is defined by aging and decline. The decline of population had already started in 1980 and continued after 1990. This fact by itself resulted in improving indicators of housing supply, which was reinforced by reducing household size. The economy suffered from a deep recession in the beginning of the period. On the national level, GDP started to grow in 1997, but the economic crisis still continued in the less developed Eastern regions and this led to further regional differences. As it has already been mentioned, the massive state involvement, which was typical in the previous decades diminished: most of the social housing stock was privatised; the remaining part now is already in municipality ownership. The state housing investments stopped, and state dominance in building industry ceased. New investors appeared both on the supply and on demand side. As regards the supply side, the structure of the construction industry fundamentally changed and a more flexible, differentiated structure was established. The housing finance system became more competitive, with new actors and services, though the housing finance market is still dominated by the former monopolist, the National Savings Bank. Today the role of the central government is restricted to general market regulation and allocation of subsidies, of which the most important are the building subsidy and the mortgage subsidies. The system itself has changed several times even during this relatively short period, therefore its most important feature is inconstancy and unpredictability. On the demand side, the prohibition of multiple home-ownership was abolished, more and more families have second homes that they rent out, use for holiday purposes or simply keep as an investment. At the same time, foreigners have appeared not only as investors of property
9 developments but also as private buyers of dwellings and holiday houses. In the most preferred central and Northwestern areas, foreign buyers have had a tangible effect on local property markets. In the 90’s, the suburbanisation around Budapest continued and to a lesser extent, it was apparent in other cities’ surrounding, too. Since 1990, Budapest has lost more than 200 000 of its inhabitants, half of which was due to migration. Suburbanisation is perhaps the most characteristic feature of regional development today. All these factors together led to a more segmented and differentiated structure of the housing stock with a rapidly growing segment of high-quality dwellings and a rather constant stock of substandard housing which is getting more and more segregated in run-down urban and remote rural areas.
MEASURING HOUSING MARKET DYNAMISM
In order to measure housing market dynamism, we selected four indicators from the database that were available for all (3135) Hungarian settlements: share of dwellings built between 1990 and 2001; change of the number of occupied dwellings between 1990 and 2001; dwelling construction per 1000 inhabitants between 1998 and 2002 construction permits per 1000 inhabitants between 1998 and 2002 Relying on the above variables, we have carried out principal component analysis. Each variable was standardised. The resulting first component explained 69% of total variance (the following components represented 19; 8; and 3% of variance). The value of the factor score for the principal component fell between -1.7 and 23.4; the factor score was between -0.9 and 1.5 in 90% of settlements. Relying on these scores, we classified all Hungarian settlements in three groups of equal size so that each tertile contained 1045 settlements. One-third of settlements with the highest scores were regarded as those having dynamic housing market, those belonging to the middle group were taken as stagnating and the bottom one-third as declining. In the following, we mainly concentrated on the top tertile, the dynamic settlements. Map 1. demonstrates dynamic settlements which are concentrated in certain regions, namely in the suburban area of Budapest (circle 1. on Map 1.), in North-Eastern Hungary (2), in the area of Lake Balaton (3) and near the western border (4). Besides, there are other dynamic settlements scattered unevenly over the country, some of them are connected to big cities outside Budapest. When we sorted the Hungarian settlements by the above principal component scores, we found settlements of very different types among the most dynamic ones. In the ‘top ten’ there are typical suburban settlements and others which are belonging to resort areas. (One
10 settlement did not fit in any class: a village in North-Eastern Hungary merited extremely high scores because of its reconstruction after a devastating flood in 2000.) However, though the reasons are different, they are similar in the sense that all ‘top ten’ settlements are of relatively small size, not exceeding 6000 inhabitants.
Map 1. Settlements with dynamic housing market
2
4 Budapest 1 3
Factors influencing housing market dynamism
The next step of the analysis was to define factors that have an influence on housing market dynamism. In the census data set the most important demographic and mobility indicators, information on educational level, economic activity etc. were available. This set of indicators was completed with additional information on incomes, share of taxpayers from tax office sources, data on tourism and foreigners’ property purchase from official registers and with a geographical indicator that reflected the accessibility of settlements from the western border. It was apparent that almost any of these indicators are connected somehow to the housing market – and to each other as well (see Appendix for correlation matrix of selected variables). Our first attempts to carry out factor analysis and set up a more or less clear structure of factors failed, so we decided to carry out principal component analyses in which we defined four groups of factors in advance. The groups were as follows: economic component (since the level of incomes, the rate of employment may contribute to growing demand for new housing) demographic component (the effect of population growth on demand is reinforced by the regulation that offers building subsidies to families with children)
11 suburbanisation (outflow of population leads to growing demand for new, high-quality housing in suburbs) tourism, holiday activities (although to a lesser extent, this may also generate need for new housing by itself and by its income as well)
In the following, we kept only those variables that are more or less clearly related to one single factor and dropped all variables that could be connected to more than one of the above groups. Moreover, we excluded complex variables (such as degree of development, which by itself derives from many primary variables) and all information that relied on administrative classifications (such as the legal status of the settlement or its belonging to certain regions or agglomerations). The next step was to carry out principal component analyses for the selected groups of variables.
ECONOMIC COMPONENT
The principal component, which represented the economic development and strength of settlements, was constructed from the following variables: average tax base per taxpayer, HUF (2001) share of taxpayers, % (2001) share of households with active earner household head (2001) distance of the settlement from the western border via the main transport route, kms. Perhaps the use of the last indicator needs some explanation: in Hungary, the accessibility of the Austrian border is a real economic advantage as it raises the probability of foreign investments and the possibility of finding jobs abroad and thus contributes to the economic success of settlements. This fact is clearly shown by many sources describing regional development trends of the last 10-15 years. In the principal component analysis, all variables were used after standardisation (so the average of the transformed variables was zero). The last item was taken into account with reverse sign, so it is more accurate to say that it measured the proximity instead of distance. The resulting first principal component preserved 66% of total variance. Relying on the principal component scores, all settlements were classified in quartiles. Each quartile contained nearly 800 settlements and the top quartile was regarded as the group of settlements with the most successful economic development. Out of these, more than the half belonged to the top class in terms of housing market dynamism, too. Altogether 423 settlements were regarded as dynamic both by its economy and by its housing market. Map 2. shows these settlements in black colours, whereas others with housing market dynamism, but without strong economy are represented by the contours.
12 Housing market dynamism is connected more to economic development in the central and Northwestern regions of the country (1-4), while in the Eastern part, the economic power, as an incentive of housing market dynamism is apparent only in the big cities, which are all county seats. In fact, in these cases, the high share of public services and administrative functions contribute to higher employment and higher (legal) earnings.
Map 2. Settlements with dynamic housing market and economy
3 1 4 2
The connection between economic development and housing market dynamism seems to be so obvious that it might raise the question: which are the settlements with dynamic economy but without dynamic housing market. It was quite surprising to see that many of these are so- called ’socialist cities’, i.e. settlements where together with some large industrial investments, much large-scale housing was built during the state socialist period. Therefore these cities went through a very rapid and quite irregular development. Even now, the structure of their housing stock is fundamentally different from other settlements of similar size. Perhaps the performance of the housing market is also very different here and this might be a reason for the contradiction. Anyway, more local investigations are needed to understand further the consequences of their rather special development in the past decades.
SUBURBANISATION COMPONENT
The impact of suburbanisation on the housing market is inevitable: the flow to suburban areas generates demand for high quality housing; in these areas the housing supply has so far been more like in the rural regions. The typical characteristics of the population of suburbs have been described by social geography (Dövényi – Kok – Kovács 1998, Dövényi – Kovács
13 1999). According to these findings, they are mostly better-off, young or middle-aged families generally with no more than two children. Based on this experience the following variables were selected for principal component analysis (after standardisation): population growth/loss due to migration per population number, % (1990-2001) share of inhabitants commuting to and from work or school (2001) share of households with 1-2 children (2001) The first component explained 49% of the total variance. As with regards to the economic component, we used principal component scores for classifying settlements in quartiles. Nearly half of the settlements with dynamic housing market fell into the fourth quartile, which means that in the case of 478 settlements, the housing market dynamism coincides with a high degree of suburbanisation.
Map 3. Settlements with dynamic housing market and high degree of suburbanisation
Not surprisingly, these settlements are found in the surrounding of big cities. It also seems that in the central and Western regions there is a lot of coincidence with settlements of economic prosperity.
14 DEMOGRAPHIC COMPONENT
Like in the previous cases, we made principal components and then quartiles from the following variables: share of households with household head younger than 40 years (2001) share of households with three or more children (2001) We could have used one more variable here: the balance of birth and death rate. The reason is simply that the quality of data was not acceptable. However, the above two indicators proved suitable to grasp the characteristics by which a demographic pressure on local housing markets could be detected. (Variance explained: 79 %.) It must be noted that the coincidence between housing market dynamism and high demographic component scores was less frequent (354 settlements).
Map 4. Settlements with dynamic housing market and a high demographic pressure
Settlements with high demographic pressure and consequent housing market prosperity are concentrated in the Northeastern part of Hungary. High birth rates and numbers of large families are partly in connection with the higher proportion of the Rom minority in these areas, but the presence of the Greek Orthodox Church may have also contributed to the survival of the traditional big family model in this region. A deeper investigation of the time-series of construction figures proved that in these settlements, the dynamism of housing market is a function of building subsidies. When the sum of the available subsidy was raised in 1994, new constructions grew high, whereas in the
15 second half of the period, as the building subsidy lost its value with the inflation, the number of constructions fell again. High principal component scores are therefore the results of the peak housing production around the middle of the period.
TOURISM AND HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES’ COMPONENT
For the most Hungarian settlements, this factor does not exist, as there is no considerable size of tourism. Seeing the correlation matrix (in appendix) of the investigated variables it is apparent that its connection with housing market indicators is not the least as strong as in the previous cases. However, the effect of holiday function is presumable in a group of settlements, so we attempted to introduce a principal component to verify its existence. Two variables were involved: number of nights spent by visitors in 2002 per population number number of properties bought by foreigners in 2001-2003 per population. Similarly to the above, a principal component analysis was made after standardisation. The first component explained 55% of variance. Altogether 258 settlements of dynamic housing market fell in the fourth quartile (map 5.). At the same time as Table 2. in the Appendix shows, for most of the settlements the dynamic tourist sector does not have an impact on housing market.
Map 5. Settlements with dynamic housing market and high rate of holiday activities
1
16 The largest contiguous group of these settlements are found around Lake Balaton (1). Demand that is generated here by traditional tourist turnover is increased further by the wealthier families who move in after retirement from Budapest or from other cities. In other settlements, closer to the Western border, foreign (mostly Austrian and German) homebuyers have an influence on local housing market.
OVERLAPS OF COMPONENTS
The above maps have already indicated that there is considerable coincidence of explaining factors of housing market dynamics in many areas. Perhaps the most obvious example is the agglomerating area around Budapest, where we have shown the effect of economic component and suburbanisation alike. This is nevertheless the most typical coincidence, though such coincidences are perceptible in all combinations. Fig 1. attempts to illustrate coincidences of the explaining factors of housing market dynamism. Four dimensions would have made the figure far too complicated, so merely for this practical reason, the tourism component is not indicated here. (We omitted this very component because it is not so strongly connected to housing market dynamism and to the other components.) Most cases of coincidence are seen between economic and suburbanisation components. High suburbanisation together with a substantial demographic pressure is less probable. High demographic indicators nearly never go together with economic dynamism.
Fig. 1: Coincidences of high component scores in group of settlements with dynamic housing market
economy
8 demography 103 243 72 66 240
100 suburbanisation Settlements with dynamic housing market 213
17 Out of 1045 Hungarian settlements with dynamic housing market, 80% falls in the fourth quartiles of one or more of the three components (88% if tourism is included). For 130 settlements, none of the four components was high so presumably there are other factors of very different nature in the background, presumably like local housing policies, high share of hidden incomes, or other special situations, like an immense need for new constructions after a natural disaster.
EXTENDING RESULTS ON A BROADER CONCEPT OF HOUSING MARKET
So far, we have regarded housing market as the market of new housing. In the course of the research, we assumed that the construction market reflects the more general processes of the housing sector and therefore these findings can be generalised for the whole housing market turnover. Unfortunately, we have hardly any possibilities to test this assumption: neither price levels of local property markets nor market turnover data are available for local housing markets today. The only solution is to utilize representative survey data and attempt to draw conclusions on the more general housing market mechanisms for selected groups of settlements. For this purpose, we use the data stock of the 2003 Housing Survey, which was accomplished in 315 Hungarian settlements in nearly 9000 households. In the survey, we asked interviewees to give estimation on the housing market value of their properties. By matching the two information sources, we can investigate the connection of local housing market price levels with the above-defined principal components. In this way, we have more or less reliable information on 10% of the Hungarian settlements. First, an aggregate file is computed from the original household survey data stock. In the new file, each settlement is represented by one record that contains the average of individual price estimations3, to which the respective principal component scores and other relevant variables are matched. In the new data stock, there are 113 settlements of dynamic housing market. Not surprisingly, here the prices are substantially higher than in settlements with stagnating or declining housing markets.
3 Missing data were supplemented by results of linear regression estimation.
18 Fig 2.Average housing market price in groups of settlements with different housing market dynamism
However, even within the dynamic group, there are major differences depending on the driving force of dynamism. In settlements with high demographic pressure, the price level is below 8 million HUF, whereas in other places, where dynamism is resulted by other components, prices are around 14 million HUF.
Fig 3. Average housing market price in settlements with dynamic housing market, by explaining components of dynamism
Considering that the construction cost of an average dwelling was around 12 Million HUF in the year of the survey, it can be concluded that in settlements with high demographic pressure, the price level is well below construction cost. In these settlements, the housing market dynamism is an effect of building subsidies: the new constructions are stimulated merely by these subsidies which are given for families with children and which are available only for new housing. All this indicates that supporting needy families by subsidies for new housing is at least questionable. The problem is with the practical consideration that connects two goals: the allocation of subsidies and the stimulation of new constructions. Perhaps it would be considerably more efficient to help low-income families in other ways that could stimulate to utilise more the existing housing stock (e.g. by subsidising renovations) instead of encouraging new constructions. Finally, we attempt to analyse the effect of the four components on local price level in a simple linear regression model. The dependent variable is the average of local property price
19 estimations in million HUF. Independent variables are the four above-mentioned components, which are involved as dummy variables (equals to 1 if the settlement fell in the fourth quartile of the given principal component scores and 0 in case of 1-3rd quartile.) Variables are involved by using stepwise method. The resulting model is significant, R2=43%. Each variable has a significant contribution to the model. In the first place, the economic component has been involved. The existence of this factor by itself raises the price level by 4.7 million HUF. Suburbanisation is on the second place, resulting in 3.2 M HUF higher price level. Tourism also has a positive effect on price level, though to a lesser extent (2 M HUF). As opposed to the other components, the demographic component has a negative effect that reinforces that demographic dynamism by itself is rather a disadvantage.
Fig. 4. Regression estimation model coefficients Independent variable: local average of price estimations
Unstandardized Standardized Coefficients Coefficients Sig. B Std. Error Beta Constant 5.47 0.31 0.000 Economic component 4.74 0.49 0.46 0.000 Suburbanisation 3.18 0.55 0.27 0.000 Tourism 1.98 0.59 0.15 0.001 Demography -1.82 0.60 -0.13 0.003
The analysis of housing market prices shows that three of the examined components, namely economic, suburbanisation and tourism contribute to higher price levels, which make housing investments profitable. It might be said that construction market is indeed in accordance with market demand. At the same time, in the last group of settlements, the effect of dynamic demography on local price levels limits housing market dynamism by lower prices. This means that if such settlements show housing market dynamism, it is probably only a consequence of building subsidies since otherwise such investments would never be profitable.
CONCLUSIONS
The first decade of transformation to a market economy led to an overall dominance of market conditions in the housing sector as well. Our investigation results show, that market-type mechanisms are determinant in the sector: in the background of dynamism, there is an effective demand, which is generated by high incomes either from economic prosperity, tourism or from the suburbanisation of well-off families. In this respect, high building subsidies have a dysfunctional role as they generate demand for new housing in settlements where otherwise the demand is lacking.
20 The transformation was accompanied by growing social and regional differences of which the latter was demonstrated by our research results. We have shown that the more and more significant regional differentiation of the housing sector is a consequence of the regional polarisation of economy on the one hand, whereas on the other hand it contributes to further regional inequalities by growing price differences, limited mobility and a larger concentration of substandard housing in disadvantaged areas. Many of the findings of our research are more interesting for Hungarian readers who are more familiar with the geography and the regional characteristics of the country. For this reason, the present introduction has focused more on the method and the most important conclusions of the research. In this respect, it is worth noting that our calculations are based on widely used and generally, available statistical indicators, and therefore this investigation might be regarded as an example of utilisation of large national databases.
REFERENCES
Dövényi Z. – Kok H. – Kovács Z. (1998): A szuburbanizáció, a lokális társadalom és a helyi önkormányzati politika összefüggései a budapesti agglomerációban. (Suburbanisation, Connections Between Local Society and Municipalities in Budapest Agglomeration. In: Illés S. - Tóth P. P. (szerk.) Migráció. I. kötet. KSH Népességtudományi kutató Intézet. Budapest. pp. 229-237.
Dövényi Z. – Kovács Z. (1999): A szuburbanizáció térbeni-társadalmi jellemzői Budapest környékén. (Spatial and Social Characteristics of Suburbanisation around Budapest.) Földrajzi Értesítő. 48. 1-2. pp. 33-57.
21 Appendix 1. Correlation matrix of the investigated variables Change of nr of occupied dwellings Change of nr of occupied 1990-2001 Share of dwellings built in 1990-2001 New constructions per 1000 inhabitants Construction permits per 1000 inhabitants taxpayer base per Average tax Share of taxpayers Share of properties bought by foreigners Share of households with 1-2 children Share of households with 3 or more children Share of active earner household heads commuters Share of Accessibility from the Western border 40 years Household heads below Balance of migration Nights spent by visitors per population Change of nr of occupied dwellings 1990-2001 Share of dwellings built in 1990-2001 0.7 New constructions per 1000 inhabitants 0.5 0.5 Construction permits per 1000 inhabitants 0.5 0.5 0.9 Average tax base per taxpayer 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 Share of taxpayers 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.5 22 Share of properties bought by foreigners -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 -0.1 0.0 Share of households with 1-2 children 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 -0.1 Share of households with 3 or more children 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.0 -0.2 -0.5 -0.1 0.0 Share of active earner household heads 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.7 0.0 0.6 -0.2 Share of commuters 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 -0.1 0.4 Accessibility from the Western border 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.1 -0.3 0.5 0.5 Household heads below 40 years 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 -0.2 -0.2 0.6 0.6 0.2 0.0 -0.2 Balance of migration 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 -0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.2 Nights spent by visitors per population 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.1 -0.1 0.1 -0.1 0.0 23 2. Number of Hungarian settlements in the quartiles of principal component scores by housing marked dynamics
Settlements with
Principal component Declining Stagnating Dynamic Together
Housing market
Economic development 1. 327 216 240 783 2. 371 267 146 784 3. 244 304 236 784 4. 103 258 423 784 Together 1 045 1 045 1 045 3 135
Demography 1. 408 224 151 783 2. 276 307 201 784 3. 193 287 304 784 4. 168 227 389 784 Together 1 045 1 045 1 045 3 135
Suburbanisation 1. 386 239 158 783 2. 308 282 194 784 3. 248 321 215 784 4. 103 203 478 784 Together 1 045 1 045 1 045 3 135
Tourism 1. 372 319 333 1 024 2. 117 209 217 543 3. 260 287 237 784 4. 296 230 258 784 Together 1 045 1 045 1 045 3 135
24 BARRY HILLS AND KEVIN GILLIAM
NON ZERO SUM THEORY AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS:THE SOCIOLOGY OF POSITIVE SUM/NEGATIVE SUM SITUATIONS AND THE LESS POWERFUL
It cannot have gone un-noticed by even the most dyspeptic reader that almost every housing report, consultation paper, briefing memorandum or ‘housing response’ in Western Europe, certainly in Britain, after outlining proposals, ideas, innovations, priority lists or even difficulties, ends with a virtually obligatory note of relentless optimism.
If only the right policies are pursued, the correct priorities recognised, all will fall into place and that elusive commodity, the ‘sustainable community’ will sprout, flower and prosper.
“Community cohesion, where individuals are encouraged and supported to contribute to the future of their communities and help break down barriers that might exist between different groups, can be achieved through stock improvement and regeneration work”
we are assured in a professional body’s Briefing Paper1; and
“…..a holistic approach, based on inter-agency working and partnerships generates benefits which improve the quality of life for people and communities…”
is confidently asserted by a Housing Response Paper to Government spending plans.2 Never knowingly guilty of understatement, Government sources at the highest level echo this:
“the renewal of community is the answer to the challenges of the world”3
This optimistic assumption that everyone wins just does not reflect the real situation ‘looking out of the window’. Outside of the comfortable middle class perspective of most professional practitioners, those in deficient accommodation, in horrible environments, with no power
25 levers to control, do not feel ‘winners’ as a result of policies carried out in Western or Eastern Europe. For them it is not a Positive Sum Game.
Game theory, in particular the mathematical complexities behind Zero sum theory, has been taken up in mathematics, law, economics, socio-biology, population genetics and behavioural ecology. Sociologists have only recently picked up on the implications for interaction.4 The Game, in sociological terms, is the set of strategic interactions among players assuming rationality, (!) producing outcomes preferred but not always intended. The interaction/exchanges between two actors or sides (say, housing policy makers and consumers of housing) theoretically attempt to optimise aspects of the ‘game’ (in this case housing development) by actions related to the other that lead to maximum gain depending on the other side’s response. Obviously it is ‘zero sum’ if the gains or ‘wins’ are such that whatever is gained by one side is lost by the other (the sum of the gains and losses is zero).
Clearly this is not at all the perspective of housing policy makers at present. They are not trumpeting the losses made by one side in housing development policies! The unrelenting perspective is that the whole game is ‘positive sum’ (see the preceding quotes) – that somehow the whole ‘game’ (housing development) enlarges the prizes, the wealth, the well- being so that more is available as a result of the game.
What is not even deemed thinkable is that the whole process is in fact not even zero sum but actually negative sum. That as a result in their ‘participation’ in housing development albeit in the passive role of subjects, or to give it its euphemism, ‘consumers’, the recipients of these policy developments can actually lose out, especially if they are powerless.
But this where the conundrum lies. The whole much supported social inclusion programmes by definition focus on the disadvantaged and powerless. The first priority supposedly of European policy initiatives is to concern itself with “situations where a range of connected and mutually reinforcing social, economic and political processes lock people out of mainstream society”5 and establishment sources admit that “excluded from the range of expectations and activities accepted as normal by the rest of society, whole communities have become stigmatised and excluded.”6
How can this happen? Urban renewal, regeneration with appropriate investment and new housing areas based on thoughtful long-term policy and supported by a strategy of consultation following planning procedures are dedicated to the ‘community’.
Have we advanced since Nero claimed the same for Rome? By the standards of the age Nero’s policy was seen as harsh yet since then just to take two examples from two millennium, there have been the creation of the ‘King’s Forests’ causing widespread
26 compulsory rural homelessness (although possibly giving us the Robin Hood legends of resistance to establishment bullying – obviously no fan of artificial zero sum ideology!) and later compulsory acquisition of land for railways (again, throwing up a legend based history of outlawry [Jesse James for example] that challenges zero sum from the perspective of the powerless).
In the 1920s land was acquired, often compulsorily but with compensation recognising the nature of the means of purchase from rural landowners to build the new social houses in the “Land fit for Heroes”. Most of these are now in private ownership, particularly since the Housing Act 1980 that gave long term tenants the right to buy at substantial discounts, transferring the maintenance liability to a population of suburban dwellers at the same time.
Compensation for compulsory purchase was further refined by Acts of Parliament in the 1960s when rules for the assessment of compensation were fixed. However there was no provision that recognised the compulsory nature of the acquisition!
Since then there have been amendments in these rules as the early post war (1945 onwards) acquisitions were in areas of private housing with private landlords in damaged areas with depleted populations. More latterly acquisitions were from private owner occupiers albeit in areas where houses were often sub-standard. This was particularly so in the 1960s and 1970s when slum clearance was prevalent.
Today, post slum clearance, and with a limited recognition of the compulsory nature of the acquisition, the unwilling vendors are on the whole owner occupiers living within settled communities, so is the necessity still there? Urban areas can regenerate naturally, ‘gentrification’ often being used to describe the process whereby an old, run down area close to a town centre or alternatively an edge of town suburb, becomes fashionable again as houses are restored and the area repopulates with higher income residents. The usual signs of regeneration appear: new shops, bars restaurants etc. although this can be a slow process.
More recently, between the 1960s and c. 2000, grant aid has been used by governments to encourage regeneration. Initially this was used to assist with installation of facilities and later was widened in scope to include full refurbishment. There is of course a large public cost to this but these costs are less in capital, environmental and social terms than earlier schemes of clearance, and development on ‘green-field’ sites. Both local authorities and private individuals could apply for aid and many old areas were environmentally improved in this period. Private sector initiatives, often with commercial developers buying or leasing land from local authorities that had been assembled by compulsory purchase, was more noticeable in the 1980s with large areas of redundant docklands buildings, warehouses and industrial sites being converted into high value apartments, offices and retail malls. In England, Canary Wharf in London and Salford Quays by Manchester are two examples.
27 In these cases there were populations of residential owner occupiers as well as private and social leasing tenants so what happened to them? Social housing tenants were relocated, and private tenants likewise usually to social housing. Obviously there were feelings of having lost out and obviously communities were often destroyed. Owner occupiers were subject to compulsory purchase with compensation based on the artificial assumption that the renewal scheme was not to take place! So the very rationale for the policy (of compensation) became an anti-rationale when it didn’t suit the finances of that policy! They too, therefore were re- housed by social landlords, their compensation rarely being enough to buy another similar home and certainly not the high value houses built as part of the regeneration scheme.
So whilst compulsory purchase for development and infrastructure work in the public interest had once been viewed as a reasonable course of action in the early post war period it has now more and more begun to be seen as a questionable means of assembling sites for prestige private schemes, particularly in areas where large established populations are effectively displaced and dispersed. It cannot any longer be automatically considered positive sum for all participants!
The process of making orders for compulsory purchase was certainly seen as more open in the late 20th century (proposals being publicised, objectors having the right to a hearing or public enquiry prior to the confirmation of Orders) and in the immediate post war years of 1945 onwards many affected parties were keen to be re-housed; but in recent years the perspective has changed. The areas affected are usually populated by the poor, the elderly or those in manual jobs who have begun to object to the very principle, and less automatic credence has been given to the ‘prescribed channels’ seen to be establishment orientated. The very rules are being challenged. The ‘Game’ requires rationale response by both ‘sides’ and this cannot be arbitrarily set by one ‘side’
Recent changes in the law governing planning and compensation require the Planning Authority to consult before allowing schemes to go ahead. The assumption is that of a positive sum situation. If only consultation takes place with local authorities, developers, ‘stakeholders’ (whoever they are) and those who are objecting, then regeneration schemes will come to a position where nobody loses – everyone is a winner. Proof is even adduced to exist by virtue of the result: low value old housing replaced by high value modern apartments; retail facilities appearing; bars and restaurants everywhere. The total value of the development exceeds the cost of the redevelopment plus the profit element. The original residents have been compensated and re-housed, so...... a positive sum result.
Why then are there so many families currently resisting eviction from their own homes in the face of a redevelopment that will apparently regenerate the area to everyone’s satisfaction? Compensation sums are routinely around 16% of the cost of the proposed houses to be built with no other available affordable housing nearby. The non zero has become a negative sum game for many, not taking into account the experience, values and needs of an existing community and the effects on that community of its enforced dispersal. Has the game just
28 become a form of class cleansing, a temporary removal of ‘problems’ until there are no more wealthy buyers for the new urban suburbs?
In Wales the People in Communities programme focussing on the promotion of social inclusion does not, at first sight seem overly related to housing except for one included criterion:
x all the people in the community should have access either to work, to training or to education or to another meaningful activity (such as community or voluntary work) x everyone should have somewhere decent and safe to live x everyone should be able to lead healthy lives, and to have access to appropriate health care x all children in the community should feel safe and should be provided with appropriate education and opportunities for play x people should be empowered to voice and contribute to decisions made about their community, so there is collective ownership and ‘capacity building’ 7 and even pronouncements on the issues by the First Minister do not highlight housing development:
“Our priorities are simple – improving health, helping more people into jobs, developing strong and safe communities, creating better jobs and raising skills for everyone….”
That this (common to both Western and Eastern Europe) focus on social exclusion should have no, or only peripheral connection with housing is pretty well rejected by all shades of opinion. Studies focussing on Eastern Europe have noted:
“All Central and Eastern European governments, conservative, liberal or neo- communist…after 1990 were faced with a desolate situation affecting most sectors of housing…..exemplified by a lack of dwellings per household and small housing space per capita. In addition the majority of existing housing was in bad shape through...neglect and mis-investment…most governments more or less abandoned housing policy. Relieving themselves from their former responsibility, they restituted or privatised great parts of the housing stock and land…….As this policy was followed irrespective of the quality, the lack of maintenance and the consequent damage to the built environment, all deficiencies and the accumulated cost for neglected maintenance and refurbishment were passed on……Everywhere social polarisation, accompanying the economic transition disadvantaged the aged and those with low qualifications who faced drastically reduced incomes and had limited perspective on the emerging markets of quality service jobs” 9 (our emphasis: KG/BH)
29 Similarly a Government source in Britain admits that:
“We made some serious mistakes which form the legacy we have to deal with today
x The slum clearance programmes of the 60s and early 70s has a massively disruptive impact on communities and destroyed some of the important values we now strive to recreate
x The housing cost yardstick and other financial control measures consistently put quantity ahead of quality
x The paternalistic way in which we managed public sector housing created a culture that has been hard to shift
x Housing was seen as a unit of production rather than a person’s home” 10
Professional bodies connected with housing have not been slow to emphasise the centrality to social exclusion and have cogently made the points that poor housing and bad health are linked factors; poor housing has deleterious effects on educational opportunities; poor housing is linked with poor image of an area that impacts on employment, stability, decline etc.; poor housing contributes to crime or fear of crime; and homelessness is the extreme face of social exclusion affecting disproportionally the elderly, lone parents, ethnic minorities, the young and those with disabilities.11
Even the very measurement of social exclusion as a statistical exercise emphasises in effect the prime role of housing. In England the Jarman index is used as a multi-variable indicator and combines:
x % elderly living alone
x % under 5
x % single parent households
x % unskilled
x % unemployed
x % over-crowded
x % people who have moved home
x % ethnic minority households
30 The Welsh Government considers this to be insufficient and too biased towards urban contexts and therefore utilises these criteria together with its Housing Conditions Index, combining:
x % houses unfit for occupation x % houses lacking in 1 or more basic amenities x % houses with total estimated repair cost of £3,000 or more x to meet the standard for home improvement grants together with Standardised Mortality Rates on a 5 year average calculated at local district level.11
Thus, out of 12 variables, 6 or 50% are directly housing related.
Even academic studies using the usual criteria of area effects (the likelihood of whether living in one area rather than others might affect the life chances of residents) involving concentration; location; milieu; socialization; physical; and service criteria show 9 out of the 17 (or 53%) of the mechanisms making up the criteria are directly housing related.12
Perhaps it should still be remembered that, of course, housing policies however proactive can worsen social exclusion whether by, for example, not differentiating or localising policies to meet specific needs at a sufficiently devolved level;13 unwillingness to recognise the legacy of policies either wrong at their time or well by their sell by dates owing to changed circumstances;14 or pursuing financial policies not linked to social criteria or deleterious to certain spheres such as rural areas.15
At the macro level of wish lists few would argue with the policy priorities usually on the menu. In Wales all housing organisations co-operated to set up a lobby group – Fforwm Tai Cymru – which produced its ‘!0 Steps’ programme for housing: 1. Building and repairing homes generates work, reduces ill-health and contributes to solving problems that stem from poverty. 2. Everyone should have a home they can afford and Government has a duty to make this happen. 3. A proper assessment of housing need should be made and this should inform housing policy, 4. People have the right to participate in the design, building and management of their homes. 5. Homes should be built to high standards, last a long time, be warm and dry and not cost too much to run. 6. Everyone should have access to support and advice that helps them to get a home or stay in their home.
31 7. People that have no home should be given priority. 8. Government policy should support people to obtain and remain in their own home regardless of whether they rent or pay a mortgage. 9. Everyone should enjoy security of tenure and there should be one form of tenure for social housing. 10. Government should ensure that their housing policies are co-ordinated, and in particular the tax and benefit system should help people to get a home. 16
In terms of converting these to policy interventions for regeneration involving housing development current thinking tends to group these as: Economic development; Physical development (improving the quality of the built environment and infrastructure);
Social and community development. 17
The ’10 Steps’ could be incorporated visually thus:
Core Issues
Physical/Built Social Employment Environment 2 1 4 Relevant Issues 3 6 7 8
Race Economic sphere
Community Gender
32 Concentrating on the social and community aspect gives us three criteria to consider:
Poor
Environment
Policy
Control of Control of
Relevant issues such as disability, gender etc.
The questions to be asked are: have policies really had this direct influence on spheres of action conducive to community development such that all these ’10 Steps’ (or equivalent in other nations) really blossom through benevolence? Has it really been one big ‘positive sum’ gain which would imply real participation in decision making processes with the power to change things? (Even if it were zero sum, let alone positive sum, it would imply taking power from the establishment). Is there really a net gain or are all the talk and plans and even activity hiding a negative sum situation from the point of view of the powerless?
It should therefore be instructive to look at the three components of social and community regeneration: policy; environment; and control of resources.
Only the most evangelical political believers with a naivety tangential to brain death would dispute that, overwhelmingly, policy makers, whether intentionally or not, tend to favour the proposition that what promises least, disappoints least. However when this means wilfully ignoring matters of immediate importance to the excluded and powerless, long term damage is a result. For example, the Housing Corporation in England is being urged to “discourage the development of social housing for rent in areas where there are high levels of deprivation”18 apparently unaware that a really challenging policy might be to end deprivation! This is reminiscent of the worthy G8 nations leaders telling us how sincerely they intend (sometime) to end global poverty, hoping the excluded will not notice that they
33 are unable to end this poverty from our cities and neighbourhoods.19 Similarly, in response to public disquiet, anti-crime initiatives of, for example, “putting bobbies on the beat” has had the opposite result to that intended – this half hearted policy raised expectations, increased reporting of crime, and highlighted security considerations but, not backed up by resources to deliver stable and consistent support, ultimately to increases in dissatisfaction and disillusionment following failure to deliver.20 There is no positive sum gain from this cautious policy syndrome.
Strangely, caution in committing resources when replaced by a rush of expenditure, can still seem far from ‘positive sum’ from the point of view of the excluded. Government plans to provide ‘generous’ cash sums to help people buy houses on the open market in London have been bitterly opposed by the London authority itself whose leader is unhappy about shunting money to the middle class to provide “a portable subsidy in the market place to go and effectively outbid other people who are already in the housing market….(we)….are much more interested in using scarce public resources to boost the supply of new housing…”;21 and a leading establishment figure in English housing has decided to worry himself that affordable housing might become “too affordable”! 22
A welcome insight into the power of bold and extended policy that considers macro effects can be found. The Scottish Government has insisted that all housing associations assess how their housing investment promotes the social economy alongside community regeneration, and has begun to value housing associations according to their contribution to the social economy, backed up by a series of long term objectives spelling this out in detail.23 Housing organisations in Wales successful in obtaining European funds have also identified and prioritised key factors promoting wider responsibilities.24 However in a crucial area of housing development – the question of density – the picture can be dismal. Appalling areas of high density housing wholly devoid of inter block space, sensitive landscaping and social facilities etc. are still constructed 25 even though outstanding examples of subtle designs in attractive settings are routinely found throughout mainland Europe.26
From a zero sum perspective we can see that not ‘playing the game’ with rational responses, or, to translate this into empowerment talk in the context of housing, to be short-sold an image of community power that downplays empowerment in favour of feeble clichés of powerless community ‘leadership’27 can, as has been noted, mean that, at times, even a complete lack of policy can empower an ‘out group’ more than one sided policy misapplied.28
In respect of the built environment, it is hard to remain optimistic about creative policy developments when a Housing Minister can talk about households “stuck” (!) in the rented sector with it being “likely that they will live in neighbourhoods that are crime ridden and suffer from anti-social behaviour”.29 Admittedly this appallingly negative stance is not shared by most housing professionals, say, those involved in the positive and creative ‘Relaunch’ programme30 or extraordinarily inventive housing developments in challenging
34 areas in industrial parts of Scotland31 or even New York in the USA, involved in extremely neglected and deprived areas.32
Unfortunately negative sum results at its most obvious and eye-catching can be seen in terms of public space especially in social housing areas. This has been of course, again the subject of inventive, attractive, unusual and aesthetically outstanding developments in many European locations especially Denmark and the benefits in terms of health, child development, social inclusion, lack of stress, use of greener travel etc. have been noted.33 However the more dispiriting and negative reaction is the grudging admission that a park or even some basic infill of green can, well….push up house prices.34 Even this prosaic ambition is beyond some recent housing developments that represent little more than urban sprawl with mediocre design and no consideration of public services and transport found in southern England as a result of clumsy, non-participative decisions by Government Ministers.35
Control of resources – the critical element in participative community development in housing redevelopment – is the aspect enabling any rational responses to be made, without which a negative sum result is virtually certain for the un-empowered. Pre-emptive policy denying just this control is of course most likely in the cases of high profile knee-jerk establishment responses to perceived needs.
Anti-social behavioural orders (ASBOs) are a classic case of a one dimensional response to a complex multi-factor set of problems whereby those subject to ASBOs are seen only as causers of problems but not as part of the solution.36 Even the establishment sources in tenant matters and the relatively establishment orientated and conservative RICS have warned of “entrenching polarisation between rich and poor”. The usually staid RICS followed up this critique claiming that the “legislation fails to reduce concentrations of poverty which is the root cause of anti-social behaviour”37
Of course, small chance for the un-empowered when control of resources is even denied at local authority level! Crazed centralisation has in England even started to dictate to elected councils which housing associations they can work with (thus eliminating the very rationale of local housing associations’ closer understanding of their own special local needs and culture); and Government has returned to the discredited and simplistic panacea of ‘mixed communities’ as a fixed and inflexible aspect of sustainable communities38 prompting accusations that the centralised inflexible policy process is like an insane “lumbering doomsday machine”39
Even in a non social exclusion context control of resources is secretive, even bullying. It needed a Parliamentary Select Committee together with the Government’s own National Audit Office to criticise, devastatingly, the fetishistic obsession with the compulsory stock
35 transfer programme; and even following the embarrassing disclosure that the stock transfer programme was costing taxpayers £1.3 billion more than funding local authorities to improve the homes themselves, bullying, harassment, and denigration of those opposed to stock transfer continued.40 Again, a Government funded report was needed to reveal that the much lauded but feeble ‘Tenant Participation Compacts’ had failed to engage tenants or increased involvement at all. The flagship policy of Right to Buy has been attacked by the director of one of the very Tenant Participation Services that supposedly gained so much by it as “about social engineering, about promoting (Conservative) ideology….Right to Buy has eroded the rights of the community of tenants…and has provided a short term gain for the individual at the expense of a long term problem for the whole community” and by yet another dissident Government Report as “contributing to the residualisation of social housing and creating concentrations of poverty and social exclusion”.41
Those at the bottom of the heap have no chance of any control over resources. The ‘Supporting People’ initiative was supposedly meant to focus on the most disadvantaged. Of course the inevitable financial cuts hit this programme hardest. The Chief Executive of the associated front-line organisation had to angrily point out:
“Supporting People represents expenditure on people who just don’t fit conveniently into other health and social care budget categories. They are clients with complex needs, they are homeless people, the people drinking themselves to death, the dependent drug users, the people with mental ill health or with a learning disability. More often than not they are the people with a complex mix of these different issues...... we talk often about the inverse care law, which states that those most in need of support are the least likely to receive it. Well, Supporting People has become ‘the inverse care law fund’ effectively ensuring that this is the case. It is a shame that Supporting People isn’t what it could be – a vehicle for delivering connected care to people in real need in the places where they need it most, in the neighbourhoods, where many of them want to live – just like the rest of us” 42
Although perhaps no one should be surprised at this when the government’s Minister of Communities and Local Government announces devolution of power to communities is a priority; that a major criterion of this local empowerment is seen as increased voting (!) and that....reduction in cash allocations will continue!43
To ask for any real assessments of any supposed positive sum gain in these three factors of social and community regeneration is not to ask for the impossible: appalling situations in other parts of the world are able to show flair and commitment in extraordinarily difficult situations44 but a look at a forthcoming ‘prestige development’ from social and community perspectives and the ‘gain’ or lack of it from the point of view of the excluded and the un- empowered does not immediately suggest positive sum outcomes.
36 Already a major justification of the massive redevelopment project in East London for the Olympics 2012 is that the area has needed improvement and renewal for years45 – a strange admission that invites the obvious question of why then hasn’t that redevelopment been done or at least started? Developers and associated professionals in the field are happily planning this “major coup...and fantastic showcase” of new housing and sporting facilities.46 Little has been said about the community that will need to be moved to make way for the development. The experience of Barcelona is positive but mixed as large sections of their Olympic village had to be acquired for social housing but the Athens picture is at present less positive.
Inasmuch as Government is involved with compulsory acquisition of homes and subsequent building of apartments for sports people with publicly raised ‘good cause’ charity money will it with equal eagerness feel obliged to aid the original population to re-inhabit their area? Already the influential and wealthy are crying foul. Business owners have staged protests against forced relocation and failure to be offered fair compensation47 but little or no attention has been directed at the long term benefits not just to the nebulous concepts of ‘sport’ or ‘London’ but to the needs of the current local communities and their claims on these marvellous 9,000 new homes and frankly unbelievable 112,000 new jobs.48
This is just one example from a prestige development. It is not a question of the smug assumption of an inevitable ‘positive sum’ outcome for any regeneration painted so rosily by Government sources; it is the question of the total lack of any positive sum realisation by the vulnerable who never seem to see the positive sum goodies – the un-empowered perspective of the poor, the elderly, the disabled; women in certain situations; ethnic minorities in some areas,49 who see only a negative sum game. The major independent professional body researching into development has called for “fundamental changes”, “change with risk”, real “engagement of communities in decision making” and transfer of power and responsibility. 50
Meanwhile some authorities have responded to this call:
“Residents in the Cowlersley estate in Kirklees have had their tattoos transferred on to tea towels as part of a community project .....the towels were then distributed to every home on the estate”51
If this is positive sum game results perhaps even zero sum seems attractive.
37 REFERENCES
1. Y Seydliad Tai Siartredig, Dyfodol Tai yng Nghymru, Caerdydd 2004 p.11.
2. C.I.H. Rhoi’ch Cyllideb Lle Mae’ch Strategaeth: Achos Rhesymol dros Dai Caerdydd 2003 p.19
3. Tony Blair, quoted in R. Levitas, Community, utopia and New Labour, Local Economy, Issue 15 2000 pp188-197.
4. Classic texts are: R.Wright NonZero: The Logic of Human Destiny New York (Vintage) 2001 and D.Baird et.al. Game Theory and the Law Cambridge, Mass. (Harvard University Press) 1994.
5. C.I.H. Opening the door- housing’s essential role in tackling social exclusion Coventry 1998
6. D. Adamson Social and Economic Regeneration in Wales Morgannwg (Papur Eryr Menter Gymunedol Cymru) 1997.
7. Y Swyddfa Gymreig Pobl mewn Cymunedau: Rhaglen i Drafod Dieithrwch Cymdeithasol yng Nghymru, Cylchlythyr 24/98 Caerdydd 2003.
8. Llywodreath Cynulliad Cymru, Cymru Well: Agenda Strategol Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru Caerdydd 2003.
9. T. Knorr-Siedow Soziale und Politische Aussichten fur die Neuen Sozialenstadte: Die Perspektive Offerenes Bauen Open House International Vol.25 No.1 2000 pp.49-73.
38 10. A. Clements (Ed.) Dull Gweithredu: Tai, Cynllunio a’r Economi Caerdydd (Y Sefydliad Tai Siartredig) 2005 p.4.
11. T.Stirling Y Cartef yw’r Canolbwynt: Tai a Chynhwysedd Cymdeithasol yng Nghymru Caerdydd (Y Sefydliad Tai Siartredig) 1999.
12 R. Atkinson et.al. Neighbourhoods and Poverty: Linking Place and Social Exclusion, in N.Buck et.al. Changing Cities Basingstoke (Palgrave) 2005 pp.154-171.
13. K.Morgan & R. Smith Adfywio – Tai’n Ganolog in A. Clements (Ed.) op.cit. pp.12-17.
14. For example an embarrassing Government Report pointing out to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister that” while policies such as the Right to Buy had met their objectives, they had also contributed to the residualisation of social housing and created concentrations of poverty and social exclusion” Lessons from the past, challenges for the future of housing policy www.odpm.gov.uk. Accessed 3-3-05. 15. A. Grice, Tax breaks on second homes could worsen rural housing shortage The Independent 26-8-05.
16. Fforwm Tai Cymru Deg Cam tuag at Dai Gwell Cardydd (Fforwm Tai Cymru) 1996.
17. K.Morgan & R. Smith op.cit.
18. K. Cooper, Run-down areas must be protected Inside Housing 8-7-05 p.5.
39 19. T. Manion, The sticking plaster effect Inside Housing 8-7-05 p.23.
20. S. Gibson, Anti-crime project fails to allay residents’ fears Inside Housing 10-10-03 p.7.
21. K. Cooper, Straight talking Inside Housing 29-7-05 p.26-27.
22. R. Evans, Labour makes Homebuy pitch Inside Housing 8-4-05 p.3.
23. E. Hawkins, Community Service Housing March 2003 pp.30-31. Communities Scotland Building a better deal Edinburgh (Communities Scotland) 2002.
24. C.I.H. Housing organisations and the European structural funds in Wales Caerdydd (CIH) 1998.
25. W. Hemingway, Our destiny is shaped by density Inside Housing 21-11-03 p.27.
26. B. Munday, Split down the middle Inside Housing 25-10-02 pp.36-37.
27. C.I.H. Spotlight on Regeneration Issue 3 July 2004 p.3.
28. Centre for Urban and Regional Studies Temporary Users, the forgotten resource of urban planning Helsinki (C.U.R.S.) 2003.
29. Poverty drive puts focus on family homes Inside Housing 11-2-05 p.4.
40 30. J. Wayne & N. Cummins Practical Approach Inside Housing 14-2-03 p.32- 33.
31. G. Roberts, A new Pattern for Paisley Property Week 29-7-05 pp.42-45.
32. M. Britton, A Bite of the Big Apple, Housing June 1998 pp.46-47.
33. Commission for Architecture and Built Environment The Value of Public Space 2004 www.cabe-space.org.uk Accessed 21-8-05. Also: S. Ross, Swede Dreams Guardian Arts 29-8-05 pp.10-11.
34. B. Randall, Green Dream Communities Today Issue 4 3-8-05 pp.20-21. 35. D. Singleton, Pinpointed for Growth Inside Housing 8-8-03 pp.16-18.
36. C.I.H. Housing News and Analysis Issue 11 June 2005 p.4.
37. C. Kay (TPAS Cymru) Using the big sticks Inside Housing 25-7-03 p.22. A. Minton (RICS) Mind the Gap – tackling social polarisation through balanced communities 2004 www.rics.org Accessed 29-8-05.
38. A. Ricketts, Councils to lose say on associations Inside Housing 29-7-05 p.4. R. Evans, Sustainable Communities Summit highlights Inside Housing 4-2-05 p.1.
39. A. Mitchell, M.P. Going Gung-ho Inside Housing 29-8-03 p.16.
40. D. Martin, Committee turns over transfer study timing Inside Housing 7-2-03 p.7
41 P. Hebden, Is transfer worth the price tag? Inside Housing 28-3-03 p.11. P. Hebden, The £1.3billion transfer bill Inside Housing 21-3-03 p.1 G. Robbins, One-sided debate Inside Housing 6-9-02 p.24. Anti-ALMO councillors suspended Inside Housing 7-2-03 p.6. A. Walter, Demand for politicians who don’t just mouth off Inside Housing 9-9-05 p.19.
41. Office of the Dep. Prime Minister Interim evaluation of tenant participation Compacts – Housing Research summary 200 Wetherby (ODPM Publications) 2003. C. Kay (TPAS Cymru) Rights and wrongs Inside Housing 30-8-02 p.20 ODPM Lessons from the past, challenges for the future for housing policy 2005 www.odpm.gov.uk Accessed 3-3-05.
42. V. Adebowale, Simple answer for complex need Inside Housing 15-7-05 p.31.
43. B. Randall, Mr. Communities Communities Today Issue 1 22-6-05 pp.16-18. M. Hilditch, Miliband urges growth in TMOs in community drive Inside Housing15-7-05 p.7.
44. M. Boorer, Pioneer Spirit Inside Housing 6-5-05 pp.21-22. K.Allen, Picking up the pieces Inside Housing 18-2-05 pp.20-23.
45. G. Roberts, The Home Straight Property Week 26-8-05 pp. 44-47.
46. O. Majekodumni, Limber up for the Olympics Construction Manager September 2005 pp.16-20
42 E. Cavanagh, Firms join the Games in a bid for retail glory Estate Gazette 17-9-05 pp.108-111.
47. M. Jansen, Businesses step up protests over Olympic relocations Property . Week 16-9-05 p.55.
48. B. Marjoram, Regeneration’s golden chance Communities Today 14-9-05 p.13.
49. A. van Doom, Tackling older homelessness Spark Issue 1 June 2005 p.10 M. Riseborough, Learning by doing Spark Issue 1 June 2005 p.11. H. Fearn Disabled People look for way out Inside Housing 12-11-04 p.15 T. Lithgow, Disabled ‘failed’ by social housing Inside Housing 28-1-05 p.8 A. Grant, A Place to be Proud of Action: Communities Scotland Issue 18 Spring 2005 pp.8-9 M. Gilbert, Identity, Difference, and the Geographies of Working Poor Women’s survival Strategies, in K. Miranne & A. Young Gendering the City Lanham, Maryland (Rowman and Littlefield) pp. 65-87.
50. Joseph Rowntree Foundation Tackling social exclusion at local level February 2000.
51. Ink Estate Inside Housing 29-7-05 p.4.
43 BARBARA STRAJNAR
MOMENTARY HOUSING SITUATION IN SLOVENIA AND FUTURE PRIORITIES
Writing on housing policy and non-profit tenancy in Slovenia, one cannot overlook the year 1991, which is significant for two reasons. In 1991, Slovenia became an independent, self- governing country and the privatisation of dwellings in public ownership took place.
Already before the housing privatisation, the ratio between rented and privately owned dwellings showed 67% of all dwellings privately owned and only 33% rented. Privatisation was concluded after two years, after whixh the ratio amounted to 88% of privately owned and 12% of rented dwellings. According to the last census of population, dwellings and households, the ratio is 92% of private ownership and only 6.5% non-profit tenancy, with the remaining percentage going to privately owned market dwellings.
POPULATION DATES
2 million people 777.000 housing units 6,5% non-profit housing units Only 14% high-rise buildings
After privatisation in the beginning of the Nineties, housing construction practically ceased and for a number of years, apart from construction of houses by individuals, which is a traditional form of building in Slovenia, almost nothing was built.
The Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, which was founded by the Housing Act in 1991 – the Act regulated privatisation of the housing stock, which collected 20% of funds from the sale of dwellings – directed its activities in the first years since its inception towards the allocation of favourable housing loans for the purchase or construction of dwellings or
44 residential houses. Priority was given to specific groups of population, such as young families, first-time buyers, and others. Since 1992, the National Housing Fund has granted more than 30,000 favourable loans; however, the demand has been much greater.
In 2000, the National Housing Scheme Act, which was intended primarily to encourage long- term housing savings within the framework of commercial banks, was adopted. At the end of the 5- or 10-year period, the State grants to each participant in the scheme a premium in the amount of a one-month savings instalment. So far 82,000 participants have been included in the scheme.
LONG TERM LOANS
LOAN AMOUNT IS TWICE AS HIGHT AS THE SAVINGS
MONEY SAVING MONEY SAVING
LONG TERM LOANS
45 In order to avoid an increase in the price of real estate due to increased funds for demand, the National Housing Fund decided to introduce, as early as 2001, a project of investing in market dwellings by construction or sale of dwellings, which it offered to the participants in the savings scheme at favourable prices.
PROJECT OF INVESTING IN MARKET DWELLINGS
NHF decided in the year 2001 to start a project of investing in market dwellings for participants in the sheme; Provision of a great nummber of dwellings for the market; Adequate quality of dwellings, Achivement of lower prices of dwellings;
The objective of this project was threefold:
x provision of a greater number of dwellings for the market;
x provision of adequate quality of dwellings;
x achievement of lower prices of dwellings;
It is estimated that the construction of market dwellings is more or less sufficient other than in the capital, where demand still outstrips supply in certain areas and prices are too high due to a small number of building sites (as much as EUR 4000/m2).
CURRENT HOUSING POLICY DOCUMENT
adopted in May 2000
for 2000 to 2009 period
Slovenia will have to build or acquire in some other manner 10.000 housing units per year, half of them should be rented housing units;
46 In recent years, all these activities of the State, or of the National Housing Fund respectively, have further increased the difference between the stock of tenant dwellings and own dwellings. In particular in larger cities the demand for non-profit tenant dwellings largely exceeds supply.
THE MUNICIPALITIES
According to the Housing Act, local communities have the responsibility to provide non- profit tenant dwellings, i.e., dwellings for lower-income population, who cannot themselves solve their housing problem by buying or building.
Publicly or privately owned non-profit housing organisations, which acquire and manage non-profit dwellings, are also in charge of non-profit tenant dwellings. For these purposes, Municipalities offer building land or other benefits. However, the benefits provided by the Municipalities have decreased and so has the interest of non-profit housing organizations in this type of construction.
CURRENT HOUSING POLICY DOCUMENT
adopted in May 2000
for 2000 to 2009 period
Slovenia will have to build or acquire in some other manner 10.000 housing units per year, half of them should be rented housing units;
The National Housing Programme, which was adopted in 2000 envisaged an increased supply of tenant dwellings. But in fact, we built about 6000 owner occupied units a year and only about 500 to 600 non-profit housing units, so there is still a big gap between the goals in the National housing programme and real life.
That is why the National Housing Fund, in cooperation with municipalities, started a project of co-investment in non-profit tenant dwellings together with the municipalities. According to the Housing Act, municipalities are responsible for ensuring non-profit tenant dwellings.
47 Nevertheless, due to limited budgetary funds and the debt threshold, the municipalities do not have sufficient means for providing such dwellings. The National Housing Fund introduced certain rules within the framework of conditions for co-investment in this type of dwellings, in particular:
x implementation at adequate prices;
x co-investment by the Municipality and the National Housing Fund
x right of disposal of the Municipality with regard to the allocation of tenant dwellings and the guarantee of the Mmunicipality for the payment of expenses relating to potentially vacant, unallocated dwellings.
CONDICTIONS FOR THE CO- INVESTMENT
The price for purchasing an apartment must not be higher than 750 Euro in the biger cities or 650 Euro in smaller ones (without the land) or For reconstruction – no more than 600 Eur or 520 Eur.
The essence of co-investment is in the fact that the National Housing Fund, in partnership with municipalities, provides as much as 70% of funds for an individual investment, depending on the project, whilst the municipality ensures the land and the remaining funds. All dwellings are rented to beneficiaries of non-profit housing under the Rules, namely to citizens of the municipality which participates in the project. An invitation to tender for the allocation of dwellings is carried out by the municipality itself, which also carries the risk of not correctly identifying the needs for such dwellings. This may result in vacant dwellings. The price/m2 of the residential surface is restricted under the rules of the Fund and ranges, according to different localities in Slovenia, from 850 to 1300 EUR/m2 of residential surface, which is a very low price, in particular for larger cities.
CO-INVESTMENT PROJECTS NATIONAL HOUSING FOUND - MUNICIPALITIES
48 In the year 2001 the supervision board of the National Housing Found announced the appeal to all mayors to participate in the project of co-investment in non-profit housing construction. In this project all big cities and some smaller ones are participating and almost 1300 non- profit housing units have been or will be built in 5 years.
In the current year as well, the National Housing Fund adopted the Programme promoting the provision of non-profit tenant dwellings in municipalities for 2005 and called on all mayors to participate in the provision of non-profit dwellings, for the purpose of which the Fund offers either the possibility of co-investment or favourable loans for the acquisition of tenant dwellings and the possibility of refinancing the present loans of the National Housing Fund insofar as non-profit housing organizations participate in the Programme. This year's funds are not intended only for the acquisition of non-profit dwellings but also for the financing of development projects (urban planning and site planning studies, elaboration of project documentation), acquisition and site-development work, and renewal of the existing housing stock.
In view of the fact that despite all the measures adopted by the State within the framework of the National Housing Fund, construction of non-profit tenant dwellings is still insufficient clearly new instruments for the provision of such dwellings are necessary, in particular the development of a private/public partnership and a more active land policy to be implemented by the National Housing Fund.
49 BARBARA ČERNIČ MALI,RONALD VAN KEMPEN,SAKO MUSTERD
RESTRUCTURING LARGE-SCALE HOUSING ESTATES IN EUROPEAN CITIES:AN OVERVIEW OF THE RESTATE PROJECT RESULTS
ABSTRACT
The paper highlights some of the main results of the EU 5th Framework project "Restructuring Large-scale Housing Estates in European Cities - RESTATE - (2002 - 2005)"4. The results of the RESTATE survey in 29 estates are presented, focussing on three questions: How can the population and dwellings of the estates in the RESTATE project be characterised? How satisfied are the inhabitants with their homes and their estates and how can differences between (groups of) estates be explained? How do the inhabitants living on the estates assess their recent and future developments? Special attention is given to the presentation of the two Slovenian case studies.
4 RESTATE is an acronym for Restructuring Large-scale Housing Estates in European Cities. It is a research project financed by the 5th Framework Programme of the European Commission. The project is concentrated on good practices and new visions for post-WWII large housing estates in Europe. About 35 researchers in 10 European countries have worked on this project. In total, 29 large housing estates have been researched.
50 INTRODUCTION
The areas that are perceived to be problematic, even the most problematic, differ per city and over time. Sometimes the problems are related to the ageing of the housing stock, but definitely not always (some inner city areas built in the 18th century still flourish). Sometimes the problems relate to the type of population residing in those areas, but this is also not always the case (some areas with poorly-educated people and low-income households do well, while others do not). It seems safe to say that areas become problematic when several negative factors combine together at a certain point and at a certain time. At the present time, the large post-WWII housing estates are apparently becoming the most problematic areas of many European cities. While many pre-WWII areas have been restructured, demolished, or gentrified and while newer areas built in the 1980s and later have not (yet) reached this problematic stage, the large post-WWII housing estates are now the centre of attention of policymakers and urban researchers. In our opinion this attention is justified, because it is in these areas that a multitude of problems in different spheres comes together. A physically declining housing stock that may be considered outdated with respect to space and floor plans, deficiencies in the upkeep of the public spaces, a changing population (from stable indigenous families to fluctuating single and two-person households and immigrant families), high non-activity rates, rising crime rates, all kinds of problems with drug abuse, teenagers hanging around, antisocial behaviour, and traffic congestion are just a few of the problems that are typical of many of these estates all over Europe. In this paper we focus on the basic results of the RESTATE project. After some general remarks on the origins of large housing estates, we briefly consider the problems experienced on the post-WWII large housing estates. We then pay attention to the main results of a survey that was carried out in the RESTATE project.5 In this paper we address three questions:
How can the populations and dwellings of the estates be characterised? How satisfied are the inhabitants with their homes and their estates, and how can differences between (groups of) estates be explained? How do the inhabitants living on the estates assess their recent and future developments and do these inhabitants plan to stay on these estates?
We present our results below in the form of straightforward graphs rather than through complex multivariate analyses. We do so because the aim of this paper is to present a general overview of the results and not a sophisticated analysis. It is important to know what we mean by a large-scale housing estate. Following Power (1997), we have defined a large-scale housing estate as a group of buildings that is recognised as a distinct and discrete geographical area. We add one element to this definition: we also see large-scale housing estates as developments planned by the state or with state support. With respect to size, we confine our attention to housing estates with at least 2,000 housing units.
5 We will say more about this survey later in this paper.
51 The focus of the project is estates built in the second half of the 20th century. Taking these elements together, this project concentrates on large-scale housing estates built in the second half of the 20th century that can be defined as groups of at least 2,000 housing units that are recognised as distinct and geographical areas, planned by the state or with state support.6
6 In the rest of the paper we refer to these estates as large housing estates.
52 7 LARGE POST-WWII HOUSING ESTATES IN EUROPEAN CITIES: A BRIEF OVERVIEW
Why were the post-WWII large housing estates built?
The motives for building the post-WWII large housing estates are well documented in the academic literature. The factors underlying the motives can be listed as follows (see also Wassenberg et al., 2004, pp. 7-8; Musterd and van Kempen, 2005):8 the need to resolve the post-WWII housing shortage (as a consequence of wartime devastation, low wartime production, and a baby boom shortly after the War); large numbers of people migrating from the countryside to the city because of the availability of work in and around the cities; the development of innovative technologies (such as prefabricated building components); a confidence in and a will to use modern architecture to reach a more just and fair society; a desire to protect the countryside from bricks-and-mortar developments; a demand for higher standards of living (with respect to the home as well as the immediate environment); the large numbers of older dwellings that had to be demolished because of their low housing quality (slum clearance). People living in these dwellings having to be re-housed; competition between local authorities with respect to the provision of modern housing (everybody wanting to be modern); government support for solutions meeting housing shortages and other housing problems (in Northern and Western European countries, for example, the extension of the welfare state leading to more emphasis on building affordable housing, often in the form of social or publicly owned rental dwellings).
What is their current situation?9
Although some estates suffered from various problems as soon as they were built, many post- WWII large housing estates were developed with the idea that they would be pleasant places in which to live. Currently, many of these estates have changed from areas for which bright futures were foreseen to areas that are now highly problematic in many respects. Many of
7 This section is largely drawn from Dekker and van Kempen (2004) and Dekker and van Kempen (2005). 8 Of course, certain aspects may be more important in some countries than in others. 9 The information in this section is drawn from the results of the RESTATE project.
53 these estates now share a long list of problems (see, for example, Power, 1997; Power and Tunstall, 1995; Hall, 1997; Evans, 1998; Taylor, 1998; Musterd et al., 1999; Andersen, 2001; Murie et al., 2003). At the same time, however, some positive developments seem to have taken place: policymakers have identified these areas as important target areas; and their characteristics and developments are definitely not all negative. Some people have lived on these estates for decades and seem to be well satisfied with them. The quality of the dwellings is praised in many cases and sometimes the spatial location is considered to be very favourable (some are close to the city centre, while natural areas surround others). At first sight, the large housing estates in European countries look very much alike (see also Murie et al., 2003; Wassenberg et al., 2004): middle- and high-rise apartment blocks predominate. At the time when they were built, the urban design and layout of the estates was considered quite revolutionary. However, when comparing the estates, some differences soon become apparent. The large housing estates in North, West, and Southern Europe were mostly built in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, while those in the former socialist countries of Central Europe were built in the 1980s and in some cases in the 1990s. Some parts of the estates in the UK were built before the Second World War. In all parts of Europe, the estates have a very important function within the housing market; they provide affordable housing opportunities, allowing low-income households also to have a relatively spacious and well-equipped home. Maintenance is problematic on many estates, certainly on the estates that were built several decades ago and where the building materials used were not of good quality. Physical problems often occur, such as the infiltration of water into the dwellings; unsafe balconies; poorly functioning lighting systems; defects in heating systems; crumbling plasterwork; and poor insulation. From the outside, the estates give an impression of massive grey concrete despite the large green areas in between the housing blocks. The ownership structure of the housing units differs in the various countries. In Southern Europe, owner-occupation is the most prevalent form of tenure, while in the Central European countries owner-occupation is of quite recent date. After the fall of the communist governments, extensive privatization processes were put into effect and these included selling a large part of the rental stock to the sitting tenants, often at irresistibly low prices (see Murie et al., 2005). In the case of Northern Europe (Sweden and Germany), the local government authority often owns the majority of the dwellings, renting them out to families with low, medium- and high-level incomes. But many low-income households live on the post-WWII housing estates, especially in Sweden. In Western Europe most dwellings on the estates are in the social rented sector owned by housing corporations. Turning to demographic developments, the most prevalent issue in Northern and Western Europe (particularly in France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK), is the influx of ethnic minorities. On some estates in Western Europe, over 80 per cent of the residents belong to minority ethnic groups. Their low incomes and large families often lead to a situation in which they have few opportunities on the urban housing markets; the affordable and relatively large houses on the post-WWII housing estates are a logical option, while those who can afford to do so move out. At the same time, the share of original residents diminishes because they grow older and die. In general, the estates have higher unemployment levels than many other areas in the city, although unemployment is often not as high as in the older parts of the cities. This generalization does not always hold for the Central European estates, however, where unemployment is sometimes much lower than in the rest of the city. In Warsaw's Ursynów in
54 Poland, for example, the unemployment rate is only 2 per cent while it is 6 per cent in the city and 18 per cent in the rural areas. Many post-WWII housing estates are characterised by a separation of functions and large green public areas between the housing blocks. These characteristics are now seen as both an asset and a problem. On the positive side, there is often a lot of space for recreational purposes, parking facilities, avoidance of disturbance by public functions, and there is an associated feeling of spatial 'grandeur'. Unfortunately, these assets also have their problems. The green areas and public spaces are often vandalised, or are so poorly maintained they cannot be used. Traffic is another, related issue. When the estates were built, there were far fewer cars than there are today. As a result, green areas are increasingly used as car parks, especially on the Central European estates. Owing to the separation of functions, commuter traffic is dense in the morning and evening peak hours, leading to traffic jams on connecting roads. Safety is now one of the major problems on many estates. Because they function at the bottom of the housing market, they tend to attract the poor and on some estates vacancy rates are high. These two developments can lead to a lack of funds for maintenance, antisocial behaviour, vandalism, and feelings of insecurity. There are several developments related to this safety issue. First, a lack of meeting places leads to youngsters hanging about in the public parts of buildings, in shopping centres, and other external spaces. This relatively harmless conduct makes other people feel anxious. The more serious anti-social behaviour of parts of the population can give others a feeling of insecurity. Youngsters may not only gather in the stairwell of an apartment block; they may do so in such a way that they deny access to others. Second, drug dealing and drug abuse can be partially related to the physical structure of the estates: there are many hidden places where dealing can take place. Drug- or alcohol-related problems are mentioned on many estates, but that is also true of many old inner city neighbourhoods. Nevertheless, the young population structure with many people in the age range of 15-25 gives plenty of opportunities for drug abuse on the large housing estates. The perceived lack of safety, together with a concentration of low-income families, ethnic minorities, insufficient maintenance, and monotonous grey apartment blocks can easily lead to the stigmatisation of the estates. The problem with a stigma is that it is more easily gained than lost; the media repeat it over and over again. Some estates were stigmatised from the beginning; others became notorious at a later date through problems with criminality or a large number of ethnic minorities.
The estates in this project
The RESTATE project covers 29 estates in 16 cities in 10 European countries. In Figure 2.1, the cities in which the estates are located are mapped.
55 Figure 2.1: The countries and cities in the RESTATE project
Table 2.1 gives some basic physical characteristics of the dwellings on the estates where the survey has been carried out.10 It can be seen that the size of the estates can be very small (such as Bow HAT in London, Comasina and Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, Žusterna-Semedela in Ljubljana, Havanna in Budapest and Jósaváros in Nyíregyháza), while others cover a very large surface area (such as Märkisches Viertel in Berlin, Bijlmer-East in Amsterdam, Öxnehaga in Jönköping, and Wrzeciono in Warsaw). The number of dwellings on a large estate can be more than 10,000, while on a smaller estate there may be fewer than 2,500. In most cases the housing stock is overwhelmingly rental, although in the Central European and Spanish estates in particular a relatively large number of owner-occupied dwellings can be found. In these cases, the dwellings were almost always built as rental dwellings and later sold to the sitting tenants. The estates featured in this research study were mainly built in the post-WWII period (although in a few cases some dwellings belong to an earlier period). The estates in the Central European cities are generally somewhat younger than those built in other parts of Europe.
10 More basic information on the estates can be found in the Appendix of Musterd and van Kempen, 2005.
56 Table 2.1 - Basic physical characteristics of the estates
Country City Estate Size Main No. of % of (ha) building dwellings rented period dwellings
United London Bow HAT 23 ‘68-‘77 2,285 77 Kingdom London Poplar HARCA 62 ‘30s-‘70s 6,304 93 Birmingham Central Estates 94 ’60s-‘70s 3,298 75 Birmingham Hodge Hill 127 ‘30s-‘50s 3,937 93 Sweden Stockholm Tensta 196 ’66-‘71 5,931 71 Stockholm Husby 183 ’73-‘75 4,727 76 Jönköping Öxnehaga 320 ‘69-‘78 2,041 68 Jönköping Råslätt 120 ‘66-‘72 2,657 99 The Amsterdam Bijlmer-East 408 ‘68-‘77 12,296 85 Netherlands Amsterdam Kolenkit 69 ‘46-‘55 2,634 83 Utrecht Kanaleneiland 66 ‘56-‘61 2,674 78 Noord Utrecht Nieuw- ‘54-‘65 2,595 85 Hoograven France Greater Les Minguettes 220 ‘67-‘74 8,190 92 Lyon Greater La Ville 160 ‘60-‘76 7,422 81 Lyon Nouvelle Italy Milan Comasina 32 ‘54-‘63 2,218 25 Milan Sant’Ambrogio 33 ‘65-‘72 2,338 93 Milan San Siro ‘31-‘73 Spain Madrid Orcasitas 127 ‘74-‘76 7,382 0.4 Madrid Simancas 229 ‘57-‘59 9,923 10 Barcelona Trinitat Nova 55 ‘53-‘63 3,215 20 Barcelona Sant Roc 46 ‘62-‘65 3,395
57 Germany Berlin Marzahn/ Hellersdorf Berlin Märkisches 370 ‘60-‘75 16,000 - Viertel Slovenia Ljubljana Nove Fužine 68 ‘77-‘88 4,332 8 Koper Žusterna- 32 ‘73-‘89 2,040 6 Semedela Hungary Budapest Havanna 54 ‘77-‘83 6,200 20 Nyíregyháza Jósaváros 36 ‘70-‘79 3,600 Poland Warsaw Wrzeciono 944 ‘60-‘70 13,122 26 Warsaw Ursynów Pn. 234 ‘76-‘81 13,143 0.4
Source: Musterd and van Kempen, 2005
58 THE ESTATES: INHABITANTS AND DWELLINGS
The questionnaire and the survey
In this section we focus on the results of a survey carried out on all 29 estates forming part of the RESTATE project. The same survey was used for all the estates, which makes it possible to compare them, the cities, and the countries. These comparisons stand central in this paper. While other reports based on this survey put the estates in one country (or sometimes even in one city) to the fore (see Aalbers et al., 2005; Andersson et al., 2005; Belmessous et al., 2005; Černič Mali et al., 2005; Hall et al., 2005; Knorr-Siedow and Droste, 2005; Pareja Eastaway et al., 2005; Tosics et al., 2005; van Beckhoven and van Kempen, 2005; Węcđawowicz et al., 2005; Zajzcyk et al., 2005), in this paper we present some selected tables and figures for the estates as a whole. Consequently, the results given here have the character of a broad overview. For an in-depth analysis we refer to the reports just mentioned. The survey was carried out between February and June 2004 on the 29 large housing estates of this research project (see Table 2.1). In each case, a random sample was drawn, usually from the whole estate. For some estates, address lists were used as the basis for the sample; in other cases, the researchers first had to take a complete inventory of addresses themselves.11 In most cities, survey teams were hired to carry out the survey. They worked under the supervision of the RESTATE partners. Briefings were organised to instruct the survey teams. In some cases (as, for example, in Amsterdam and Utrecht) interviewers were recruited from specific ethnic groups in order to raise the response rate.12 The response rate among the estates was quite different (from 30% to 90%), but this was also due to different calculations (i.e. including or excluding those people who could not be reached). In the case of Slovenian estates the response rate was rather high: 60 per cent in both cases. The share of those who could not be reached was 15 per cent in Fužine (59 addressees) and 27 per cent (75 addresses) in Žusterna-Semedela. The reason for a higher share of the unavailable addressees in the case of Žusterna-Semedela is due to the relatively high share of secondary dwellings, whose owners are not permanent residents and are therefore more difficult to reach.
Representativeness
How representative is the survey? Are some population categories over- or under- represented? In general, older people and indigenous inhabitants are over-represented, while younger people and the non indigenous are under-represented. For the young people, this
11 For some deviations from this general trend: see Musterd and van Kempen, 2005. 12 For an overview of response rates, see Musterd and van Kempen, 2005.
59 discrepancy probably derives from the extent of their activities outside the home, making them more difficult to reach. The under-representation of the non indigenous population is presumably related to language and cultural differences. All the authors of the country reports assured us that, despite these over- and under-representations, the survey results are valuable for the analyses of their own individual situation.
Characteristics of the inhabitants: who lives on a large housing estate?
From Figure 3.1 it becomes clear that a large part of the population of all the housing estates belongs to the age category of 31-64 years old. Figure 3.1 - Age structure in 29 post-WWII housing estates in European cities: percentages of population aged 18-30; 31- 64; 65 or more
Source: RESTATE survey, spring 2004
60 Some Polish, English and one Swedish estate have a relatively young population, while some estates in Southern European countries have a relatively old population. The presence of older people may indicate that the inhabitants of these estates are well satisfied, or they would have moved away. Another possibility, however, is that these people have no opportunity to move, because there are no (affordable) alternatives. It becomes clear later that the first explanation is more probable than the second: a large number of people like to live on the estates. Tenure probably forms an important background variable here: in general, owner-occupiers move less frequently than renters.
Figure 3.2 - Household composition in 29 post-WWII housing estates in European cities, sorted by percentages of various household types
Source: RESTATE survey, spring 2004 On some English estates in particular (Central estates, Hodge Hill, Bow HAT estates) single person households form the main part of the population. On many estates in Southern and Central Europe single persons are not very numerous. Here, couples with children form the main category (in Comasina in Milan, Havanna in Budapest, Nove Fužine in Ljubljana, and
61 Orcasitas in Madrid, for example). In Slovenian cases, a family represents the most common form of household. Living with parents much later than the teenage years was a prevalent answer under category "other". This again confirms the typical Slovenian pattern of three- generation households and the fact that young adults leave their families relatively late. (Figure 3.2).
Figure 3.3 - Labour market participation (percentage employed) in 29 post-WWII housing estates in selected European cities
Source: RESTATE survey, spring 2004
How many people participate in the labour market (Figure 3.3)? On some estates labour market participation is extremely low. This is especially the case on some Spanish, Italian, and English estates.13 A relatively high participation rate can be found in Amsterdam’s
13 The figures do not include jobs in the “black” economy.
62 Bijlmer-East,14 two Swedish estates (Husby and Oxnehaga), and Nove Fužine in Ljubljana. These estates have relatively low numbers of pensioners and are characterised by a relatively young population (see Figure 3.3). The prevailing type of employment among those with a paid job in Slovenia is full-time employment, i.e., working 40 hours per week. This corresponds to the general pattern in Slovenia, where a great majority of those regularly employed work 40 hours. The share of those on unemployment benefits in the case of both Slovenian estates is surprisingly low. One possible explanation is that people are either not registered or their eligibility for allowances has ceased after the legally prescribed period. The other possibility is that the unemployed and/or otherwise unprivileged residents were not part of our survey because they do not have the phone and are unlisted or they have refused to participate in the survey.
How much do people pay for their housing expenses?15
Overall, only 5.5 per cent pay 10 per cent or less of their income on housing expenses; 37.4 per cent pay between 11 and 30 per cent, while 28 per cent pay between 30 and 50 per cent of their income. Nineteen per cent of the households spend even more than 50 per cent of their income on housing expenses. Figure 3.4. shows large differences between estates. Eighty-six per cent of all households in Havanna (Budapest) spend at least 30 per cent of their income on housing; in Bijlmer-East (Amsterdam) this share is 77 per cent, while almost 40 per cent of all households spend at least 50 per cent of their income on housing costs. On the majority of the estates more than 50 per cent of the inhabitants spend more than 30 per cent of their incomes on housing. Trinitat Nova (Barcelona) and La Ville Nouvelle (Lyon) seem to be the cheapest places in which to live. These two areas are radically different, however. La Ville Nouvelle is principally social housing, while Trinitat Nova is dominated by owner- occupation. While the share of housing costs in relation to household income is predominantly below one- third in the Slovenian case of Fužine, it is more than half of the household income for almost 14 per cent of surveyed Žusterna-Semedela residents.
14 In many articles written in the past, this area was stigmatised as one of the worst post-WWII housing estates in Europe. Policies of urban restructuring have radically altered the physical and population structure of the area. 15 We asked the following question: “What share of your income is needed to cover your total housing costs (rent or mortgage, electricity, water, and so forth)?” Respondents could choose between four answers (less than 10 per cent, 11-30 per cent, 31-50 per cent, more than 50 per cent).
63 Figure 3.4 - Share of household income spent on housing costs on 29 post-WWII housing estates in European cities, sorted as less than 31 per cent, 31-50 per cent, more than 50 per cent
Source: RESTATE survey, spring 2004
Summary
The population of the estates shows wide variations with respect to all basic variables such as age, household composition, and ethnic composition. Some estates clearly have an elderly population, which means that large population changes may be expected in the near future. Some other estates have a relatively young population, indicating a high turnover rate connected with an inflow of new inhabitants in recent years. The large housing estates are definitely not just for single and two-person households. Family households are relatively numerous on many estates. In Sweden, the Netherlands, and France in particular, the large
64 post-WWII housing estates can be characterised as multicultural estates with relatively large numbers of inhabitants belonging to minority ethnic groups. In many cases the large housing estates comprise large numbers of rented dwellings, but there are also clear examples of estates with a majority of owner-occupied units. The dwellings are not always small: in some cases quite large dwellings (more than 80m2) even predominate. Housing expenses are not always low: many households have to pay more than 30 per cent and sometimes even more than 50 per cent of their income on housing. Finally, many households have moved to their present dwellings for a rather negative reason: no other dwellings were available.
65 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF THE ESTATES
Satisfaction and dissatisfaction
Large post-WWII housing estates have been the subject of many critical reviews, especially those which comprise many high-rise buildings. In Sweden, Dahlström (1957) and Landström (1958) [quoted in Borgegård and Kemeny (2004)] stated that there was already great concern in the 1940s that high-rise buildings would create barriers between people. In England, Dunleavy (1981) came to a similar conclusion. Criticism was also forthcoming in Denmark as early as the 1960s. Morville (1969) found a negative correlation between the time young children spent playing outside and the height of their homes (quoted in Vestergaard, 2004). The early critics focused clearly on the dwelling itself and not on the direct environment. What is the situation now? What do the inhabitants of the high-rise housing estates think about living on these estates? Before asking them about the estates, we asked them about their level of satisfaction with the dwelling itself.
Satisfaction with the dwelling
Figure 4.1 shows the average satisfaction with the home on a ten-point scale (10=highest); we added the information on whether the satisfaction with the home had increased or decreased in the past five years. For this purpose a ratio was calculated: the ratio of the percentage with lower satisfaction/higher satisfaction per estate, indexed by the average over all estates. This index shows devaluation if the index is higher than 1, and shows progress in terms of satisfaction if the score is lower than 1. The differences between the estates with respect to satisfaction are wide. Average satisfaction is quite high on estates such as Orcasitas, Öxnehaga, Nove Fužine, Comasina and Råslätt and also relatively high on various other estates such as Bijlmer-East, Sant’Ambrogio, La Ville Nouvelle, Trinitat Nova, San Siro; on all these estates satisfaction seems to be increasing. Other estates with fairly high satisfaction scores tend to decline in terms of satisfaction with the home (Žusterna-Semedela, Bow HAT estates, Märkische Viertel, Nieuw Hoograven). Kolenkit in Amsterdam reaches remarkable scores. Here, the respondents were dissatisfied with their homes and expected a further decline. Hodge Hill also seems to be highly problematic. Compared with the other estates, the inhabitants of this estate are highly dissatisfied with their homes and a large number of the residents have seen their dwellings decline in the past five years. In other words: large housing estates cannot automatically be seen as bad places in which to live, but there are definitely also estates that are seen as areas in which dissatisfaction seems to predominate (at least with respect to the dwellings in which people live).
66 Figure 4.1 - Average satisfaction with the home (scale 1-10) and indexed change on 29 post- WWII housing estates in European cities
Source: RESTATE survey, spring 2004
Satisfaction with the estate
What is considered in positive terms on the estates? What are the most negative aspects? We started our investigation by asking the following (open) question: “Which aspect of the neighbourhood do you like most? 16 On 12 of the 29 estates the availability of green spaces is
16 This means that only aspects of the estate were mentioned here, not aspects of the dwelling.
67 seen as the most positive aspect of the estate by more than 40 per cent of the respondents (Figure 4.2).
All three Italian estates can be found among the estates with residents who are most satisfied with their green areas. On those estates where this aspect was referred to less frequently, the accessibility to public services (such as shops, the library, medical services) was mentioned as an important positive aspect. The composition of the population was seen as the most positive factor on only a few estates. Clearly, physical aspects are evaluated more positively than social aspects.
Figure 4.2 - Neighborhood aspects most liked in 29 post-WWII estates in European cities (sorted by percentage of “green spaces” and so forth)
Source: RESTATE survey, spring 2004
68 Summary
In this section, we have focused on the question whether or not the inhabitants of the estates evaluate their housing situation (the estate, their home) as satisfactory (research question 2). It has been shown that definitely not everybody is dissatisfied; neither are all aspects of the home or the estate evaluated negatively. In other words: while the large post-WWII housing estates are often perceived as not very nice places in which to live, the opinions of the inhabitants themselves show a wide differentiation, which implies that judgements and stigmas should be considered critically. In the case of Slovenian estates the level of satisfaction with the estate was given the highest marks by a large proportion of residents. The highest marks of 8, 9 and 10 were given by 45.1 per cent of respondents in Fužine and by 38.1 per cent of respondents in Žusterna-Semedela. The more educated and younger were more critical. But overall, the high level of satisfaction with the estate may indicate that that in the perception of the residents, their estates are not degrading at a fast pace. Also, as the results of the survey show, the level of satisfaction in those two estates has not changed in the last five years for more than 60 per cent of the respondents. The aspects mentioned as most (or least) liked also differ substantially between the estates; this variation implies that management strategies in different estates should concentrate on different aspects. The most liked aspects of the two Slovenian estates also show some differences. While in the case of Fužine, the highest share of respondents selected green areas as the most liked aspects (49.1 per cent), the opinions of the respondents from Žusterna- Semedela estate were more dispersed. Fužine borders on the Ljubljanica River that offers pleasant promenades along its banks and, as already mentioned, this was often indicated in the interviews as one of the positive sides of living in Fužine. In both estates, accessibility of public services got the next highest mark. The least liked aspect tends to be related to the people who live there, although this aspect is not necessarily related to the share of non indigenous inhabitants on an estate. This was also the most disliked aspect in the case of Fužine. A closer inspection of the answers revealed that, although respondents frequently say that they do not like the people who live on the estate, this aversion is not systematically related to the share of non indigenous inhabitants among their neighbours.
69 FUTURE IDEAS
What do inhabitants think about the future of their estates? Confidence in positive future development is an indication of a situation in which the estate is, or probably will be, a nice place in which to live. Figure 5.1 shows that more than half the inhabitants foresee a positive future on about 11 estates. In some situations this positive feeling will relate to the fact that people already have a rather positive opinion about the estate (as in Trinitat Nova in Barcelona and Orcasitas in Madrid). On other estates we think that a positive feeling relates to present policies: in Bijlmer-East and Kolenkit in Amsterdam there are extensive plans (some of which have already been carried out) to improve the areas. The respondents probably view these plans in a positive light. In Slovenian cases, in all, 42 per cent of respondents from Fužine and 32 per cent of respondents from Žusterna-Semedela envisage a better future for their estate. This is a rather positive result and might indicate that some programmes or different activities already have an effect on the estates and that the residents believe that there will be further improvements of the conditions on the estates. There are also, however, some neighbourhoods where the majority of the respondents do not seem to have much confidence in positive future developments. Hodge Hill in Birmingham and Poplar HARCA estates in London are cases in point. Hodge Hill has previously been mentioned as a place where many residents seem to be dissatisfied.
Staying or leaving: will the residents move away, or stay on the estate?
People move house for various reasons. Usually, people want to move because they are dissatisfied with some aspect of their present housing situation. The dwelling may have become too small because of family extension, or too big because the children have moved out. In other cases people may want to move from a rental unit to an owner-occupied house. People who are dissatisfied about certain aspects related to the (immediate or less immediate) surroundings of the dwelling might want to move to another area as soon as possible. Having no intention to move within a short time span generally indicates a situation in which people are satisfied (although it might also be the case that they say they do not want to move because they know there are no opportunities to do so).
70 Figure 5.1 - Opinions of residents of 29 post-WWII housing estates in European cities: Will the estate be a better place in which to live? Sorted by category: “better” “neutral” “worse”.
Source: RESTATE survey, spring 2004
Figure 5.2 depicts the percentages of people on the 29 estates who have plans to move within a period of two years. At the very bottom of the graph are the three Italian estates. Most of the households on these estates seem to be quite satisfied with them: they do not want to move. The share of people with plans to move is below 20 per cent on five other estates. At the top of the figure are seven estates that have relatively large numbers of potential movers. All these estates can be characterised as multicultural areas: here, the population has changed rather dramatically in the last few years. Given the rather favourable overall results with respect to the level of satisfaction with the neighbourhood and dwellings in the case of Slovenian estates, it is not surprising that only a smaller proportion – around a quarter – of the residents of both estates are considering to move in the next two years. The main reason why they consider a move is the need for a bigger dwelling.
71 Figure 5.2 - Percentage of people on 29 post-WWII housing estates in European cities who want to move house within two years
Source: RESTATE survey, spring 2004
Summary
In this section, we have dealt with the future perspectives of the estate. With regard to plans to move within two years, there appears to be a strong association with the proportion of the non indigenous on the estates. The higher that proportion, the higher the percentage of people who say they want to move.
72 CONCLUSIONS
In this report, we have considered large-scale housing estates in European cities. We assessed the opinions of the inhabitants and ascertained the future prospects of the estates as the inhabitants perceived them. Our investigation was structured by the following questions: How can the population and dwellings of the estates be characterised? How satisfied are the inhabitants with their homes and their estates and how can differences between (groups of) estates be explained? How do the inhabitants living on the estates assess their recent and future developments and do these inhabitants plan to stay on these estates or not?
With regard to question 1, we can say that the population composition on the various estates differs substantially. Young households predominate on some estates, whereas other estates are characterised by an elderly population, for example. Estates in Sweden, the Netherlands, and France are characterised by a multicultural population. Most of the estates we have included in our research have large numbers of inhabitants with a low level of education and low incomes, but higher-income households and highly-educated individuals are not completely absent. There is also some variation in tenure type, the size of the dwellings, and housing costs. In short, post-war housing estates are not characterised by inexpensive rented dwellings alone. Question 2 relates to the satisfaction of the inhabitants with their homes and their estate. The opinions of the inhabitants differ substantially. There are no standard answers to the questions. Different aspects are mentioned as most liked on different estates; similarly, aspects regarded as least liked differed according to the estate, although on many of them one answer was mentioned relatively frequently: “the people who live there”. This is an interesting finding, since many national and local government authorities resort to social engineering to obtain the desired population composition of housing estates. Clearly, this is a sensitive issue. In this context, it was interesting to find that opinions about the people who were living on the estates were not necessarily related to the share of the non indigenous there. Negative opinions about people in the neighbourhood were also expressed with regard to estates with no or just a few non indigenous ihabitants. The average satisfaction with the neighbourhood also showed significant variation (Table 6.1). Some estates seem to be really problematic, namely those with a low satisfaction score and a predominantly negative view about future developments. But all other variants are also present, although most of the estates show relatively high satisfaction scores as well as positive foreseen developments.
73 Table 6.1 - Average satisfaction and expected development in 29 post-WWII housing estates in European cities
Low satisfaction High satisfaction and Low satisfaction and High satisfaction and negative negative development positive development and positive development development
Kolenkit Central Estates Nieuw-Hoograven Comasina Kanaleneiland Poplar HARCA Tensta Sant’Ambrogio Husby Bow HAT Havanna San Siro Hodge Hill Žusterna-Semedela Wrzeciono Märkische Viertel Les Minguettes La Ville Nouvelle Simancas Bijlmer-East Sant Roc Öxnehaga Marzahn/Hellersdorf Nove Fužine Jósaváros Råslätt Ursynów Pn. Orcasitas Trinitat Nova
Source: RESTATE survey, spring 2004
Finally, question 3 dealt with the future. Are the residents planning to move or stay on the estate? At least half the respondents on eleven of the estates foresaw a positive future for them. Some estates were already in good standing since they had already been judged positively. Examples are Trinitat Nova in Barcelona, and Orcasitas in Madrid; other estates lacked such good standing, but were undergoing major policy interventions. Where these plans were extensive and clearly visible, many respondents perceived them as a positive sign for the future. Among the most obvious examples were Bijlmer-East and Kolenkit in Amsterdam and Råslätt in Jönköpping. On other estates, such as Hodge Hill in Birmingham and Poplar HARCA in London, less bright perspectives were found, perhaps as a result of the lack of policy interventions in the past. A fairly strong association was revealed between the plans to move within two years and the share of the non indigenous on an estate. The higher that share, the greater is the percentage of people who say they want to move. This relationship is not necessarily causal, however. The association may be indirect, and may perhaps be related to the quality of the estates and the relative position of the estate on the housing market. Moreover, estates with a substantial share of immigrants may also be characterised by younger residents, who generally tend to move more frequently.
74 Overall this study, complicated as it is, has revealed a large variation of structures and processes associated with post-war housing estates. Problems and perspectives can be found as well as successful and perhaps equally complicated policy interventions. The comparisons we have presented here should not be interpreted as a hard and fast classification of European housing estates, but rather as a collection of experiences, practices, and failures with regard to these segments of local housing markets; as such they may contribute to our understanding of the variation in post-war housing estates.
REFERENCES
Aalbers, M., Musterd, S. and Ostendorf, W. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4e I. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Andersen, H.S. (2001) Excluded places: on the interaction between segregation, urban decay and deprived neighbourhoods. Paper for the ISA RC21-Conference, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Andersson, R., Öresjö, E., Petterson, L., Holmqvist, E., Siwertsson, C. and Solid, D. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Stockholm and Jönköping, Sweden: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4i. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Belmessous, F., Chemin, C., Chignier-Riboulon, F., Commerçon, N., Trigueiro, M. and Zepf, M. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Lyon, France: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4a. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Borgegård, L. and Kemeny, J. (2004) Sweden: High-rise housing in a low-density country, in: R. Turkington, R. van Kempen and F. Wassenberg (Eds) (2004) High-rise Housing in Europe: Current Trends and Future Prospects. Delft: Delft University Press. pp. 31-48. Černič Mali, B., Sendi, R., Boškić, R., Filipović, M. and Goršič, N. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Ljubljana and Koper, Slovenia: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4g. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Dahlström, E. (1957) Barnfamiljer i höghus och trevånings låghus I Vällingby (Childrens’ families in high-rise and three-storey buildings in Vällingby). Stockholm: Sociologisk undersökning, SNB. Dekker, K. and van Kempen, R. (2004) Large housing estates in Europe: current situation and developments, in: Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 95 (5), pp. 570-577. Dekker, K. and van Kempen, R. (2005) Large housing estates in Europe: a contemporary overview, in: R. van Kempen, K. Dekker, S. Hall and I. Tosics (Eds) Restructuring Large Housing Estates in European Cities. Bristol: Policy Press (forthcoming). Dunleavy, P. (1981) The Politics of Mass Housing in Britain, 1945-1975. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
75 Evans, R. (1998) Tackling deprivation on social housing estates in England: an assessment of the housing plus approach, in: Housing Studies, 13 (5), pp. 713-726. Hall, P. (1997) Regeneration policies for peripheral housing estates: inward- and outward- looking approaches, in: Urban Studies, 34 (5), pp. 873-890. Hall, S., Murie, A., Rowlands, R. and Sankey, S. (2005) Large Housing Estates in London and Birmingham, United Kingdom: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4j. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Knorr-Siedow, T. and Droste, C. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Berlin, Germany: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4b. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Landström, L. (1958) Höghus och låghus i småstadsmiljö (High-rise and low-rise in a small town environment). Stockholm: AB Byggmästarens Förlag. Morville, J. (1969) Planlægning af børns udemiljø I etage boligområder (Planning for children in multi-storey housing areas). Copenhagen: Statens Byggeforkningsinstitut. Murie, A., Knorr-Siedow, T. and van Kempen, R. (2003) Large Housing Estates in Europe: General Developments and Theoretical Backgrounds. RESTATE report 1. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Murie, A., Tosics, I., Aalbers, M., Sendi, R. and Černič Mali, B. (2005) Privatisation and after, in: R. van Kempen, K. Dekker, S. Hall and I. Tosics (Eds) Restructuring Large Housing Estates in European Cities. Bristol: Policy Press (forthcoming). Musterd, S., Priemus, H. and van Kempen, R. (1999) Towards undivided cities: The potential of economic revitalisation and housing redifferentiation, in: Housing Studies 14 (5), pp. 573- 584. Pareja Eastaway, M., Tapada Berteli, T., van Boxmeer, B., Garcia Ferrando, L. and Simó Solsona, M. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4h. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Power, A. (1997) Estates on the Edge: The Social Consequences of Mass Housing in Europe. London: MacMillan. Power, A. and Tunstall, R. (1995) Swimming Against the Tide. Polarisation or Progress on 20 Unpopular Council Estates, 1980-1995. London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Taylor, M. (1998) Combating the social exclusion of housing estates, in: Housing Studies, 13 (6), pp. 819-832. Tosics, I., Gerőházi, E. and Szemző, H. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Budapest and Nyíregyháza, Hungary: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4c. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Van Beckhoven, E. and van Kempen, R. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Utrecht, the Netherlands: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4e II. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University.
76 Van Kempen, R., Musterd, S., Dekker, K. (2005) Large-scale housing estates in European cities: a general overview of the results of the RESTATE project. paper for the RESTATE Conference, Ljubljana, May 2005, Slovenia Vestergaard, H. (2004) Denmark: Limited problems but intensive action, in: R. Turkington, R. van Kempen and F. Wassenberg (2004) High-rise Housing in Europe: Current Trends and Future Prospects. Delft: Delft University Press. pp. 49-60. Wassenberg, F., Turkington, R. and van Kempen, R. (2004) High-rise housing estates in Europe, in: R. Turkington, R. van Kempen and F. Wassenberg (Eds) (2004) High-rise Housing in Europe: Current Trends and Future Prospects. Delft: Delft University Press. pp. 1- 14.
Węcđawowicz, G., Guszcza, A., Kozđowski, S., Bielewska, A., Adamiak, A., Krasowska, M., Fader, A. and Bierzyński, A. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Warsaw, Poland: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4f. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Zajzcyk, F., Mugnano, S. and Palvarini, P. (2005) Large Housing Estates in Milan, Italy: Opinions of Residents on Recent Developments. RESTATE report 4d. Utrecht: Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University.
77 SRNA MANDIČ
HOUSING RENOVATION AND DEFICIT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL
INTRODUCTION
Housing renovation and upkeep are among significant issues recently debated, particularly in relation to troubled neighborhoods and to post-war estates (see RESTATE; Murie, Knorr- Siedow and Van Kempen, 2003). In recent literature on urban renewal and community development in Western societies, an increasing emphasis is placed on social capital as one of the important developmental factors. Social capital is seen as a specific factor that can activate potential for renewal and enable wider participation and cooperation of residents and other actors (Gittel and Vidal, 1998; Atkinson and Cope 1997).
In this paper the question is raised in the Slovenian context and is limited to the issue of upkeep and renovation in multi-dwelling buildings. The focus of the paper is on the question of whether the deficit of social capital is among reasons why some multi-dwelling buildings in Slovenia are less successfully maintained and renovated than the others. For this purpose the data from The Housing Survey in Slovenia 2005 are examined.
SOCIAL CAPITAL AND NEIGHBORHOODS - CONCEPTUAL ISSUES
The notion of social capital was primarily popularized by the World Bank (1997). In its Four Capital Approach to defining components of national wealth and developmental capacities, four distinctive forms of the capital were defined:
x Natural capital, referring to the stock of environmental assets.
x Man-made capital, denoting the stock of machinery, buildings, infrastructure etc.
x Human capital, referring to people’s productive capacities such as skills, education etc.
78 x Social capital, implying “social networks, associations and institutions tied by common norms and trustful relationships that facilitate co-operation” (World Bank 1997, cited after Berger-Schmidt and Noll 2000:23).
In literature dealing with general developmental issues, the social capital of a society is understood as including the institutions, the relationships, the attitudes and values that govern interactions among people and contribute to the economic and social development of a society. Because of the ties among actors the social and economic system as a whole is understood to function better.
There are yet other somewhat different understandings of social capital and its scope. Putnam (1993:36), one of the most prominent authors on the issue, defines social capital as horizontal associations between people, “features of social organization, such as networks, norms and trust, that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit”. He distinguishes between two types of social capital; the ‘bonding’ capital that brings together people who already know each other; and the second, the ‘bridging capital’, bringing together individuals and groups who previously did not know each other. The main elements of social capital for Putnam are trust and cooperation. Such understanding of social capital presumes that the more dense connections among people are, the stronger is mutual trust among them and the better off they are individually and collectively (Briggs, 1998).
The scope of social capital is not restricted to interpersonal relations, but may include intermediary organizations as well as macro level societal institutions, implying also public policies. However, the notion of social capital was applied also to specific segments of societies, most notably to community development (see Gitell and Vidal, 1998; Temkin and Rohe,1998; Hogget 1997; Gilchrist 2004) , with strong relation to issues of urban renewal.
Temkin and Rohe (1998) in their study focus on the role social capital plays in fostering community development in Pittsburg, U.S.A. They defined social capital as consisting of two main components, the two being similar to Putnam’s distinction between the bonding and the bridging capital. The first component is the socio-cultural milieu and it describes the overall sense of attachment and loyalty among neighborhood. The second component is the institutional infrastructure, measuring the organizational ability of the neighborhood to act on their common interest.
While the first component measures residents’ commitment to the neighborhood, the second component captures the ability to turn this commitment into effective collective action. It is the combination of both components – the socio-cultural milieu and the institutional infrastructure that is found to be crucial. Temkin and Rohe established that social capital was a key determinant in predicting neighborhood stability and that neighborhoods with large amounts of social capital were less likely to decline.
79 Keyes et al. (1996), as summarized by Gitell and Vidal (1998) discusses social capital in relation to the non-profit low income housing developers and observed how their functioning was affected by social capital. In their notion of social capital, four elements were included: long-term relationships of trust and reciprocity, shared vision, mutual interest and a new element - financial nexus. Financial nexus includes connections that are based only on financial interest and rational choice.
Gitell and Vidal (1998) discuss the issue of building social capital as a community development strategy, emphasizing “the potential for community residents to act on collective commitments, interest and objectives” (p.25). They evaluate the case of a specific organization (LISC), that was established in the U.S.A. to serve community development by “instituting processes to increase social capital bonds and bridges”. They establish that what may be required to foster community development in areas that have lacked formative efforts are new associations and actors with broader social interests than self-interested groups and individual’s practices
PROBLEMS OF HOUSING RENOVATION AND UP-KEEP IN LARGE POST-WAR HOUSING ESTATES
In the EU, problems of renovation and maintenance of housing are currently discussed particularly in relation to large post-war housing estates, which are recognized as problematic and “amongst the most striking examples for the mismanagement of knowledge in recent European urban development” (Knorr-Siedov and Tosics, 2005).
No matter how important is the problem of troubled housing estates in Western countries, it is much more severe and manifest among the new member states. “Whereas large-housing estates in the West are an important part of the housing stock, not exceeding 10 per cent, they are the dominant form of urban housing in the East, reaching between 20 and 35 per cent of the population” (Murie, Knorr-Siedow and Van Kempen, 2003:12). Yet, in Eastern countries the social capital in general is found to be much lower than in Western countries and recognized in general as a developmental drawback in the region (Adam and Rončevič 2004; Iglič 2005).
The mounting problems in managing and maintenance in East and Central European housing estates and in multi-dwelling buildings after privatization have been frequently pointed out (see Turner, Hegedus and Tosics 1996; Clapham et. al. 1996; Struyk 1996; Hegedus, Mayo and Tosics 1996; Černič-Mali, Sendi et. al. 2003). The main problems in Slovenian multi- dwelling housing are best summarized by findings in RESTATE project:
‘With privatization of the housing stock, management and maintenance o large hosing estates has become a significant problem… the burden of all expenses relating to dwellings was
80 placed on private owners, who were often not aware of these costs… Some simply refuse to pay the common expenses… Still others cannot meet their financial obligations because they are too high ‘(..29). With regard to management, the problem of coordination of so many different owners is significant. … In accordance with the law, flat owners in each building select a building manager or they can manage the building by themselves... The participation of owners is rather low and only few of them actively participate, whilst others are passive and do not even know their rights ….The search for appropriate legal provisions and organizational forms is ongoing. The mentality of residents is changing only slowly (Ploštajner, Černič-Mali and Sendi 2004:p.29-31).
The difficulties described were found in case of housing estate of Fužine in Ljubljana, but can be generalized to some extent to all multi-dwelling buildings. However, housing estates as well as multi- dwelling buildings y vary considerably in how they manage to solve these problems and how the association of flat owners and Committee of flat owners work. In some buildings, maintenance and upkeep is much better than in others, yet the general legal, policy and economic context is the same.
Because legal requirements regarding organization of management and the necessary level of renovation are rather loose, the actual decisions and actions taken in individual buildings largely depend on specific agreement that owners arrive at. Thus, a challenging question emerges, to what extent can inadequate upkeep and renovation in a multi-dwelling building be attributed to deficit in the ability of owners to cooperate in defining and achieving common goals in upkeep and renovation. Trust and cooperation among residents, or socio-cultural milieu and institutional infrastructure, the basic features of social capital, can be supposed as relevant not only at community or estates levels, but also on the level of multi-dwelling buildings and affecting the residents’ involvement in housing upkeep and renovation.
SOCIAL CAPITAL AND DIVERSE MODES OF RENOVATION IN MULTI-DWELLING BUILDINGS IN SLOVENIA: FINDINGS FROM THE HOUSING SURVEY 2005
The key issue in this analysis is the difference in the quality of upkeep and renovation among multi-dwelling buildings in Slovenia and the factors, that make the difference. There are many reasons why some multi-dwelling buildings are better renovated than others - such as the age and condition of buildings, the cost of renovation and the ability of owners to pay the cost. The owners may thus meet many obstacles to carry out renovation. How significant among these obstacles is the ability of owners to cooperate and define common problems and their solutions in renovation and to mobilize to achieve them? In opinion of interviewees in the Housing Survey about the key obstacles to efficient renovation in a multi-dwelling building, the top reason was lack of finances with 42%; the second was the inability of owners to come to agreement with 17,5%; all other reasons being significantly less important. Thus, residents themselves do recognize the lack of cooperative norms among them as an important factor.
81 In this paper, the mode of renovation is examined and distinction between the prompt and the blocked mode of renovation is made. Distinction is based on the renovation activity in the building that interviewees reported. Three items counted: the roof, the façade, and the installations. The situation, that at least one of these items have been repaired or changed during previous five years and that none of these items needed a repair or change during next five years, was considered to signify prompt renovation. The other situation where no items have been repaired in last 5 years, but at least one of them needs to be repaired, is considered as blocked mode of renovation; it signifies that some obstacles exist, preventing the renovation activities starting in time. Cases meeting neither of the described criteria were classified as ‘other mode’.
The data are from the Housing Survey carried out in early 2005 in Slovenia, carried out by the Faculty for Social Sciences in Ljubljana and commissioned by The Housing Fund of Slovenia. The representative survey sample included 4009 households. In this analysis only those households are included that live in buildings that were built before the year 1970 and have thus entered the age when renovation has been required.
Firstly let us examine the situation in diverse types of buildings, as illustrated in Table 1. Table 1: Mode of renovation in diverse types of buildings
Type of building BLOCKED OTHER MODE PROMPT Total
High-rise or new block with 44 57 45 146 5 or more floors 30,1% 39,0% 30,8% 100,0%
125 149 81 355 Block with up to 4 floors 35,2% 42,0% 22,8% 100,0%
Family house with single 164 328 164 656 dwelling 25,0% 50,0% 25,0% 100,0%
Family house 88 165 95 348 With 2 do 4 dwellings 25,3% 47,4% 27,3% 100,0%
Other multi-dwelling 75 105 26 206 building 36,4% 51,0% 12,6% 100,0%
3 1 2 6 Other 50,0% 16,7% 33,3% 100,0%
Total 499 805 413 1717 Sig.=0.000 29,1% 46,9% 24,1% 100,0%
Source: Housing Survey in Slovenia, 2005
82 There are important, statistically significant differences in mode of renovation among diverse types of buildings. As shown in Table 1, in family housing the incidence of blocked renovation is least pronounced, yet it is still a significant problem covering 25% of cases. Family houses with up to 4 dwellings, because of specific relational among individual owners, would require specific analysis and will not be examined here.
Further analysis will focus only on multi-dwelling buildings with 5 or more dwellings. This covers 712 cases, of which 246 cases (or 34,6 %) are classified as having the blocked renovation, 154 cases (or 21,6%) as having prompt renovation and 312 cases (43,8%) as having other, intermediary modes of renovation.
First let us examine those characteristics of multi-dwelling buildings that indicate different forms of capital, besides social capital: the physical, human and financial capital to use somewhat adapted World Bank terminology.
It can be expected that late renovation would correlate with worse physical conditions and lower quality of housing in that building. The figures are reported in Table 2.
Table 2: Indicators of physical capital (quality of dwellings) of buildings with diverse modes of renovation
BLOCKED OTHER PROMPT TOTAL SIG- N=246 N=312 N=154 N=712
% damp 11,3 12,8 2,6 10,1 0.006**
% inadequate 16,4 18,6 7,8 15,5 0.002** installations
% dissatisfied 17,1 14,7 3,9 13,2 0.001** with dwelling
Source: Housing Survey in Slovenia, 2005
As shown in Table 2, in buildings with blocked renovation, deficient dwellings are more frequent than in other buildings. The difference is statistically significant on all three indicators of housing quality
83 Characteristics related to human and financial capital are examined next and reported in Table 3. Table 3: Indicators of human and financial capital of residents of buildings with diverse modes of renovation
BLOCKED OTHER PROMPT TOTAL SIG. N=246 N=312 N=154 N=712
% Aged 36 do 65 63,0 61,2 53,6 60,2 0.383
% with higher degree of 27,2 34,9 33,1 31,9 0.333 education
% with difficulties 0.000** in making ends 27,1 22,4 15,6 22,5 meet
% with no savings 0.929 46,2 45,5 42,7 45,1 in year-time
% living in larger 46,7 61,7 61,7 56,5 0.000** towns
Source: Housing Survey in Slovenia, 2005
As shown in Table 3, in buildings with blocked renovation, the middle aged residents are over-represented. Slightly overrepresented also are residents with lower means in the sense that they do not have any savings during a year-time; more strongly overrepresented are those with difficulties in making ends meet. People with higher levels of education are slightly underrepresented. However, among modes of renovation, only two factors make a statistically significant difference: having difficulties in making ends meet and the size of the town. The last one is only partly and indicator of human capital, but is a synthetic indicator of a number of advantages that the inhabitants of larger towns have in relation to resources related to knowledge, skills and financial means.
The next indicators to be examined are those related to social capital. Three components of social capital will be observed: the institutional infrastructure, socio-cultural milieu and level of trust.
84 Institutional infrastructure is about the formal organizational features related to management of the building. It is measured by four indicators, presented in table 4.
Table 4: Indicators of institutional infrastructure in buildings with diverse mode of renovation
BLOCKED OTHER PROMPT TOTAL SIG. N=246 N=312 N=154 N=712
% Have manager 67,8 69,7 81,0 71,5 0.011*
% have Funds for maintenance 63,5 64,5 73,8 66,1 0.085
% Easily obtain agreement on 32,6 46,5 64,4 45,7 0.000** renovation issues
% with case of non payment for 36,7 36,8 33,7 36,2 0.841 common expenses
% with cases of residents seizing 28,6 27,8 11,4 24,4 0.000** common space
Source: Housing Survey in Slovenia, 2005
Both formal indicators - the existence of a manager and of a common fund for renovation - are found more frequently in promptly renovated buildings. Yet the difference is not as substantial as expected; the fund for renovation did not even turn out to be a statistically significant factor distinguishing between blocked and promptly carried out renovation.
The other three indicators show how efficient is the operation of the formal institutional infrastructure in the building and what are their outcomes. It shows the organizational ability of residents to collectively act. Two of these indicators turn out to be highly significant. First is an easy arrival at agreement about renovation issues in the building. Second is the presence of a case whereby one of residents has illegally occupied a space in the building that otherwise belongs to all and keeps it for his own personal use. This seems to best embody
85 the organizational inability of residents to act and enact the rules against individual will. Non payment for common expenses was also found to slightly differ, yet not significantly.
The next dimension of social capital is the socio-cultural milieu in the building. It is about the bonds between residents, their neighborly relations and their sense of attachment. As reported in Table 5, seven indicators were considered. Table 5: Indicators of socio-cultural milieu among residents of buildings with diverse mode of renovation
BLOCKED OTHER PROMPT TOTAL SIG. N=246 N=312 N=154 N=712
Weak bonds
% Knows majority 76,0 79,8 74,7 77,4 0.498 of neighbours
% occasionally Talks to 96,7 99,0 92,1 96,7 0.000** neighbours
Close bonds
% has a friend 64,1 56,4 57,6 59,3 0.184 among neighbours
% attached to 45,1 58,0 56,9 53,3 0.012* neighbourhood
% residents often 31,6 31,6 30,5 31,4 0.965 change
% Socially more 69,6 67,5 62,4 67,1 0.334 mixed structure
% has problems 6,1 8,0 1,9 6,0 0.043* with neighbours
Source: Housing Survey in Slovenia, 2005
The weak bonds with three indicators: knowing a majority of the neighbours, occasionally talking to them or having friends and acquaintances among neighbours - are not significantly more frequent in promptly renovated buildings; in contrast to what was expected, weak bonds are thus not a factor related to better cooperation and renovation. Even more contrary, occasional talking to neighbours is yet more frequent in buildings with blocked renovation.
86 Two indicators of closer bonds are found in diverse relationships to the mode of renovation. The first - having friends or acquaintances among neighbours is not a significant factor in making difference, but is more frequent in buildings with weaker renovation. Thus, more frequent friendly attachment to a resident in the buildings does not make any difference to renovation. However, the other indicator of close bonds – the attachment to the neighborhood - does. However, there is some ambiguity in this indicator, involving not only close neighbours, but also characteristics of the location.
It could be hypothesized, that more cohesive settings, where residents are more long-standing and of similar social backgrounds, represent a socio-cultural milieu which makes decisions about renovation easier. However, according to the survey results, the social structure of residents and their turnover are not significant factors.
Among all indicators of socio-cultural milieu, the strongest statistically significant factor is the estimated quality of the relationship with neighbours. Having problems with neighbours is significantly more frequent in buildings with blocked renovation
The last dimension of social capital is trust. Trust, a significant component of social capital and of developmental efficiency, was measured both as ‘the generalized trust’ and as ‘the specific trust’, related to particular actors which are relevant in the housing sphere.
Table 6: Trust, stated by residents of buildings with diverse modes of renovation
BLOCKED OTHER PROMPT TOTAL SIG. Trust in: N=246 N=312 N=154 =712
% most people in general 13,8 18,6 18,2 16,9 0.582
% housing 37,6 30,6 37,3 34,4 0.281 manager
% other residents 39,1 45,9 43,1 43,0 0.161 in building
% lawyer 38,2 33,0 35,9 35,4 0.590
% notary 31,8 32,9 31,3 32,2 0.649
87 % state/local hou- 16,5 24,1 19,7 20,4 0.018* sing administration
% real-estate 12,9 15,7 13,7 14,3 0.181 agency
% courts 21,3 21,7 22,3 21,7 0.124
% banks 46,3 46,8 63,8 50,3 0.004**
% family and 91,0 86,9 89,0 88,7 0.598 relatives
% neighbours 45,5 42,6 44,2 43,9 0.602
Source: Housing Survey in Slovenia, 2005
As shown in Table 6, in the examined sub-sample of 712 cases, a low level - 16,9% - of general trust was found. This figure closely corresponds to the figure in the total survey sample of 4009 of the Housing survey, and also to the national figure reported elsewhere (see Iglič 2005). Also other basic proportions are the same: very high trust in family and relatives, in proximity to 90%; middle trust in proximity to 40% in neighbours and other residents in the building; lower trust to given institutions, with exception of banks being highly trusted and with real-estate agents with the lowest trust.
The same proportions are repeated also among residents within all three modes of renovation. However, there are two statistically significant differences between them. Banks as well as the state and local housing administration are significantly more trusted in promptly renovated buildings, than where renovation is refrained. Trust in these institutions may certainly encourage residents to seek their services and eventually make good use of them.
CONCLUSIONS
A number of indicators were analyzed and examined for their relationship with the mode of renovation in multi-dwelling buildings. As expected, the physical condition of the building and the general financial situation of residents were found to be factors that make significant difference between the buildings, where renovation is in time, and those, where it is in delay
88 or lacking. The age and the level of education as indicators of human capital were found to slightly differ, yet were not statistically significant.
Three dimensions of social capital were observed. The institutional infrastructure, measuring the organizational ability of residents to collectively act on their common interest, was found to be very important. Three out of five indicators significantly correlated with the mode of renovation. Having a manager, easily getting to agree on renovation issues and not having cases of arbitrary personal occupation of common space proved to facilitate prompt renovation. The last indicator signifies a weak institutional infrastructure and an inability of owners to enact the formal rules in relation to an individual who disobeys them.
In examining the socio-cultural dimension of social capital, three indicators were found significant; in promptly renovated buildings fewer residents occasionally talk to neighbors, fewer declare difficult relations with them and more residents declare that they are attached to the neighborhood.
Trust - the last component of social capital - was found to differ significantly among diverse modes of renovation only in relation to two subjects: banks and housing administration on State and local level. Residents of promptly renovated buildings express significantly higher trust than those where renovation is delayed. However, although people trust neighbours much less than their family and relatives, they trust most institutions even much less.
Among residents of buildings, where renovation is blocked, as a contrast to buildings where renovation is carried out promptly, a higher – yet not statistically significant- incidence of stronger personal bonds with neighbours and a greater trust in family and relatives was found. Both these characteristics might be very helpful for renovation in family housing where closely related persons may provide a helping hand; yet these two characteristics are not of much help in larger multi-dwelling buildings; what counts here more is the ability to make use of resources in formal organizations, embodied in State/local housing administration and banks.
As a conclusion, let us tackle some of the policy implications of these findings about factors that do make a difference in renovation. First of all, and as no surprise, lack of finances is among the important drawbacks in renovation, and facilitating the access to it remains a policy target.
Secondly, different components of social capital were also found important. A relatively high commitment and attachment among residents was found but this factor is not directly helpful for renovation. It does not compensate for the lack of cooperative norms, which is a problem that both residents and analysts recognize. Is it necessary to wait for the norms to change? According to Putnam, change in norms and in culture is the only way to build social capital, yet it is very lengthy: “Establishment of trust and norms of cooperation requires people to be
89 in contact with each other over a long period of time and to experience firsthand the benefits of social capital. Only with success and continued practice can trust and cooperation be embedded in local culture’(Putnam 1993, as summarized by Gittell and Vidal 1998: 22).
However, other authors and practices (Gittel and Vidal 1998) suggest other ways of building social capital in neighborhoods and strengthening the institutional infrastructure. This implies strengthening of the organizational ability of residents to collectively come and act on their common interest and to pursue effective collective action. The findings suggest that the problem of renovation emerges when the institutional infrastructure in particular buildings is too weak to handle the specific lack of individual co-operative norms; thus in such settings, cases of individual non-cooperation can too easily block collective action. It seems though that it is the balance between the informal norms and the formal institutional infrastructure that is crucial. Policies aiming to improve housing renovation should target both components. Introducing appropriate knowledge management schemes and deliberative democratic practices into housing management imply both components and might be a challenge.
REFERENCES
Adam, F. in Rončevič, B,.(2004): Razvojni potencial socialnega kapitala: Slovenija v evropskem kontekstu; Družboslovne razprave, let. XX, št.46/47, str.219-240. Atkinson, R. and Cope, S.(1997): Community participation and urban regeneration in Britain, in Hogget, P.(ed.) Contested communities, Bristol, The Policy Press. Briggs,X. (1998): Brown kids in white suburbs: Housing mobility and the multiple faces of social capital; Housing policy debate 9 (1). Černič-Mali, B., Sendi R. et al.(2003): Large Housing Estates in Slovenia – Overview of developments and problems in Ljubljana and Koper; Restate report 2g; Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht. Gilchrist, A.(2004): The Well-Connected community; The Policy Press, Gitell, R. In Vidal, A.(1998): Community organizing. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications. Hegedus, J., Mayo, S. and Tosics,I. (1996) Transition of the housing sector in the East-Central European Countries. Budapest:MRI. Hegedüs, J. and Tosics, I. (1996) Disintegration of the East-European housing model, in: D. Clapham, D., Hegedüs, J, Kintrea K. and Tosics I. (Eds) (1996) Housing Privatisation in Eastern Europe. London: Greenwood Press. Hogget, P.(1997): Contested communities, Bristol, The Policy Press. Iglič, H.(2004) Dejavniki nizke stopnje zaupanja v Sloveniji; Družboslovne razprave, let. XX, št.46/47, str.149-176.
90 Keyes, L. et al. (1996): Networks and nonprofits: Opportunities and challenges in an era of federal devolution; Housing policy debate 7(2): 21-28. Knorr-Siedow, T. and Tosics, I.(2005): Knowledge management and policy application in urban management and housing; Paper at the RESTATE Conference in Ljubljana, 2005 Lowe, S. and Tsenkova, S.(2003): Housing Change in East and Central Europe; Aldershot: Ashgate. Murie, A., Knorr-Siedow and van Kempen, R.(2003): Large-scale housing estates in Europe; RESTATE, report 1, Utrecht 2003, Ploštajner, Z. Černič-Mali, B., Sendi R. et al.(2004): Large Housing Estates in Slovenia – Policies and practices; Restate report 3g; Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht. Putnam, R.(1993): Making democracy work. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Struyk, R.(1996): Economic Restructuring of the Former Soviet Block – The Case of Housing; Washington: The Urban Institute Press. Temkin, K. and Rohe, W. (1998) Social capital and neighborhood stability; Housing Policy Debate (9):1. Turner, B, Hegedüs J. and Tosics I. (Eds) (1992) The Reform of Housing in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. London: Routledge.
91 JURGIS VANAGAS
THE DEVELOPMENT OF KAUNAS OLD TOWN:SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES
In this report we discuss the ecological results resulting from the consistent reconstruction programme over the last three decades (1969 – 1999) in the historical part of Kaunas, (the second largest Lithuanian city). Within the post-war period three reconstruction projects in this part of the city were drawn up. There were quite different approaches and goals characterizing these projects. The first one was carried out just after the war, the second in 1958. According to these two reconstruction projects the old part of Kaunas was treated mainly as an ancient kernel of the town, distinguished from the other parts only by its great cultural, historical and architectural value. Nevertheless vital and urgent social, urban, ecological and the other important aspects were not considered adequately. In the year 1969 the third reconstruction project of the old city of Kaunas was initiated. The author of this paper was invited to run wide scale urban ecological and urban sociological research as a part of complex preliminary analyses preceding the planning process and serving as its corner stones. An important revelation was that in the territory of the old city a great intensity and concentration of numerous anti-social phenomena were found, such as chronic alcoholism, venereal and psycho neurological deceases, as well as disputes, quarrels, aspects of aggressive behaviour and violence both in families and neighborhood. We have chosen such phenomena illustrating the negative side of the moral - psychological climate in the local community. They are provoked by various causes and are developed by various conditions. One feature is common to them: their display isn't latent but rather evident, they show themselves outwardly. And what is more, they are processing accumulatively as a chain reaction. They stimulate further intensity, concentration and localization. As a rule these events not only demonstrate the tendency to spread epidemically but also to turn into the other anti-social forms. There is no need to re-iterate that the most common route to degradation of personality: in the most usual case it passes all the stages of misbehaviour - starting with endless alcohol abuse and ending with various pathological conditions. Of course this process is accompanied by numerous conflicts at domestic and neighbourhood life.
92 On the other hand the following criteria of residential environments (which define dwelling conditions and can serve as the main preconditions of the moral psychological climate) were taken into account: 1. density of housing (living space per hectare), 2. physical state of houses (level of wear out), 3. space per dweller, 4. number of persons per room, 5. average size of a flat (number of rooms), 6. degree of services within dwellings ( water supply, sewage, hot water, central heating, baths or showers)17 . Results of similar research have been widely published: Pioro (1961), Schmitt (1966), Musil (1967), Mathieau (1967), etc. Wide and comprehensive research has enabled us to disclose the fact that the incidence of negative phenomena as well as the lifestyle of the local dwellers, their well-being and their behavioural stereotypes directly or otherwise is related to residency in different dwelling conditions (i.e. in various standards of housing, in various conditions of overcrowding etc.). We will return to this matter. Results of this applied research with its useful forecasts and recommendations were not only fed into the reconstruction project as reliable fundamentals (Vanagas, 1971) but the scienti- fically formulated generalizations and conclusions have gone beyond practical importance and were used in fundamental scientific works (Vanagas, 1992). As the reconstruction programme of the old city was based on the social principle that a guarantee should be given to the residents that they could return to their homes, it was very important to establish the individual list of causal factors and list of reconstructional measures, directed to the gradual elimination of negative drawbacks and shortcomings of the residential environment. These negative factors were mentioned by the local dwellers during the sociological survey, and were afterwards generalized and correspondingly applied to the town planning terms and requirements carried out to preserve the historical shape of the old city. According to the frequency of mentioning these negative aspects of the environment and measures to eliminate or diminish them were as follows: Inadequate lighting and aeration of residential blocks. A plan of reconstruction was provided, diminishing air pollution and smoke by replacing small separate boiler houses using solid fuel and connecting houses to the centralized town heating system, whilst demolishing architecturally worthless edifices inside the blocks; The noise in living areas: elimination of traffic (at first transit) from dwelling areas; removing industrial plants and factories; Intensive vehicle traffic: closing the old city area for some kinds of vehicles, elimination of traffic in extremely narrow streets; changing the road pavements into sidewalk slabs; further speed limitations at the most dangerous parts of the streets; expressive marking of pedestrian passages, installation of manually regulated light signals.
17 Results of similar research have been widely published: Pioro (1961)* Schmitt (1966), Musil (1967) ; Mathieau (l967), etc.
93 Lack of greenery: radical increase of green areas by planting trees and shrubs in places of demolished low value edifices as well as wide use of vertical planting of facades. High density of population: diminishing number of local population by immediately providing new apartments in new residential areas for those who prefer to resettle and by rising standards of living space for those who have decided to wait until their old houses will be restored; raising the standards of living space per person; relieving the overburdened old city by replacing various utilitarian - type offices attracting many so called ‘day inhabitants’. During the three decades of the realization of this programme numerous essential changes (urbanistic, functional, architectural) took place in the old city of Kaunas. Wide scale complex renewal and modernization of houses, better arrangement of the entire space of the residential blocks, careful refurbishing of facades from the coating of ages, and skillful exposure of edifices registered as architectural or historic monuments took place. According to the programme of reconstruction such purely utilitarian purpose units like factories, central urban public transport junctions, central town market, etc., which had earlier seriously overloaded the oldest district, were replaced outside the old city boundaries. This enabled a diminishment of frequenters and transport streams into this area and therefore reduced the number of so called ‘day inhabitants’ in this limited in size historical part of the city. New organization of traffic by arrangement of by-passed streets allowed the transformation of the main street of this area, in effect its backbone and previously overburdened by heavy transit public traffic, into a calm pedestrian alley. A particularly evident example of this ‘urbanistic surgery’ was the consequent and thorough going elimination of numerous sources of visual pollution from its territory by removing many worthless housekeeping buildings, hovels and slums. Dressing this area’s edifices by the newly restored colourful, stylistically original architectural ‘cloth’, beautifying squares and streets by specially designed old fashion ‘street furniture’, planting numerous trees and shrubs, and arranging lawns and flower-beds at the places cleaned out, gradually changed this previously deteriorated historical kernel into an attractive, representative and favorable part of the city. Positive changes in the old city reached much more layers in its environment than these visual improvements. The total number of local population in the same area has reduced during these three decades by 46.3% and the number of apartments by 25.6%. On the other hand the standard of living area per person has risen by 140%. The proportion of housing stock with all the modern facilities -sewage, central heating, hot water, gas - has increased steeply, as well as installation of baths and showers. Apartments with a common kitchen - the sad heritage of the post war Soviet decades - has became a rarity in that area. Research has highlighted the positive changes in the professional structure of local population: during these two decades of comprehensive reconstruction more representatives of the so called creative intelligentsia (artists, musicians, architects) appeared to reside there. Summarizing everything above some natural questions arise. What are the deeper results of the completion of the three-decades-long reconstruction programme? What were the co- nsequences of improvements to the living environment? What was the impact on the local residents' everyday life, its style, health, behaviour and generally speaking the intensity and concentration of urban ecological phenomena fixed before the start of the reconstruction? Did the better quality of living environment defined by much higher dwelling comfort, more
94 spacious settling of apartments, much more esthetic surrounding - did all these improvements stimulate a positive development of urban ecological processes and status? Did it weaken the intensity of anti-social phenomena? Did it boost a more sober way of life of local residents? Logically, the premise must be fulfilled: the elimination or radical reduction of environmental stresses must be followed by the evident benefit to both physical and psychological health of local inhabitants, to their lifestyle and well-being. Successfully, there was an occasion to prove this premise. After the interval of thirty years, when the programme of reconstruction was principally completed in the year 1999, urban ecological research in this area was repeated (Vanagas, 1999). Its methodology, procedure and scale were exactly the same as used in 1969. Therefore the results achieved may tend not just to prove interrelationship between the quality of the living environment and urban ecological phenomena as such (at the present moment static ), but also the dynamic perspective, taking into account radical changes in one of the variables - the physical factors of the environment. Newly achieved material incorporating numerous data enabled us to compare results of both researches which was achieved by: Comparing generalized indicators of the quality of the living environment assessed in the 1969 research with the 1999 research; comparing urban - ecological indices of both researches; establishing the strength of correlation between physical and urban - ecological parameters in order to test for possible cause and effect relationships. As it was expected, intensity of urban - ecological phenomena was reduced relatively in the area researched. This fact was supported by the mathematical interpretation of generalized data. The coefficient of correlation calculated between physical indicators of the quality of environment (also its setting) and ecological indicators has given a firm and indisputable response to the cardinal question: there is a strong interrelationship between these groups of indicators, (which is especially important to emphasize) in both cases of research. For example, the interrelationship between houses wearing out and complex indicators of ecological phenomena (indices of chronic alcoholism, venereal and psycho neurological deceases, conflicts involving the intervention of police) expressed by a correlation coefficient was = 0.96 (in the year 1969) and =0.71 thirty years later. Statistical ties between the level of crowding of apartments in the old city and the same ecological indicator was respectively =-0,55 and =-0,54 (inverse proportional significance of coefficient displays a rather logical sense of negative correlation: an increase in floor space per person ecological phenomena index decreases). The author of this survey acknowledges possible disagreements and reproaches for such mathematical interpretation of both groups’ (physical and ecological) factors. But attention must be drawn to the applied character of this analysis. It was aimed to improve methodology, and to deepen the approach to the reconstruction project drawn up. The author does not analyze an origin, development and ‘anatomy’ of it, which has been done by R.Park and E.Burgess in the Twenties of last century (Park, Burgess, McKenzie, 1925) - calculated correlation doesn't prove that one variable causes the other but it does make it clear that a relationship exists and it is strong. We only draw attention to the evidential interrelationship between parameters of life and human health and well-being.
95 These generalizations mean that the socially based programme of reconstruction of historical housing is associated not just with a careful approach to historical and architectural values (which anyway has positive social importance), and they mean not only the superficial ‘cosmetics’ of facades but they also serve as reliable pointer to successful flow, and dynamic development of numerous positive social processes, people's health and well-being.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MATHIEU H. (1974), Technique et urbanisme face au nuisances, Urbanisme (1974), 143, 18 - 23 MUSIL I., Sociologie Soudobeho Mesta, (Praha) PARK R., BURGESS E., MCKENZIE R. (1925), The City (Chicago) PIORO Z. (1961), Ekologia spoleczna w urbanistyce (na przykladzie badan Lubelskich i Torunskich), (Warszawa) SCHMITT R. C. (1966), Density, Health and Social Disorganization, Journal of the AIP, 32 (1966) 1, 38 VANAGAS J. (1970), Social Problems of Town Planning, Problems, (1970), 1, 35 - 47 VANAGAS J. (1971), Regeneration Project of Kaunas Old City, Account of sociological research (Institute of Monument Conservation, Vilnius) VANAGAS J. (1999), Urban - ecological Consequences of Regeneration Process of Kaunas Old City (1969 - 1999), (Technical University, Vilnius) VANAGAS J. (1992) , Forming of Urban Living Environment ( Technics, Vilnius)
96 GRAHAM TOWERS
KEY ELEMENTS OF EUROPEAN REGENERATION SCHEMES
Most of the cities of Western Europe have carried out regeneration schemes. In the 1950s and 60s these were aimed at making good war damage or renovating areas of old urban housing. Renovation was accompanied by the development of new peripheral estates to relieve overcrowding. Mostly the improvement of the old urban areas was achieved without the large-scale redevelopment which was carried out in Britain’s inner cities. Much regeneration was achieved by private initiatives but some areas were improved by planned and concerted action. A relatively recent example of planned housing regeneration is the mixed approach taken in the Kreutzberg scheme in Berlin where, during the late 1980s, comprehensive action was taken to regenerate one of the city’s poorest areas though a mixture of redevelopment, rehabilitation and the provision of social facilities. In the past 20 years economic changes have led to industrial areas becoming redundant and derelict. The large-scale development of disused industrial areas at West Silvertown in London Docklands and at Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm are examples of approaches to the regeneration of these brownfield sites . So, too, is the scheme at Bercy in Paris where a large area of disused wine warehouses, covering 51 hectares, has been redeveloped as a large public park surrounded by housing and employment centres By the 1980s many of the large peripheral estates around many European cities had significant problems of social distress which necessitated large scale improvement schemes All these large regeneration schemes have key factors in common. They were all initiated by intervention from central or local government which established the framework They all involved the setting up of umbrella organisations to plan and co-ordinate the development They all required the establishment of transport and services infrastructure and the development of social and recreational facilities alongside housing The construction projects were divided up and implemented by a mixture of agencies and developers These was a mix of management systems for the completed development This co-ordinated multi-agency approach is in contrast the more monolithic methods of the past. Most social housing was developed directly by the agencies of central or local
97 government; most private housing complexes by developers acting alone. The contemporary approach produces a more balanced mixture which is more likely to succeed. Such an approach might be adopted more widely in Eastern Europe. Since the introduction of the new political and economic regime there has been excessive faith he in the power of the private market to regenerate housing. The old areas of historic cites such as Tallinn and Riga have been improved by private initiatives. But privatisation alone cannot ensure the improvement of large areas of run down housing. There has been recognition in Budapest of the limitations of the private sector. The success of the Ferencváros scheme shows that planned intervention and a co-ordinated approach can regenerate a large inner city residential area and, at the same time, preserve its essential character. The biggest problems though remain the large panel estates. They have a multitude of constructional problems and poor social provision. They cannot be improved without public intervention to plan and co- ordinate investment and action.
SOCIAL POLARISATION
The large scale multi-storey estates which were built on the edges of cities in western Europe had a monolithic social profile. They were all social rented dwellings. Almost all of them were designed for families with children. There were high child densities from the start. The form of the housing meant large unsupervised access networks and communal areas. Such networks provided abundant opportunities for antisocial behaviour and the estates quickly became vandalised and degraded. Those who could moved. The estates became hard to let. Increasingly they became occupied by recent immigrants who were mostly in poorly paid employment. The estates become ghettos of the poorest and most disadvantaged and the focus of serious social problems and criminal activity. (17) Public concern led to large-scale improvement programmes. These concentrated on physical improvements and better management. They have brought some benefits but overall have a mixed record of success and failure. More recent approaches have concentrated on creating a better mix of household structure, housing types and tenure. By contrast the large concrete estates of Eastern Europe were designed to house all household types and occupational groups. When they were built they were regarded as the most desirable form of housing – a distinct improvement on the cramped poor quality flats of the old cities. Time has taken its toll. The estates suffered through deteriorating construction standards and poor maintenance. The new market economies have created increasing social stratification. Those who can choose their housing are moving out of the estates. Those who are left will be those with least choice. Unless there is action to improve them, the mixed communities which used to characterise the concrete estates will be no more. The estates will go the same way as their western counterparts. The success of a multi-agency approach to create mixed communities fully served by social facilities and transport links may provide a suitable model for their regeneration
98 CASE STUDIES
The key features of the multi-agency approach to mixed development can be illustrated by three case studies drawn from London, Stockholm and Budapest
WEST SILVERTOWN,LONDON KEY FACTS
PHASE 1
Location Royal Victoria Dock, East London
Completion date 2002
Promoter London Docklands Development Corporation
Master Planners and Gardner Stewart Architects to Wimpey (previously part of Tibbalds Monro) and Peabody
Developers Wimpey Homes Peabody Trust East Thames Housing Group Number of dwellings 1,112 Dwelling mix houses and flats
Other provision Six shops
99 Public house 500 sq. m. workspace/commercial 200 sq. m. live/work units community centre including health care primary school public green space Previous use of site transport/storage/industrial Density 78 dwellings per hectare Forms of tenure 782 dwellings built for sale 330 dwellings social rented Key targets/ issues regeneration of a brownfied site to create a mixed and economically viable community Green features Crescent building a demonstration project for low tech, environmentally efficient design Transport issues local bus services Docklands light railway station nearby high level of residents parking
Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm KEY FACTS
Location Hammarby Sjo, Stockholm
Completion date phase 1 – Norra Hammarbyhamnen 1999 Phase 2 – Sickla Udde 2003 Full completion 2009-2014
Developer Project Hammarby Sjöatad – a quasi-autonomous organisation formed by Stockholm City Real Estate, Streets and Traffic administrations
100 Architect blocks allocated to different architects/developers
Number of dwellings Phase 1 – 1,250 Phase 2 – 1,200 Full development – 8,000 Dwelling mix all dwellings are flats Typical mix 16% Studios 28% 1-bed 50% 2-bed 6% 3/4-bed
Other provision Phase 1 has new school Phase 2 has public park Previous use of site docks and industrial Density comparable to European urban norm Forms of tenure mixed Key targets/ issues to regenerate redundant industrial area to be as near environmentally neutral as possible Green features own sewage treatment with heat and waste recycled Water collection and recycling District heating by sustainable fuels Domestic waste recycling High tech energy monitoring Transport issues bus. metro, train and boat links to city centre Car pooling arrangements Network of walking/cycle routes
101 Ferencváros, Budapest KEYFACTS
Location Middle-Ferencváros, Budapest
Completion date About 50% complete 2003 Full completion 2010-2015
Developer Developer SEM IX Joint Stock Company – partnership between Local authority (51%) and banks (49%)
Architect blocks allocated to different architects/developers Number of dwellings Whole area has approx. 4,000 flats Approx 1,200 partially or fully renovated More than 1,200 new build Dwelling mix all dwellings are flats Standards and sizes not known
Other provision nursery with swimming pool Two hotels Two office blocks concert hall Previous use of site residential and industrial Density reduced through improvement process but remains comparable to European urban norm Forms of tenure renovated flats are subsidised New build flats are owner occupied
102 Key targets/ issues improving housing and creating more green space Creating a better social mix Improving the environment Increasing employment Green features environmental awareness post-dated the development of this project Transport issues bus. metro, and tram links to city centre Parking mainly on-street but a multi-storey car park was constructed as part of the project
REFERENCE
Graham Towers An introduction to urban housing design – At Home in the City (Oxford, Architectural Press, 2005)
103 LIIS OJAMÄE
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ESTONIAN HOUSING MARKET: DISCURSIVE PRACTICES IN REAL ESTATE COLUMNS
This paper aims to discuss how to conceptualize the impact of housing market profit actors on the formation of housing values and preferences, by focusing on real estate actors’ discursive practices and knowledge production and the interplay with changes in the field of housing. The presentation starts with framing the theoretical bases for the analysis, then goes on to illustrate it with an analysis of reflections of housing market formation and development in media messages and market reviews, and aims to find some conclusions about the relevance of discourse analysis to gain deeper insight into the processes in housing market.18
Societies labelled as ‘post-socialist’ create for the analysis of the dynamics and stability of housing values a useful opportunity. The changes in relevant ideational and institutional structures occur there within a considerably shorter time span as in societies with more mature market economies. During the first decade of the re-introduction of market relations in Estonia, the housing field has been framed by a liberal housing policy. Processes in the housing field have been dominated by economic capital and power – partly because of the weaknesses in institutional structures, and residents’ and public sector’s limited experiences and resources of handling the overwhelming new demands, opportunities and risks that have opened up with market relations in society. The powerful role of economic capital in shaping the housing field in modern Estonia has inspired also the main research question of this author’s doctoral research - how to conceptualise the impact of housing market profit actors on the formation of housing values and preferences. This paper forms part of it, focusing on real estate companies’ discursive practices and knowledge production and its interplay with changes in the field of housing. The paper starts with framing the theoretical bases for the analysis, then goes on to illustrate it with an analysis of reflections of housing market formation and developments in media messages and market reviews, and ends with conclusions about the relevance of the results, to gain deeper insights into the processes in housing markets. The research proceeds from a perspective of social constructivist epistemology. The social constructivist approach (Berger and Luckmann 1966) sees people having an active role in constructing and reproducing their realities, the “common-sense stock of knowledge” (Gurney 1999a: 1709) through collective interactive processes. The perspective has been criticized by
18 An earlier version of the paper was presented at the 7th ESA Annual Conference ‚Rethinking Inequalities’, Torun, 9.-12 September 2005.
104 some authors in relativism for neglecting the notion of social structure and by giving attention only to micro-events. The conception of agency-structure duality originating from the structuration theory of Giddens (1984) enables one to avoid falling into relativist (but also into positivist) extremes by conceptualising structure as both an enabling and constraining agency, and at the same time being constantly (re)produced through agency. Sociological analysis of the real estate market - and housing market as an integral part of it - has so far been not widely employed either by economic sociologists or housing researchers, which considering the value-laden attributes of housing as consumption goods and property is somewhat surprising. Purchase (and similarly owning)19 of a dwelling has a great significance in people’s lives. Considered to be one of the most important investments or economic capital influencing family’s economic and social status, it is primarily a place for creating one’s own home, with all the complex emotional aspects the notion of home involves (e.g. see Mulder 1996 or Paadam 2003). Residents’ economical and affective investments into housing are remarkably higher and housing as a material belonging marks an owner’s social status and taste usually for a longer period than any other piece of property or consumption good (Bourdieu 2002: 37-39, 49). The field of housing studies enfolds important studies from the social constructive approach, focusing for example on meaning-structures shaping residents’ action on the housing field (see e.g. Gurney 1999a, 1999b, Ronald 2004, Kemeny 1992), on housing managers (see e.g. Clapham et al 2000, Jacobs and Manzi 2000) or issues concerning housing policy (see e.g. Marston 2002). Real estate companies and profit-actors on housing market have been somewhat left aside of the research focus (although see Clarke et al 1994, Bridge 2001, Teixeira 1995, Bishop 2004). One possible reason lies in that the real estate market is widely accepted as belonging to the domain of economic sciences, thus also analyses of real estate market gain the legitimation and authority normally by using economic discourse and argumentation. From the sociological approach, the market is not mechanically determined by economic processes but above all a historical result of interplay between institutional framework and struggle between different actors on the economic field. Housing production and demand are socially constructed not only on an ideational level about preferred tenure types but also by the housing policy of the State (determining access and affordability of housing on different levels and of different types), the activities of financial institutions (access to financial resources), and legal framework (urban planning, construction rules) etc. One important aspect is also the production of information and knowledge used by actors as a basis for forming strategies on the market. Profit actors orient themselves in the market not least by using their understandings and estimations about clients’ (i.e. residents) preferences, needs and resources. They are also considered in society to be the legitimate subjects who produce professional and competent information about the housing market (valuation of property, market-analysis, expert estimations etc), which in turn forms part of the knowledge and the basis for choices of residents. Let us consider one activity of real estate companies20, which is inherently connected with the focus of the current paper: the appraisal of market value of a house or flat. The appraiser is expected to follow certain procedure rules which enable them to present the evaluation process as formal and objective, based on measurable
19 For the reasons of simplicity, the paper focuses only on home-owners, leaving other tenure relationships aside, if not indicated otherwise. In Estonia 96% of housing stock is privately owned, mainly by individuals. 20 The field of activities of real estate companies (also labelled here as professional actors on market) is defined rather loosely here, embracing the selling-buying, mediation and valuation of real estate property, but also the development of new residential housing (areas). In reality of course, the activities of a company are often specialised.
105 and reliable data. However, similarly as argued by Abolafia about stock-market agents (Abolafia 1998: 76), one important element in estimating the market value is experience: interpretative skills and intuition about past and future trends in market development. This complex interpretative process (Bridge 2001: 89) with necessary elements of subjective assertions yields data which will tend to be treated as objective, and used for completing the market transactions with the property, loan applications etc. Simultaneously it adds to the stock of information available on the market. It is argued elsewhere, that the impact of real estate market analysis on the future developments on market is widely acknowledged by the real estate analysts themselves (Matysiak & Wang 1995), which in turn indicates the need for deeper analysis – to de-deconstruct - how do the professional actors themselves understand and reflect their activities on the market, and how can we conceptualize the impact of their reflexivity on the dynamics of housing market? The valuation of a certain dwelling by sitting residents, potential buyers, and real estate appraisers is driven by different and complex matters and often yields divergent valuations. However, as previous research shows, there exists on higher level of abstraction some consensus - collective understandings about preferable housing types, residential environments, images of districts etc. Different understandings, ideals may coexist; they may change in time or be surprisingly persistent. The construction of tenure preferences and in particular, the ideology or “myth of home-ownership” (Kemeny 1992), has been of interest in housing research for more than a decade (Hastings 2000: 136. See also Gurney 1999a, Gurney 1999b, Ronald 2004). Paadam and Ojamäe in their research have shown how in Estonia the preferences of housing types and residential environment have been persistent through different societal regimes and corresponding housing policy: from the beginning of the 20th century (1918-1940s, the first period of independence: small scale housing, private ownership), through the fifty years of implementation of soviet-type housing and housing policy (large scale housing, public ownership) and in 1990s back again towards the norm of private ownership and the idea of family house with a garden. The social construction of housing value is an interactive process; corresponding meaning structures are collectively and constantly created and reproduced by different actors in the housing field. The concept of values as used here covers the meanings and understandings about what is held as valuable and preferable, a worth to aspire to in a given society or social group. The concept of values has important connections with those of housing preferences and housing ideologies used in housing research. These concepts are all tackling the same phenomena: the ‘why and how’ of what drives actors’ strategies in housing fields, by highlighting different aspects or focusing on different actors. On the scale of abstraction, values can be placed somewhere in the middle of the continuum between preferences and ideologies. Values are the basis for preferences-formation and themselves do derive from ideologies. The analytical differentiation can be made between use value attributed to housing (formed through everyday routine experience of living in the dwelling, involving emotional, cognitive and practical aspects), exchange value (e.g. price on the market), and symbolic value. The collectively (re)produced nature of exchange and symbolic value is quite implicit, while use value of housing may seem to derive primarily from the subjective experience of family or individual resident. By the formation of dwellings’ use value for an individual or family the level of individual subjectivity is apparently higher, than in case of exchange or symbolic value. Still, individual understandings and aspirations are in any aspect of individual life conceived to be integral part of wider ideational structures in society, which certainly does not mean passive subjection of the individual to some kind of ideational superstructure. Knowing ‘the rules of the game’ may result also in deliberate and knowing breaking of rules or in using them as a resource or a means to attain individual purposes.
106 DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
The concepts of discourse and discursive practices (Fairclough 2004) seem to be helpful to highlight, at least partially research, questions indicated above - the impact of real estate agency on the formation of housing values. Housing studies employing discourse analysis have been mainly focused on the issues of housing policy or on how different tenures come to be valued and perceived (Hastings, 2000: 137). However, the applicability of discourse analysis is considerably wider. Discourse analysis method as a tool enables us to analyse discourse “as a form of power and an instrument of the social construction of reality” (Sotillo & Tarace-Nastasi, 1991, emphasis in original: in Marston 2002: 85), in very different fields of activities. As the methodological bases, the framework of critical discourse analysis (CDA) by Norman Fairclough (1992/2004) is mainly used here. Discourse as a term is used in social theory and linguistics, and can signify a range of meanings or theoretical positions (Hastings 2000: 131). Discourse and discourse- (re)production is understood here as a means of power to construct the taken-for-granted. Power is conceived in the Foucaultian sense (Foucault 1972) - as generating and enabling any form of social action, not only being negative and restricting, but also positive and enabling. Analysis of discursive practices helps to bring into the light those aspects which may remain hidden by using more conventional methods. The purpose is not to reveal some kind of ‘distorted knowledge’ or to expose a conspiracy of those in power. Ideology or discourse is understood as “forms of power and knowledge used to justify the actions of persons or groups and which have specific consequences for relations of power.” (Barker & Galasiński, 2001: 25). Analysis of discourse and social construction of the meaning structures enables us to show that processes in the market are not something given, like the laws of nature, but as social – interactions and struggle between actors in the field, whereby some actors have more powerful positions than others. Discursive power gives the position to shape the rules of the game; the position is never secured or balanced and is subjected to a constant struggle. Of central significance is language use or discursive practices, constituting social identities and relations, and also the systems of knowledge and beliefs (Fairclough 2004: 38, 67, 78). The knowledge production is the source of power: “experts produce the classifications and knowledge claims of a discourse, but they are, at the same time, the products of that discourse”. Being defined by discourse as the experts, they are simultaneously the subjects and possessors of this specific stock of knowledge (Scott 1995 in Jacobs & Manzi 2000: 87). The notions of ideology and discourse have been conceptualised differently, the one used here follows Fairclough, to whom discursive practices are material forms of ideology (ibid: 87). Therefore ideology as a term is conceived at higher level of abstraction, consisting of a complex set of corresponding discursive practices. Discourses contribute to the sustaining or restructuring of the existing power relations on different levels: not all discourses are ideologically invested to the same degree (ibid: 91). Thus for the purposes of analysis some discourses usually bare more relevance than others. This paper will further proceed with an empirical illustration of how the formation of a real estate market in Estonia is reflected in professional actors’ discursive practices in written media.
107 DISCOURSES IN REAL ESTATE MARKET THROUGH THE REFLECTIONS IN NEWSPAPERS
“The widespread phrase that for [the value of] real estate property all that matters is primarily the location, then the location and finally the location, is despite all also true in Estonia” 09.10.00, BD, journalist in an article about how to predict the future changes in price
The analysis-corpus was formed of two Estonian newspapers: Eesti Päevaleht (Estonian Daily, ED), one of two daily papers in Estonia and Äripäev (Business Day, BD), a daily business-newspaper. The selected newspapers differ in their focus, target group and also ideology. Business Day represents a quite distinguishable neoliberal worldview; its audience is formed mainly by those active or interested in economical matters. The profile of Estonian Daily is of wider scale, offering news and information considered of interest to a heterogeneous audience. The sample was compiled of articles in real-estate columns, published in the years 1995, 2000 and 2004. In ED, the column was published in 1995 twice a month, in 2000 and 2004 – and so also in BD - once a week. The analysis corpus consisted of c. 150 pages. First selection was made following the principle that every column had an equal possibility of being included in the sample. Later the articles in selected columns were theoretically sampled following the principle of saturation. As the material is very rich for analysis, only these results will be discussed here which bear more relevance regarding the topic of the paper or have wider theoretical relevance. The present situation in the Estonian housing field has been formed by radically different periods in Estonian history. The majority of the housing stock is situated in blocks of flats, in large-scale areas built during the Soviet period. 96% (Statistical Office of Estonia) of flats are in private ownership. The regained independence, reorientation towards market relationships and ownership reform in 1990s created the institutional space for real estate market to emerge and develop. First real-estate companies were established in 1991. The housing market development intensified in the middle of 1990s, with the peak of privatisation of flats. By 2000, the second period under study, the land-reform was nearly completed, real estate market was functioning, and the actors had already gained some positive and negative experience from the market. Due to raised incomes and more accessible housing loans, there were also more resources available for those belonging to the upper middle-class to improve their housing conditions. Year 2004 is characterized by Estonia joining the EU and a boom in real- estate market (which actually has not faded yet). An unprecedented growing volume of market transactions and new construction, plus favourable loan-conditions have made the purchase or change of housing affordable for new groups of residents. The articles in real-estate columns appeared to be mostly written by persons acting in the real- estate field. Articles written by journalists are usually either mediations of real-estate market reviews compiled by real estate companies, interviews with experts or advisory articles in everyday matters (how to find a good interior architect, how to select suitable heating system etc). The latter were not included in analysis, because of the focus on the knowledge- production and discursive practices related to housing market.
108 GENERAL ORIENTATIONS
“Cheap detached-houses for young people contaminate the real estate market” 28.06.00, ED, subheading in article written by an analytic from a real estate company about the impact of a project of building subsidised family-houses for young families. Dominant and persistent in real estate columns through all the studied period is the usage of neoliberal economic discourse. The discourse proceeds from presumptions and beliefs in a self-balancing and problem-solving market, and is formed through a dichotomised contrast of rationality, neutrality and objectivity versus irrationality, emotionality and subjectivity, the former held as ‘right’. Respectively are constructed the principles of successful strategies and failure. The pervasiveness of economic discourse relates on the one side to the object - real estate market activities constructed as part of economic field - on the other side its use is conventional, regarding the pervasiveness of neoliberal ideology in most domains of life in Estonia during the transition period. In 1995, the general tone of articles is optimistic; the perceived problems are believed to be solvable through the progressive development of market and institutional structure. The construction of the notions as early capitalism and transition period enables the assumption to be accepted of the temporality of present problems and the positive future in developed capitalism. “A Self-constituting market, prospering on the principles of honest business and continuous specialisation under the circumstances of market economy will make the usage of real estate services affordable and expedient for everyone. Let’s wait.” 08.11.95, a representative of a real estate company writing about “Whether an agent is of use…” By the 2000, a new tone has evolved, in the context of serious set-backs in the stock market and following slowdown in real estate market development during the end of 90s: the danger discourse of possible market overheating. By the 2004 this has further developed into a stronger crisis discourse, with wording denoting the situation of rapidly increasing prices and demand as irrational, even mystical and beyond an explanation within economic discourse. “Real estate specialists call the rise in prices emotional and the situation mystical” 15.03.04, BD, a journalist trying to find explanations why even with extremely high prices buyers find it useful to buy a flat. However, the explanation assumes the buyer only calculates the losses and wins in money. The situation in the market during that period was indeed turbulent: raising prices and growth in the number of potential buyers and demand were unprecedented. While the share of new construction did not grow at corresponding rates, the prices of dwellings in old and new housing stock almost equalled and these developments did not fit easily into the interpretations within economic discourse. Thus the situation was described as non- interpretable, out of discourse or, contrary, as emotional and irrational behaviour, contrasting
109 the right (rational) and wrong (emotional) decisions in market, and stipulating the reasons for the anticipated crises to lie in non-rational strategies of buyers. “People who buy a flat with loan money, absolutely don’t care about the price any more” 10.03.04, ED, journalist mediating real-estate companies’ representatives’ expert opinions.
There is also an alternative discourse which constructs the situation as normal, i.e. without the signs of crises, this is related to the dominant one: giving advice how to minimise the potential risk if the crisis should arrive, or asserting rationally explain the ‘emotional’ behaviour. “…rather we are dealing with emotional decisions of buyers in the context of unsatisfied housing needs” 12.07.04, BD, a department manager of a real estate company in predicting of a decline in boom. The risks of not-following the rational mind are articulated following the criteria of solvency, e.g. affordability of taken loan in the future, when the circumstances are expected to worsen: “A flat-buyer without self-financing may remain in slavery for debt“ 04.10.04, a department manager of a real estate company about dangers related to the possibility of increasing interest rates and decreasing prices of flats. Thus the ‘normalisation’ of the unstable and hardly predictable situation anticipated in 1995, had not occurred yet in the 2000s. The changes in discursive practises reflect the shifts in perceived reasons for the market discrepancies: if 1995 the reasons were seen in transitional processes, then in the 2000s the self-balancing of the market was perceived as being hindered by the non-rational behaviour of the clients who did not follow the rules of economic world. Widely used in 1995, and to a lesser extent later on, is a discourse, which can be called the expertise discourse. The authors, usually with the background of a real estate company, offer experts’ advice to lay-people, who are approached at as though being not yet knowledgeable and informed actors to cope successfully in market economy, who need to be educated for their own interests. The particular discourse is more clearly distinguishable in BD. Corresponding discursive practices can be interpreted as the attempts to frame the field by identifying the readers as potential clients and to make them more knowledgeable about the rules of the game, e.g. why it is more wise to use the services of a company instead as acting on his/her own. The usage of the discourse reflects the situation in a young market: individual and institutional actors with the background of a previous societal system have not yet internalised necessary skills and knowledge for performing on the market. Also the object for analysis and reviews – functioning real estate market - was still in rather early stages of development. By 2000 the real estate columns had shifted their focus from advisory articles towards the prevalence of market analysis and reviews. The construction of the profession and field of activities for real estate agency is a distinguished theme, especially employed in 1995 in the context of formation and institutionalisation of the field. At later stages it mainly appears as reproducing corresponding meaning structures with some modifications.
110 “The union of Estonian real estate companies which unites 15 companies has established working groups to speed up the enactment of legislation, which allows property to be sold only by the owner or by the owner’s authorized representative, obligates the agent to give exact information, demands from seller adequate information about the property and supports the creation of inter-firm database. The most serious concern of a client lies in the lack of information about where to offer the goods and where to find these. This is reminiscent of the situation of currency exchange four years ago: in the beginning it functioned on the streets, then in kiosks, and now in solid banks.” 06.11.1995, BD, a journalist about the creation of a “wonder-drug, which will take away the headache of defining the rights and obligations of an agent and buyer”. The real estate agency as a field of activities is framed for instance by comparisons with previous periods or with other prestigious fields of activities in society during the period, such as banking or law. The examples of ‘slippery’ or false agents and confrontation of them aim to reconstruct the image of the profession as trustworthy, knowledgeable and useful for the client. As not yet fully institutionalised, the status of the real estate agency was ambivalent around 1995, e.g. loan specialists in banks did the valuation of property themselves, only using the market surveys published in daily newspapers. By the 1999, the institutional barriers for entering the field are set: institutional evaluation and licences and corresponding articulation in the discourse are in use to distinguish between those who belong to the group (with all its positive connotations of professionalism and trustworthiness), and who not. “By today there are on the market several real estate companies who have been active for years and whose reliable trademark guarantees that clients’ rights are secured. With the development of the profession’s reform will the clients be in position to choose between the services of licensed and not-licensed agents.” 14.06.2000, ED, a representative of a real estate company about how “the development of real estate services creates new opportunities for the clients”. “If one wishes to lessen the risk of low quality service, it is recommended to use the services of a professional appraiser, whether directly or through the appraiser’s assistant. Certificate of profession guarantees that the appraiser has necessary education, sufficient professional knowledge, experience, and is under supervision and control.” 26.04.2004, BD, the manager of a NGO representing real estate appraisers, about how “the use of services of professional appraisers lessens the risks”.
VALUATION OF THE PROPERTY: OBJECTIVITY THROUGH COMPLEXITY
”While valuation can not be made by a customary citizen just “for fun”, one must turn to a real estate company who does the work”. 08.11.95, a representative of a real estate company writing about“Whether an agent is of use…”
111 The institutionalisation of the field brings us to another theme – the construction of the professional valuation of property as a formal and professional act, which guarantees the objectivity, independence and thus the right valuation of real estate property. “As many as there are people ,so as many are there opinions – evaluation of value is always subjective. The service of real estate valuation is ordered when there is a need for an independent and objective evaluation”. 26.04.2004, BD, the manager of a NGO representing real estate appraisers Again, the production of corresponding meaning structures was more relevant in 1995 when the activity was not yet perceived as necessary or meaningful by laymen or even by the banks and other institutional actors, and it was not as fixed in institutional structures of the field as later stages, when professional valuation is a precondition for a series of activities, not least for the loan application. The dualism of economic/rational/objective and emotional/irrational/subjective is employed here again. As a factor in economic argumentation, the valuation is constructed as objective and neutral. “An appraiser considers all market factors but the real estate owner’s opinion rests on emotional opinion, leaving out of consideration for example aspects deriving from property’s location”. 28.08.00, BD, journalist in an article about “Exact valuation presents market value” In the context of the boom in 2004 the professional valuation is constructed as a rational strategy for buyers in order to avoid wrong (‘emotional’) decisions. “Ever more are valued the clients, who before starting to sell the property, order the valuer to find out the market value or who consul an agent about the price”. 07.06.04, BD, an agent about how to act wisely in planning the sale of property The importance of experience and cognitive factors in valuation process is rarely mentioned and not conceived as a problem for the objectivity and neutrality of the valuation. Rather the ability to estimate the right market value despite the necessary cognitive factors influencing it, is constructed as the evidence of professionalism in handling the complexity of valuation process. For example a journalists’ experiment which evidenced a difference of 36% between different estimations was conceived to be a relatively equitable result, and was also not questioned by the journalist (04.12.1995, BD).
THE VALUABLE AND NOT
“In the opinion of real estate developers, the planned SOS children’s village project in Tallinn will reduce the prices of real estate property in the neighbourhood by a thousand crowns per square metre.” 06.12.00, ED, news co-produced by a news agency and ED
112 The advisory articles and market reviews reflect among other things the author’s presumptions about what makes a dwelling or residential area more or less valuable. The use of a dualistic old-new discourse is pervasive through all the periods under study, with several variations and interconnections with other discourses. Yielding the new is connected to the societal context of transformation period: by opposing to the old, deteriorated and discredited, the future is seen in the new, fresh and clean. “Although as an alternative the buyers always have the opportunity to choose a dwelling from the older housing stock, for many of the buyers it is a principal decision to move on into a new level of quality that can be offered only by newly constructed housing.” 15.03.04, BD, an analyst from a real estate company in market review In connection with the old-new discourse, there can be seen stigmatisation of flats built during Soviet period: flats in “a panel block with dirty elevator” compared with a “freshly built house” 26.05.04 ED, a manager of a real estate company about “How cheap loan-money brings into reckless decisions”. “For a citizen, sitting in the middle of humidity and mould and unavoidably overhearing the fight between neighbours, has only the option to curse the Soviet legacy and to dream about a villa in Merivälja [a highly prestigious district by the sea-shore in Tallinn]” 04.12.1995, BD, a representative of a real estate company in an article criticising the State’s low contribution to new construction. The old designates in 1995 all what was built or left without care during the Soviet period: the housing stock built during previous periods (with an exception of the mediaeval old-town in Tallinn) was overshadowed by the Soviet time, in either the physical or metaphorical sense. The simple dichotomy becomes more problematic in the 2000s, as there have appeared some counterarguments about the old being also valuable. In counter-discourse the new is designated with the metaphor of “plaster-flats” or “plaster-culture”, referring to cheap and popular building materials used in new construction or in inappropriate renovation of the old stock with heritage value. “Unfortunately most of real estate developers don’t value yet the milieu and architecture of wooden districts in Kalamaja and Pelgulinn”. 31.05.04, a real estate agent although, within the dominant discourse, the valuation of old and historical is still constructed as something extravagant: “Buying a flat in an old house is for those who value historical milieu more than a general good condition of the house” 31.05.04, BD, a journalist about new and old flats Standard-flats and mass-consumers are contrasted to elite-housing and elite consumers, who value the uniqueness. The concept of uniqueness enables the discourse to remain within the economic argumentation and can enable one to interpret the enormously high prices paid for
113 ‘luxury homes’ as rational. The ‘uniqueness’ is used to interpret the strategies of elite consumers, while mass-consumers paying high prices compared to their possibilities act just ‘emotionally’. The buyer is either identified as belonging within ‘one boat’ with real estate professionals and thus sharing the same understandings, or being the non-professional / non-economical actor. “Although real estate conceals in itself several values, the client is primarily interested in its market value…” 28.08.00, BD, journalist in an article about “Exact valuation gives market value” Renting is constructed as an alternative strategy for owning, and usually needs to be explained. The construction of a typical tenant makes use of notions like forced choice, temporality, young people, students, foreigners, etc- groups and reasons which are in one or other sense marginal. The share of rental sector in Estonian housing sector is indeed marginal (4%), and – as previous research has shown - the aspired tenure status is home-ownership and the marginality of tenants in rental sector appears to be both structural and ideational (see e.g. Paadam 2003 or Paadam & Ojamäe, forthcoming).
SOME CONCLUSIONS
The range of discourses used in real estate columns appeared to be rather limited. Remarkable is the rare appearance of alternative and critical discourses and approaches outside the profession. The subjects of knowledge-production are specialists working in real estate companies. The discursive power of real estate companies framing their profession and field of activities has not yet been in any studies seriously challenged or balanced by different voices in constructing the problems, arguments, successful strategies etc. This is somewhat surprising, considering that the alternative discourses are so omni-present in society, e.g. discussions about the questions of urban planning and architecture, heritage protection etc. The almost non-presence of those voices in real estate columns can partly be explained by the detachment of discussion-arenas: real estate columns as a reserved arena for ‘real estate market experts’ and economic discourse whereas alternative relevant discourses have to be looked for elsewhere, in architectural magazines etc. Partly shows it the dominance of economic discourse in presenting and constructing the housing field, while other discourses are formed as an alternative and opposing, and not as widely held. However, alongside the maturation of market, by 2004 the range of alternative discourses has become more balanced than beforehand. Professional valuation as a construct can be seen as means to institutionalise real estate market, and to structure and limit the possible range of information which otherwise would have to be processed by actors. Objectivity, neutrality, and clear distinction from ‘non- professional’ valuation are discursively reproduced to maintain the legitimacy of the procedure. Within this economic discourse, a real estate analyst, agent or appraiser uses different language than their clients, the lay people. The meaning structures and thus also the construction of the valuable and the right strategies for pursuing it, are different. A boom in housing market which seems irrational and unexplainable for the analyser, looks different to
114 residents, to whom the active market and favourable loan conditions at last opened up the possibilities to pursue a better housing according to their preferences and needs, which for a long period were not easy or even possible to follow. While housing marketing exploits in advertising and campaigns extensively the emotionally laden use- and symbolic value, then in market reviews and analysis the emotional aspects are almost like a taboo, which have to be masked by economic terms (e.g. “moral amortisation”) or to be implicitly labelled as exceptional, unique. Housing is conceived as a property defined by market (exchange) value, and while dealing with economic property it is deemed wise to leave emotions aside. Advertising as a creative industry is allowed to construct the purchase of housing as “buying a home of dreams”. Real estate analysis using only economic discourse risks restricted understandings, especially about residents’ choices and strategies. Housing, although an important piece of property, means for an owner-resident usually much more. And, the latter is not unfamiliar to real estate actors too. It just belongs for them to another meaning-structure. Discursive practices have to be interpreted in parallel with the dynamics of institutional and structural changes in society, and within the variety of contexts where discursive practices are employed. Without considering the changes in legislation or in resources available for different actors (e.g. knowledge, economic capital), the understanding of discursive changes remains inevitably partial. This paper attempts to draw some conclusions about how the professional actors in real estate market construct their field of activities and their own meaningful role in it within a certain arena – real estate columns - and how the criteria are set and used for assessing success or failure, and how they construct and give meaning to the partners (including lay people as buyers) acting on the market. The analysis will be followed further with a study about discursive practices in different contexts, including the interactions between agents and clients, and the understandings of clients or lay-people about the professional actors on the field.
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115 Bridge, G. (2001) Estate Agents as Interpreters of Economic and Cultural Capital: the Gentrification Premium in the Sydney Housing Market. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. Vol. 25 (1): 87-101. Clapham, D., B. Franklin and L. Saugères (2000) Housing Management: the social construction of an occupational role. Housing, Theory and Society, 17: 68-82. Clarke, M., D. Smith and M. McConville (1994) Slippery Customers: Estate Agents, the Public and Regulation. Blackstone Press: London. Fairclough, N. (1992/2004) Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity Press. Foucault, M. (1972) The Archaeology of Knowledge. London: Tavistock Publications. Giddens, A. (1984/1997) The Constitution of Society. Cambridge: Polity Press. Gurney, G.M. (1999a) Lowering the Drawbridge: A Case Study of Analogy and Metaphor in the Social Construction of Home-ownership. Urban Studies, 36 (10): 1705-1722. Gurney, G.M. (1999b) Pride and Prejudice: Discourses of Normalisation in Public and Private Accounts of Home Ownership. Housing Studies, 14: 163-183. Hastings, A. (2000) Discourse Analysis: What Does it Offer Housing Studies? Housing, Theory and Society, 17: 131-139. Jacobs, K. and T. Manzi (2000) Performance Indicators and Social Constructivism: Conflict and Control in Housing Management. Critical Social Policy, Vol 20(1): 85-103. Kemeny, J. (1992) Housing and Social Theory. London: Routledge. Marston, G. (2002) Critical Discourse Analysis and Policy-Orientated Housing Research. Housing, Theory and Society. Vol. 19: 82-91. Matysiak, G. and P. Wang (1992) Commercial Property Market Prices and Valuations: Analysing the Correspondence. Journal of Property Research, Vol. 12: 181-202. Mulder, C.H. (1996) Housing Choice: Assumptions and Approaches. Netherlands Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. Vol. 11 (3): 209-232. Paadam, K. (2003) Constructing Residence as Home: Homeowners and their Housing Histories. TPU Dissertations on Social Sciences. Tallinn: TPU Press. Paadam, K. and L. Ojamäe (forthcoming) Ideological Shifts and Shifting Relations of Actors in the Housing Field. In: Ilmonen, M. (ed) Housing in Ideologies/Ideologies in Housing. CIB publication, Helsinki. Ronald, R. (2004) Home Ownership, Ideology and Diversity: Re-evaluating Concepts of Housing Ideology in the Case of Japan. Housing, Theory and Society. Vol. 21 (2): 49-64. Statistical Office of Estonia, http//:www.stat.ee, 15.07.2005 Teixeira, C. (1995) Ethnicity, Housing Search, and the Role of the Real Estate Agent: A Study of Portuguese and Non-Portuguese Real Estate Agents in Toronto. Professional Geographer. Vol 47 (2): 176-183.correspondence: [email protected]
116 117 ARILD HOLT-JENSEN
THE DUAL CITY THEORY AND DEPRIVATION IN EUROPEAN CITIES
Castell’s notion of the ‘dual city’ is in general terms based on a considerable body of evidence. Manufacturing jobs have been lost in urban areas, creating insecure and low paid jobs primarily in the service sector; and the ‘rolling back’ of the state in the neo-liberal economic agenda has led to both spatial and structural polarisation in urban areas. However, different forms of housing provisions and labour market regulations account for a range of different structural and spatial outcomes in different nation states. In addition, seen bottom- up, personal and family based space-time budgets connected to possibilities in intra-urban movements and obligations in social reproduction influence segregation tendencies. The NEHOM project including 29 case studies in 8 European countries present a number of examples of local and national policies which lead to a re-evaluation of the ‘dual city model’. The paper draws on comparative work done in Hungary, Norway and the UK.
THE ‘DUAL CITY’ THEORY.
Three concepts have been closely linked in urban theories in the 1990s: global city; dual city; and social polarisation. In Scandinavia the concept ‘segregation’ has been the focus rather than ‘social polarisation’. The ideas were based on empirical evidence from New York and Los Angeles and extended to major Western cities and finally transferred down the whole urban hierarchy (Wessel 2000). Manuel Castells and Saskia Sassen indicated that observed patterns in New York and Los Angeles could be generalised to global cities. Castells, (1989 p. 343) anticipating increasing labour differentiation and ‘new urban dualism’ set forward the conclusion that the global city is also the dual city. Sassen (1991) came to the same conclusion, but introduced the term ‘ social polarisation’ as a strong signifier.
The basis for the dual city development is two sets of interlinked processes:
x the absolute decline, or relative movement from the city of manufacturing industries. They have to a large extent been relocated to cheaper premises in the regions or in other countries (Third World , Eastern Europe). Manufacturing jobs have been lost in urban areas, whereas well paid jobs relying on highly specialised skills have been developed in the new information, research and business sectors. It is seldom possible to replace more than a small portion of those made redundant in the manufacturing sector. Those re-employed are commonly on lower wages with less secure conditions
118 in low-level servicing jobs as cleaners, security guards etc. The changes in the manufacturing industry is thus both structural and spatial.
x The ‘rolling back of the state’, that is the influence by neo-liberal economic political trends; leading governments to aspire to minimal state expenditures. This has led to reduction of public services, undermining of labour unions bargaining power, transformation of the labour market to individual, so called flexible and part-time working contracts.
Castells argues that these socio-economic processes interlock to produce two types of outcomes: the structural and the spatial (Jarvis et. al 2001). The structural processes lead to development of an ‘hour-glass’ society (Liepietz 1998) in which the richer get richer, the poorer more poor and the middle classes are shrinking. The highly paid professionals are supported by an army of low-level service jobs, which, however, is often filled by economic immigrants rather than by those becoming redundant in the manufacturing industries. This leads on to an increasing number of long time unemployed. ‘Social polarisation’ is thus seen as a direct product of economic restructuring.
Structural dualism leads at the same time to spatial segregation and to spatial segmentation, to sharp differentiation between the upper level of the information society and the rest of the local residents as well as to endless segmentation and frequent opposition among the many components of restructured and destructured labour ( Castells 1989 p 227).
Looking at the internal geographical structures of urban areas we often find a segmentation of economic exclusion in working class neighbourhoods close to and now closed down, manufacturing industries. In the Ruhr region almost as many new jobs have been created for those lost in the heavy industrial sector. The new jobs have opened up varied opportunities for the well educated and for females, whereas elderly male blue collar workers are transferred to permanent unemployment. A particular group of losers are the many ‘Gastarbeiter’, mainly Turkish, who came in the 1970s and live in certain neighbourhoods, often tenements owned by the former heavy industry companies (Harnhörster 2000) . Women, and young, second generation immigrants in these families are culturally handicapped in the new, growing job market. In middle-class neighbourhoods nearby, two-income families are typical (Holt-Jensen 2000).
Both Jarvis et al (2001) and Wessel (2000) point, however, out that the logic in the theory regarding spatial patterning is not clear. Castells is able to provide ‘a big picture’, but as in any ‘grand theory’ it has weaknesses and a number of individual experiences contradict it.
119 MODIFICATIONS OF THE ‘DUAL CITY THEORY’:‘THE SECRET LIFE OF CITIES’ OR TIME-SPACE CONSTRAINTS OF ROUTINE ACTIONS.
Giddens’s structuration theory (1984), by which structures are created and transformed through routine interactions of people, makes structures not only constraining, but also enabling. This means that we are not caught in the “necessities of the socio-economic processes” in the ‘global cities’. “Different forms of housing provision and labour market regulation account for a range of structural and spatial outcomes in different nation states” points out Jarvis et al (2001 p. 36). They maintain that whereas Giddens’s theories mainly have been connected to structuration in relation to class and social structure, they can as well be applied to labour and housing market structures and institutions. Giddens points out that institutions also have a spatial dimension; their spatial extent may be referred to as locale. Giddens draws upon Hägerstrand’s (1975) and partners (Carlstein et al 1978) work on time- geography to develop his notion of distanciation, the stretching of social interaction across time and space. As it is physically impossible to be in more than one place at one time, this limits each individuals choices in routine daily life, in choices of housing and work, in transport decisions and in what Jarvis et al (2001) call ‘ social reproduction’. ‘The secret life of cities’ may be seen as a metaphor for the practical way of coping in daily life by the thousands of individuals in family situations, formalised in routine actions which make and remake city structures. The secret life of cities cannot be readily understood through any ‘grand theory’, but on the basis of bottom-up investigations of individual choice. This means that networks and institutions are outcomes, and not starting points; they are constituted through the practice of everyday life in the city. (Jarvis et al 2001 p. 42). Through a number of investigations, using long interviews with individuals in family situations, mainly in London, but also in other British cities, Jarvis et al (2001) comes to conclusions which give interesting new perspectives on the ‘dual city theory’.
The action space of individuals in London are constrained by a number of general and special factors. In accordance with the dual city theory there has been a shake-out of manufacturing jobs and at the same time a spill-over of service jobs. Whereas there is a structural caused unemployment in parts of the conurbation and of the population, London has 20 % of the jobs in Great Britain, but only 12 % of the population; in statistical terms then an undersupply of labour. But: there is a serious mismatch between job opportunities and local labour markets, including concentration of high-skilled jobs in Central London and increasing number of low- skilled jobs in Outer London. This is creating a growing need to travel longer distances to work, mainly because the housing market is segmented, particularly with respect to tenure.
“Private-sector provision is dominant in Outer/west London and social housing heavily concentrated in the Inner/east zones. --- Some 20 to 30 years ago, --- London’s housing and employment structures used to be very close to each other in space and time.” (Jarvis et al 2001 p. 49)
Today there are both quantitative and qualitative mismatches between housing and employment structures in London and this makes movement an essential part of urban life.
120 The mismatch creates strong constraints on daily life for those which do not have equal access to mobility: the poor, the unemployed, the disabled, elderly, women and children. The choices in the routinised time-space budget is strictly limited by transport availability and costs. Both housing and transport structures are rather rigid and not possible to change as fast as the labour markets changes. This is creating a growing inequality between mobile and trapped sectors of the population.
Transport links between home and workplace is, however, only one simple aspect of the daily time-space budget. Jarvis et al (2001) use the term ‘social reproduction’ for all activities in daily life which is not covered by home-work relationships. One activity is shopping in which increasingly the best bargains are mainly accessible for those with a private car and credit card and who finds the out-of town new shopping malls covering their needs. Those less mobile and creditworthy are confined to local shopping with less choice and higher prices. Other parts of social reproduction are related to school and kindergarten attendance for children; activities connected to memberships in organisations and clubs; attendance in leisure and entertainment activities. Changing forms of social life and family structures also greatly influences the ‘secret life of cities’; the core family is no longer in dominant number, singles, cohabitants without children etc. make up an increasing portion of the urban households. And their housing and recreation preferences are different from ‘core families’. Singles and young couples tend to prefer central city housing location to be close to the entertainment facilities, we also register that pensioners which have long lives and often decent economy tends to move back to central city housing. The ‘core family’ choice is on the other hand suburban living, but not all can afford that or, perhaps due to ‘time-space’ budget logistics find it better to find housing close to the workplace of one partner. These factors may be as influential in the socio-spatial structure of the cities as the changing industrial structures in the global cities.
This is because all the activity needs of the different households create strains on everyday life decisions which collectively make up the secret life of cities. Two kinds of household decisions are crucial to the co-ordination of everyday life and time-space budgets:
x ‘material household decisions’ such as changing of jobs, moving home, getting married, having children etc., decisions which are done rather seldom, but which have a profound impact.
x ‘Routinised daily practices’ connected to commuting to work, shopping, escorting children to school or kindergarten, leisure time activities etc. These decisions are at the core of peoples lives and coping in the city; and they can as well be seen as the agency that mediates between the structural changes in the labour market of the global cities and its social urban geography. There is no direct line of cause and effect here, in contradiction to what may be interpreted from ‘the dual city theory’. The decisions are as well mediations of other structures, some rather rigid and slowly changing as the housing market and the transport network, others more dynamic such as changing family structures, double earning households having become the rule. To cope in the global city, getting decent housing and good upbringing for children, a ‘core family’ needs two incomes. Flexible working hours, particularly in low paid service jobs often dominated by female workers, gives both more options for time-space budgets but also more scope for argument and disagreement. There is clear evidence that flexible work makes workers’ daily life more
121 complex and fragmented: if there are two workers in a family it is increasingly getting more difficult to assemble the whole household for dinners and breakfasts together. In the material household decisions as well as in routine daily practices “people are locked into coordination problems of other members of their households” ( Jarvis et al 2001 p.152).
A lot of stress and conflicts in family life are results of such coordination problems; often resulting in broken marriages. And after a broken marriage, solving of new time-space and economic budgets are needed, often leading to quite new solutions of housing location. The material household decision of acquiring a house or apartment may not be directly related to affordability, but is often a reflection of housing location in relation to the workplace of one of the family members. Often a home is located close to the female’s workplace whereas the husband is commuting over longer distances. Housing choice may also be dependent on family ties in locations where for instance grand-parents can take a hand in child-care, or where there is good schooling.
To cope in this complex web of city life requires substantial economic and social resources; not only in managing budgets, but also in simple time-management. A lot of people are locked out of jobs simply because they do not have possibility of transport from home to work places, and they are not able to move because they do not have the possibility to get housing were the jobs are. Living in a city where mobility and flexibility are key requires in many cases too much of those made redundant in the traditional labour market or those excluded from schools. Most high unemployment areas in the larger cities are relatively close to areas of labour demand; however, getting from home to work is not a simple issue.
“The narratives that we hear expounded about globalisation and global cities by writers such as Sassen and Castells apply within the city as well as between it and others. The islands of exclusion are next to the citadels of success and excess. However, those socially excluded have smaller and physically limited access to resources. ‘Being there’ is an everyday struggle.’ (Jarvis et al 2001 p. 158)
On the other hand we find the world citizens that have few problems in ‘being anywhere’, but this may overshadow the fact that in all households there are individual differences in possible action space, cleavages based on gender and age.
In relation to the dual-city theory the main message here is that the structures forming city life through modifications by agency are much more complex; we cannot get an understanding of the structural and particularly the spatial outcomes without a ‘bottom-up’ understanding of family and individual time-space decisions and budgets.
122 MODIFICATIONS OF THE 'DUAL-CITY THEORY': EUROPEAN WELFARE SYSTEMS AND PLANNING REGULATIONS WHICH MODIFY STRUCTURAL AND SPATIAL INEQUALITIES.
“Many social problems said to be inextricably linked to global cities are contingent rather than necessary and inevitable” (Dieleman and Hamnett 1994 p. 362)
The Netherlands is presented as an example of a well- functioning welfare state, where inequalities are moderated by state intervention and political consensus-building. Hamnett (1994) argues that the Dutch Randstadt conurbation is characterized by professionalisation rather than polarisation and maintains that Sassen’s thesis of increasing polarisation is flawed in many respects. He admits that income inequalities are increasing and stronger in London than in Randstadt, but relates that to differences between UK and The Netherlands in housing and welfare policies as well as to the traditional British class system. London is in his eyes not a more global city than Randstadt.
In the Dutch welfare system for instance access to housing is regulated and housing subsidies are important in directing where people live; the size and operation of the social rented sector is such that a social mix is expected and in most cases achieved. In Britain social housing provision, although being large in scale up till the Thatcher era, has always been labelled ‘working class’ with housing size and standards creating even finer grain of social cleavages. The ‘Right to Buy’ in the 1980 British Housing Act led to a grand scale selling out of local authority social housing to tenants and creation of new types of Housing Associations in the UK. A major result is a much smaller public housing sector, often containing the least attractive cores of former larger public estates. This of course creates pockets of deprivation which cannot be blamed on the general global city development. From a Scandinavian or Dutch political point of view it may rather be seen as an outcome of a failed housing policy.
The same can be said of the spatial consequences of American housing and welfare policies. Worsening ghetto situations cannot be blamed on the ‘global city’ trends. We may here refer to the keynote presentation at the ENHR conference in Gävle 2000 by Professor John Goering of the University of New York on ‘How enduring is Racial Segregation and Isolation in the United States?’. Goering held forward as positive the acceptance of ethnic diversity in American upper and middle class neighbourhoods, provided the people moving in were successful in life and moving up the ladder in accordance with the ‘American dream’. The liberal Democratic government had introduced housing grants to those families in the ghettos that had social ambitions and wanted a better future for their families in middle class housing surroundings. So families with initiative could be able to move out of the ghettos. One positive result, rather obvious, was that the kids from these ethnic diverse backgrounds obtained school results at or above the average after having moved to schools and housing in better neighbourhoods. But what would be the results for the ghettos? Obviously they would be drained of ‘resource persons’, leaving only the worst situated, including drug addicts and criminals back in the ’sink’. So here we find a deliberate US policy aiming at creating what we see happen in our European studies in a more diffuse and haphazard way. To say it rather bluntly: so far it seems that the best policy would be a
123 sorting out of troublesome clients and as well immigrants that may cause problems in poor neighbourhoods and settle them deliberately and dispersed in upper and middle class housing districts. In principle this should not really create a problem with immigrants and asylum seekers as they in most cases are resource persons, although with different cultures and possible constraints in their psyche from former political harassment etc. Such relocation and mix is more of a problem with the worst social clients, such as drug addicts and criminals.
Admittedly, as Wessel (1997) points out, the potential for socio-economic and ethnic segregation is larger in most countries than some decades ago, and this is a trend following globalisation and the main forces exposed in the dual-city theory. But 'social polarisation' and 'segregation' at least in spatial terms are not a necessary consequences. The 'passion for equality' is largely a common Scandinavian heritage. This is clearly exposed by Gunnar Myrdal in his book 'American Dilemma' (1944). He points out that the residential segregation and all connected problems of Negro housing must be broken down through social practical research and engineering . “Gross inequality in this field is not only a matter of democratic American conscience, but it is also expensive in the end”, (Myrdal 1944 p. 627). Today the Afro-American ghetto is much worse than when Myrdal wrote this Up till the 1950s Harlem and other big city ghettos were still home places for Afro-American resource persons. Today they have moved out, both resulting in and a function of a vicious circle of deterioration in public and private services (Marcuse 1998).
Based on the social experiences of the great depression in the 1930s and the fight against Nazi rule during the war, the Labour Parties coming into power in Scandinavia in1945 regarded a leading public role in economic and social policies as crucial to obtain stability. A major part of this was the provision of decent housing for all, and as credit and building material was limited, luxury house building became very difficult. In Norway the State Housing Bank gave a premium and very favourable taxation, which still is in force, for those building a one- family house with an extra apartment for renting to those less creditworthy. Particularly in small and medium sized towns, where apartment blocks were and still are scarce, this in itself provides a social mix. It should be noted that through the 1950s and 60s this policy was supported by all major parties. As the Labour Parties abandoned state confiscation and nationalisation of private industries and joined the denunciation of communism, a sense of collective social aims and responsibilities for the whole population was embraced by all political parties. The social consensus policy worked with only minor deviations. For a long time the issue of residential segregation remained a non-issue as it was anticipated that modernisation and social mobility would level out the relatively small differences through time. This was aided by for instance a deliberate mixing of housing types within the same school districts and the fact that the local public school was attended by more than 90 % of the children living in a neighbourhood. Gradually as well it has become a deliberate policy to integrate all children, including those with learning as well as social and physical handicaps up till 10th grade in the same class. Even in High School the grading by ability is played down.
124 THE NEHOM CASE STUDIES, EXAMPLES OF DEVIATIONS FROM THE DUAL-CITY MODEL.
Although somewhat weakened in later decades the housing and welfare policies of many European states contradict many features of the dual-city model. The EU financed NEHOM (Neighbourhood Housing Models) project 2000-2004, (for which the author has been scientific co-ordinator), can be said to have as a political aim to combat some of the postulated effects of the dual-city model. It is analysing housing policy and local initiatives that seem to be effective in combating social exclusion and thus social polarisation. Twenty nine case studies, in 8 European countries, of initiatives which seemed to have such positive effects was carried out in 2000 – 2001; in the next phase of the project openings and barriers for cross-national transfer of such initiatives were analysed. To analyse transferability we needed to have a very good understanding of the different national housing and social policy rules and practices. These studies in comparative politics gave us some basis to voice opinions on to what extent the dual-city model is contingent on national , not only global processes.
We should, however, note that it would not be correct to present critics of the dual-city theory singularly on the basis of evidence from the NEHOM case studies. These case studies were chosen because the processes going on in them have been found effective in combating social exclusion and thus social polarisation. These local studies therefore only function as examples or manifestations that social polarisation, social segregation and social exclusion are not necessary consequences of economic restructuring and globalisation. On the basis of national analyses and selected case studies in 3 European countries: Norway, Hungary and The UK we can try to highlight some of these differences and their effects.
HOUSING POLICIES AND LOCAL INITIATIVES AIMING AT REDUCING SEGREGATION IN NORWEGIAN CITIES.
In 1978 an empirical study (Aase & Dale 1978) documented compensation of different life standard factors and rather egalitarian social conditions in the Norwegian countryside and small towns. Later studies (Wessel 1998) have confirmed that in the countryside and in small towns there is an egalitarian and very high housing standard in Norway; it is impossible from the outer appearance of houses to tell whether the owners are blue-collar or white-collar workers, private business owners or fishermen. But the Aase & Dale (1978) study documented a level of segregation and inequalities in living standards in the bigger cities which took many politicians by surprise. These inequalities were regarded as problematic, but strategies to combat them were shaped around old formulas of economic redistribution. The issue came into the foreground again around 1990. A government report (St. meld. 11 1990- 91) stated that physical separation of social groups is the principal cause of additional public expenditures in the major cities. Spatial segregation should therefore be combated. Much of the debate has been related to the traditional east-west divide in the capital Oslo, east being the poor, traditionally blue-collar worker, part. To “most commentators it is an undesirable reminder of old-fashioned class differentials” (Wessel 200 p. 1951). The issue became,
125 however, more complicated than a pure class based segregation, as East Oslo had become the place in which new immigrant groups, notably Pakistanis, had settled.
Some argue that ethnic segregation and concentration in parts of the city is acceptable as such communities act as supportive havens for newcomers. But the conventional wisdom, based on the Norwegian egalitarian ideal, is that ethnic segregation will reinforce the old spatial differentiation between rich and poor and will also delay the integration of immigrants into the Norwegian society. A multiracial society is more acceptable to Norwegian society than a multi-cultural one. Conservative Islamic rules denying women equal rights and young peoples freedom in choice of sexual partners are unacceptable and partly against the law.
Wessel (2000) remarks that socio-spatial polarisation and socio-economic segregation in Oslo have been pointed out as unwanted by major political parties on both the right and the left side of the political spectrum. It is a common understanding that such cleavages are increasing. To counter these supposed tendencies huge reinvestment programmes have been carried out in the inner-eastern part of Oslo. But, asks Wessel (2000), is there truly a pattern of growing inequalities? Based on substantial statistical data he concludes that there is no evidence of increasing socio-spatial polarisation in Oslo. Rehabilitation of housing in Inner East has lead to gentrification as well as multi-ethnicity. This is parallel to the development of Söder in Stockholm where there is a mixed population of immigrants catering for ethnic shops and restaurants as well as young, well educated Swedish inhabitants. Inner Oslo apartment prices have risen considerably, particularly as it is close to the town centre and very popular among young singles and couples without children. These changes are reflections of the changing household structures in modern society and the preferences for single people to live close to the city centre.
Parts of Outer East have more social problems, also related to immigrants. This is mainly related to the massive housing block estates built in the 1960s and 70s. But in the newer housing developments of the 1980s and 90s the housing structure plans are such that within the same neighbourhood there is a deliberate mix of apartment blocks, terraced housing and single family housing which invites people of different economic strata to settle next to each other.
The Norwegian NEHOM case studies have all been carried out in the second biggest city, Bergen. The Saksarhaugen case (Holt-Jensen et al 2004, based on Gustavsen 2001) analyses the situation in a neighbourhood where a more massive housing development started in the end of the 1980s. Formerly the census tract had a dispersed settlement of one-family villas along the seashore. The new housing contained a mixture of terraced housing and modern apartment blocks, the standard of all being very high. The apartment blocks and most of the new terraced housing were built as co-operative housing in which each member tenant is part- owner. Norwegian co-ops are very special as you have to pay both rent to the individual co-op you live in and pay, before moving in, c. 1/3 of the cost of your apartment as ownership share, a share you may later sell at the price the market will give for it. In accordance with the social mix ideal, the city council is also entitled by law to buy c. 10% of the shares in a co-op for
126 clients that are not able to buy themselves. They may also assist a family that has employment, but no security, in giving guarantees for a bank loan to buy a share; the aim being to make as many as possible owners, and thus more interested in taking part in the communal responsibilities related to a co-op. At Saksarhaugen the Bergen municipality used the 10 % rule, but have been careful to move in only social clients that are able to adapt to the co-op rules. So a screening of social tenants was required. Some more problematic tenants were supplied housing in two small publicly owned housing blocks with a total of only 24 apartments. These apartments are located between co-ops and one-family housing in this neighbourhood. There have been problems with some of the clients and as in most new housing areas some tendencies to youth gangs about 10 years after the main building phase took place. Through long interviews with inhabitants however, confirmation has been confirmed that the social mix is accepted in principle by the inhabitants. The general attitude is that the children from less fortunate families should be given the opportunity to grow up in a good social and physical environment. The integration is, however, dependent on a screening of the social clients and common social work and creation of meeting places and activities. In this case both physical mix of housing types and deliberate social mix by integration of social clients in what by all outer signs is a middle-class area is definitely a good example on how social polarisation may be contradicted..
Løvstakksiden is another NEHOM case study area ( Holt-Jensen et al 2004, based on Germiso 2001). It is a traditional working class district located close to the town centre on the shadow side of Mount Løvstakken and has since World War 1 carried a stigma as being relatively socially deprived. One third of the housing, particularly the older part, is privately owned, 1/3 is co-op housing and 1/3 is public housing. The public housing is 100 % owned by the council and concentrated in a couple of small neighbourhoods in the area. Although only 6% of the council housing at Løvstakken is dispersed apartments in co-ops, the area still is socially mixed, although definitely more blue-collar working class than Saksarhaugen. The housing standard was at the end of the 1980s lower than in most other parts of the town, and tendencies of social stigmatisation led to the Løvstakken initiative in the 1990s. This initiative is rather complex, and can be compared to initiatives in other European neighbourhoods of relative deprivation. The public initiative combined physical rehabilitation with a number of local social initiatives. These include creation of meeting places (community houses), locally run neighbourhood committees and youth councils, and neighbourhood police. The aim of the project was also to split up a concentration of problematic social clients in the area. One housing block with small public one-room apartments, that over time had been used to house persons with criminal backgrounds, was actually demolished. This site was used for the building of an old people’s home and the clients that lived there been dispersed and taken care of in different social housing initiatives. Some of the most difficult clients have been located in a ‘house training project’ under 24- hour supervision and control. It is also a political aim to sell parts of the concentrated public housing blocks and buy new public apartments dispersed in co-ops and other housing estates in different parts of Bergen. It is seen as negative that Løvstakksiden public housing makes up as much as 1/3 of the apartments, whereas it is between 5 % and 6 % in Bergen in total. Public housing only makes up 4% of the total Norwegian housing stock, and is today a housing possibility only for clients with least resources. In addition to the specific initiatives at Løvstakken, the allocation of public resources to this neighbourhood, per head of population, is much higher than in most other neighbourhoods; the area has even got the only neighbourhood police in the city.
127 In the Scandinavian welfare model public resources are distributed according to needs so far as they can be measured, not by number of population. As a parallel Wessel (1997 p. 87) points out that in Oslo the poorest town area is allocated 3 times more public money per inhabitant than the richest. There is dispute over the criteria for resource distribution, but not over the obliqueness as a principle. The aim of the Løvstakken case study was to analyse the effects of the combined initiatives and investigate to what extent the type of local empowerment that followed the initiative is transferable. Germiso (2001) found that the area had greatly improved and that a more diversified social structure has developed during the last years. One reason for this is that the housing area is close to the town centre and the university. Students and other young people settle there in increasing numbers. There are, however, some negative aspects of this as students do not contribute much to the local activities. They tend to have their friends and social relations outside the housing area. So we see a combined effect of the daily time-space budgets and the neighbourhood initiatives. Both tend to modify considerably the effects of the ‘global city’ development.
In the 3rd Norwegian NEHOM case (Aarflot 2001b) the focus is on two different initiatives, both aimed at reducing the stigma that to some degree was attached to three small former council housing estates. The initiatives were based on the aim of social mix as well as somehow taking it for granted that co-op housing organisations are more able to run housing units than the public.
The first initiative, relating to two of the small estates (Rothaugen and Vaagedalen), was to sell the housing units to ‘mother’ co-operatives which transferred them to co-op renting. The public housing company retained, however, 30 % of the apartments for social clients, but no families were evicted as a result of the sale. Thus, over time, it was believed that the housing estates would get a good mix of tenants and the stigma disappear. Connected to this property transfer were also some improvements in tenant empowerment. The case analyses to what extent the top-down initiative of social mixing has been combined with bottom-up empowerment. It was confirmed that the reputation of both areas had improved considerably..
The second initiative was taken for Adolph Bergsveg; 5 council housing blocks built in the 50s and formerly nicknamed ‘Chicago’. In the 1980s ca. half of all child-abuse cases in the city district of Landås were located to these 5 blocks. The initiative combined physical upgrading with cross-sector social initiatives to activate particularly the children and youngsters in positive local activities. The physical upgrading was combined with rebuilding two of the housing blocks as a nursing home, thus reducing the number of council apartments for social clients. This reduction was useful in making it possible to integrate the smaller number of social clients in the remaining blocks into the local social milieu. In the interviews with the inhabitants it was found that the social stigma had been reduced, but new conflicts had risen as the public housing company had allocated almost all the apartments in one of the blocks to immigrant families; the Norwegian clients in the two other blocks now nicknamed this ‘the ghetto block’. Officers at the public housing company admitted that it is not a wise policy to allocate asylum seekers and people with a different ethnicity in public housing
128 estates with a high concentration of socially weak Norwegian families. Immigrants are generally better integrated in dispersed public housing in co-ops, using the 10 % rule.
Norwegian case studies exemplify the Norwegian belief in social mix and dispersal of public housing and social clients. But top-down spreading out of social clients or a policy of social mix is also very much dependent upon active, local third sector organisations and resource persons in the local housing estates establishing inclusive welfare activities. And not all social clients can be dispersed and included; some have to be taken special care of in wardened housing. In any case, welfare state policies like these counteract many of the negative effects of globalisation and the global city development. Norway has the resources to carry out such a policy, but what about less fortunate states in Europe? We need to have a look at the situation in Hungary and the results of the Hungarian case studies.
COMBATING EMERGING SOCIAL POLARISATION IN HUNGARY AFTER THE FALL OF COMMUNISM.
“The rapid decline of housing estates into slums represents the ‘time bomb’ of urban development, a possible source of grave urban crisis in the future” (Enyedi 1998 p. 33).
In Eastern and Central Europe (Enyedi 1998), housing research in the last decade of the 20th century focused on the privatisation in the 1990s of almost the whole stock of the state owned housing estates and older tenement blocks. As maintained by Enyedi (1998), the huge, prefabricated and standardised housing units may rapidly decline into slums from their former position as highly subsidised and serviced modern housing for the working classes. The sale to sitting tenants at prices well below the market price reduced the publicly owned housing in Hungary from 22 % in 1990 to 5 % in 2000, the ratio of change being much larger in the capital, Budapest. In sub-standard estates (many poorly built by prefabricated elements in the 1970s) and old inner-city tenements in which renovation had been neglected in 40 years of public ownership, persons and families with an upward drive soon started to resell and moved to better housing environments. This created a quite new tendency of social polarisation in spatial terms, which may be seen as an adaptation to market economy and reflects tendencies as described in the dual-city model.
But, here we need to reflect a bit on the historical situation of the Hungarian society and the structure of housing laid down in Budapest from 1880s till 1990s. The pre- World War 2 society in Budapest was definitely class-based with stark income differences from the upper- class bourgeoisie down to the Roma (gypsy) population. And some parts of the city, mainly the Buda Hills, had upper class one-family housing. But the Central city had a housing structure that promoted a spatial social mix. In the dense and large housing development built in the urban growth period before 1914 the well off lived in large apartments facing the street, whereas low income groups lived in the same housing blocks in small apartments facing only the inner courtyards. These old tenement housing were nationalised after establishment of the
129 communist ‘People’s Republic’ in 1949, and housing allocation became strictly regulated. The upper ‘nomenclatura’ of course were given the best housing, but in general housing was regulated and distributed according to working class ideals. “Marxist-Leninist egalitarianism was fostered by the redistribution of the housing stock among the poor” (Kovacs et al 2002). In Budapest the state became a dominant housing provider in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s due to large-scale housing programmes. Large state owned housing estates in the communist pre- fabricated style were built and the modern apartments allocated to privileged families. The rent was negligible and people that moved into the huge housing blocks could be seen as privileged. This meant that the social structure within both these estates and the pre- World War II inner city tenements was superficially fixed and mixed.
But the state housing provision was not sufficient to cater for all. Gradual liberalisation and private forms of housing were accepted from the 1960s on, it was “even supported by the regime, which was quite unique among the communist countries” (Kovacs et al 2002). And due to economic recession the state house building was gradually reduced during the 1980s. The situation in 1990, after the fall of the communist regime, was a rather strange housing situation; the privileged were living in state owned housing with minimal rents, the less privileged had often to cope in small, often self-built private houses with poor public services.
The privatisation in the 1990s has turned this upside-down. Those staying on in the now privatised tenement blocks are less privileged than those living in the small private houses. The fraction of the sitting tenants that were not able to buy their apartment became worst off; a large part of these belong to the Roma population. In the market economy segregation processes that had been suppressed under communism, gathered headway. Parts of the Buda Hills have become a sort of ‘Beverly Hills’, and the least attractive housing estates have lost a large portion of its resource persons. But, empty flats are not yet a common phenomena and most housing estates still have a considerable degree of social mix. A strange, in Western European comparison, situation is taking place in the former underprivileged areas of small private houses in Budapest. Socially up-moving families have started to buy cottages here, rebuild them, and introduce a new form of social mix that did not exist in these neighbourhoods before 1990. One can see large new houses with calling systems at the iron gates located next to cottages owned by rather poor families. Special kinds of social conflicts may result from these changes which might be interesting to study, but our NEHOM analyses have been confined to larger housing estates.
“After ten years of neglect and passivity the state (both local and central) gained more importance and played a more active role in the field of housing in the late 1990s. By 2000 the housing policy of Hungary has entered a new phase of its development where stronger co- operation and interaction between the public and private (both domestic and foreign) sectors became possible”. ( Kovacs et al 2002).
130 A new social housing programme was launched by the government in summer 2000 by which the municipalities can get state funding for building new social renting flats, renovating old tenancies or buying flats for renting on the private market. After the first year of this programme it seems that there are huge demand for such renting possibilities, implying that the privatisation has gone too far and needs a social housing supplement. The fears voiced by Enyedi (1998) in the opening citation in this section has thus been taken account of; but also other factors, as pointed out above, seem to reduce the spatial polarisation of the dual-city model in Hungary.
The four Hungarian NEHOM case studies were carried out in four different administrative units, also governed by four different local administrations. They demonstrate four different, and generally positive, approaches to the housing problems at hand. The case studies of Middle-Ferencváros and Middle-Józsefváros exemplify successful inner-city urban initiatives in housing districts developed in the last quarter of the 19th Century as part of the mass- housing construction in the booming economy for both Vienna and Budapest in the Austrian- Hungarian Empire. Both neighbourhoods became rather dilapidated and marked by social deprivation by the end of communism. The situation in Józsefváros was worst, “regarded as the most problematic area in Budapest with the poorest segments of the society, many families being Roma” (Kovacs et al 2002 p. 3).
In Ferencváros (Holt-Jensen et al 2004, based on Szemzö 2001) a rehabilitation programme was introduced in the late 1980s with the single aim to stop social and physical decay. The Ferencváros municipality decided on a rehabilitation programme that basically follows the French SEM model generating a radical shift from public to private ownership in the housing market and subsequently a profound gentrification process. In the part of the district studied this policy has been successful, extensive rebuilding and private investment projects have been carried out. But in spite of the intention to retain some part of the original population, most of the former tenants have moved to other, less high-cost parts of the district located further out from the city centre, or to other districts. Although a success in physical terms this renovation has led to more spatial segregation.
In Middle-Józsefváros, (Holt-Jensen et al 2004, based on Szekely 2001), due to its poor standards and bad reputation, private investors did not show too much interest, even though the area is located close to the city centre. The local municipal government, “together with Budapest City Government, set up an organisation, the RÉV8 Co. to cover all the activities connected with the rehabilitation” (Kovacs et al 2002 p. 3). This project had to be financed mainly by selling out building cites and dwellings in parts of the district. It has been an aim to preserve traditional architectonic values, local community values as well as the social structure and mix. Rehabilitation of some of the worst housing stock has been carried out without moving the inhabitants; in many cases the aim has not been to achieve a full modern standard, but a standard which the sitting tenants are able to live with in economic terms. In this way even the Roma population can be able to continue to live in the area, as well as, on the other hand, young families with more resources also starting to move in. The form of renovation may result in the same social structure as in Söder in Stockholm and Inner Oslo East as commented upon above. Being located close to the city centre with relatively cheap housing it will be attractive to young singles and professionals. It has also to be noted that
131 Hungarian traditions from way back support the notion of social mix in the same urban locations.
The NEHOM case studies of Újpest-Centre and Köbánya-Centre analyse working class housing estates in the outer districts built mainly through modern housing estates in the communist period. Both areas have a negative image among Budapest inhabitants, but new initiatives have been taken to build a new image.
The Köbánya-Centre case (Holt-Jensen et al 2004, built on Egedy 2001), analyses an urban rehabilitation programme initiated by the local district in 1998 for what in general coincides with the district centre. A forty million Euro programme is intended to be carried out over ten years. A shareholding company fully in the ownership of the district government is in charge of the programme. The objective has been to revitalise the quarter both physically “and socially through demolition of certain blocks and building up new ones but retaining the original layout and structure” (Kovacs et al 2002 p. 4). Included in this project has been the construction of new, high quality social renting dwellings, making the project a combination of urban rehabilitation and social housing reconstruction. This has guaranteed a mixed tenure in the area and given the local authority a degree of control over segregation processes. Once again an example of the potential in public policies to halt the spatial segregation processes.
The Újpest-Centre case, studied by Kovacs (2001) and summarized in Holt-Jensen et al (2004), is also an example of a special approach to urban regeneration initiated by the local district government. A genuine novelty here is “the gradual establishment of a link between urban regeneration programme and social housing policy, and the way how it was organised” (Kovacs et al 2002). An efficient co-operation was established between three actors; the local municipality (district), the central state and the private sector. At the edge of the neighbourhood, which was strongly affected by private sector regeneration, several smaller and less valuable vacant plots in municipal ownership were located. Money gained from the private developments nearby made it possible for the municipality, with national support, to build high quality social housing rental dwellings on some of these plots. The first dwellings of this kind were completed in December 2001, and families from run-down neighbouring buildings nearby were able to move in. The mixture obtained by private and public housing investments makes it possible to retain the degree of social mix.
Except for the Ferencváros case the local studies in Budapest exemplify efforts by the local governments to “maintain a fair balance between private and public ownership and a mixed tenure pattern that enables them to promote social cohesion” (Kovacs et al 2002 p.5). The political support for this policy can also be said to be rooted in Hungarian traditions, although large differences in private incomes now reappear after the Communist interregnum. People are accustomed to live in socially mixed neighbourhoods. Despite the conspicuous emergence of upper-class residential housing in the Buda Hills, most Hungarians of all social strata continue to live in neighbourhoods with more social mix than in most Western European cities, and definitely more mixed than neighbourhoods tend to be in the UK.
132 SOCIAL MIX AND THE ‘BALANCED COMMUNITY’ IN BRITISH HOUSING POLICY.
“The concepts of ‘social mix’ and ‘social balance’ are conceptually distinct, though often elided in policy debates. They both cover numerous overlapping characteristics of a population – age, tenure, class, income, ethnicity and so on. ‘Social mix’ suggests that the neighbourhood in question varies – on some or all of these factors. All neighbourhoods are, of course, ‘mixed’ to a degree – but some are more ‘mixed than others. ‘Balance’, on the other hand, connotes an external reference point with which comparisons can be made. --- But ‘balance’ has another meaning – that of ‘harmony’. A ‘balanced’ community, therefore, implicitly suggests a degree of positive social interaction and a degree of social cohesion. The ready but unexamined assumption in policy literature is that a more ‘mixed’ community lays the foundation for producing a more ‘balanced’ one in the second normative sense of the term – even though it could be equally plausible to argue that more mixed neighbourhoods will in fact engender more conflicts and tensions” (Cole and Goodchild 2000 p.351-352).
In the quotation above and in further argumentation Cole and Goodchild (2000) sum up the British discussion in a historical perspective on social mix within social housing policy. It is of no use here to comment upon the enormous amount of British academic literature on housing policies. Few countries have made larger investments within the field of social housing, but few other, at least European countries, have had more investment losses in this field than Britain. One small example may be the demolition in the 1980s of the New Gorbals in Glasgow built in the late 1960s. It must be puzzling for British housing politicians that many other European countries have less expensive failures in this field, Is there some structural features in the British society that is ripe for change? Are there traditions which are out of phase with the modern egalitarian society? We are not going into these questions here, but will only discuss two contrasting case studies carried out by foreign researchers in Glasgow; the success story of Reidvale Estate investigated by Romice (2001) and the Sighthill Estate problems as investigated by Aarflot (2001 a).
The Reidvale story is presented by Romice ( 2001) as a success, partly accounted for by the fact that social cohesion in this poor area was strong even before the renovation process started in the 1980s. And it has been strengthened. In 1998 the population of Reidvale was reduced to 2100 in around 1100 households. The building type is still 3/4 storey tenements, but the old buildings have been refurbished or demolished and substituted with high quality new apartments. A community centre, community kindergarten and an old people’s centre including sheltered houses were established. A neighbourhood perception study undertaken in1998 showed that 95 % of the inhabitants felt safe both at home and in the neighbourhood. Less than a quarter of the population regarded crime, vandalism, graffiti and drug culture as a neighbourhood problem. This is very different from many other Glasgow estates.
Some of the factors accounting for these positive results are:
x The renovation of the area was made step by step, so that people could move to a next door apartment while their house was renovated. A total renovation of the estate in one operation would have broken up the local community and probably only a fraction
133 would have moved back after renewal. This also restricted the intake of residents from the Glasgow list of those in housing need and spread the intake of ‘outsiders’ over many years, making it possible to integrate most of them into the existing community and establishing a better age and social mix.
x Almost all flats are now in the ownership of the Community Based Housing Association (ca. 1000 on 1100), but still around 70 households which could have left rented flats for owner occupation, continue to live in the area. This is contrary to experiences of many other British Housing Association estates. The improved physical quality of the environment may be a factor, but even more the gradual process of empowerment and transfer of responsibility to the residents seem to be of importance.
x The stability of the social structure may in part be due to the fact that in the community Based Housing Association it has been possible to do some kind of screening of social clients accepted and socialize those accepted into the local community. The chief executive of Reidvale Estate voiced the opinion that 10% social clients would be a preferable upper limit in Reidvale. The percentage of ‘problem families’ acceptable in a housing neighbourhood seems as well to be conditioned by the housing community as such, its organisation and strength including availability of resource persons
Romice (2001) concludes that Reidvale has shown how achievements on the social / personal level become effective and meaningful when linked to self-involvement. The empowerment through the resident’s organisation has led to much more positive results on individual self- esteem and self-reliance “if compared to two very rooted approaches which have characterised the British housing panorama: the housing and state benefits at the core of British social housing provision and welfare policies, and the Tatcherian ‘right to buy’; the first depriving people of incentives to action, the second increasing stigmatisation of the poorest in society” (Romice 2001 p. 23)
Sighthill is an estate located just north of Glasgow City Centre, but separated from it and other neighbourhoods by physical barriers (motorway, railway lines, a large cemetery) and consequently is enclosed as a neighbourhood. The neighbourhood has a high density of population concentrated in high-rise blocks and maisonettes, built in the 1960s, surrounded by green space. The population is, according to local sources, around 6500 of which ethnic minorities constitute 68 % (Aarflot 2001a). The area is divided in two by a road with shopping facilities which separates Pinkston and Fountainwell, which from the time the estates were built have been cradles for separate gangs of youth.
When built as a public housing estate Sighthill was definitely working-class but the housing standard was much higher than in Reidvale in the 1970s. The social composition of the residents has, however, changed over the years. One general factor is the rising unemployment of blue-collar workers in the conurbation at large, a development hitting, however, both Reidvale and Sighthill. But as Reidvale has ‘filtered up’ Sighthill has ‘filtered
134 down’. People with initiative and resources tend to move out as soon as there is an opportunity tipping the social balance in the wrong direction.
“A number of flats are owned by public offices, being used for instance to accommodate newly released prisoners. There is an assumption among the residents that their neighbourhood is being used as ‘dumping ground’, and this leads to suspicion of newcomers, regardless of their ethnic background” (Aarflot 2001a)
In 1999 200 Kosovo-refugees were temporarily accommodated in the area and were welcomed without any racial tension. But this has been followed by much larger allocation of asylum seekers in 2000-2001. Asylum seekers are now making up around 500 families in Sighthill, occupying 15% of the apartments, but between 20 and 25% of the population. In addition former immigrants of different ethnic origin make up a similar part of the population. Long interviews with representatives of the different population groups undertaken by Aarflot (2001a) in spring 2001, revealed increasing tensions in Sighthill. The local ‘old-timer’ British inhabitants do not understand why flats next door are being redecorated and fully furnished for the asylum-seekers and typically may express frustration in public meetings, although adding (as one woman did) that “it is not racism, it is resentment because they get all this for free”(Aarflot 2001a p.16).
Other ‘old-timer’ informants maintain, however, that the asylum seekers are not the problem, and maintain that the British should learn from the asylum seekers when it comes to taking good care of their children.
“You never see them commit any crime or bother our children. It is the alcoholics, drug addicted and the prostitutes that is the problem. And the problem only gets bigger and bigger, as these people are no good examples for the children growing up here. It is a recipe for disaster” (Informant 4 to Aarflot 2001 a p.16)
This informant, who is active in the local church and a key person in the community, may. however, leave Sighthill because his wife feels insecure as a result of what she sees as uncontrollable changes taking place in her neighbourhood. A lot of people are increasingly afraid to go out in the neighbourhood when it is getting dark and people are loosing faith in both authorities and police:
“The council just dump any kind of people in the area without taking responsibility. They think that us who live here is just a bunch of shit anyway, so that’s why they don’t care” (Informant 1a to Aarflot 2001 a p.17).
135 The asylum seekers on the one hand feel grateful for their accommodation, but are afraid of going out and feel trapped in the environment of the neighbourhood. Mostly they gather in the apartments with other refugees, and the youth only feel safe going out in groups. One of the few places in which there is contact with the ‘old-timers’ is in the church and activities organised by the church community. Some of them do not understand why they are placed in the middle of a potential conflict zone.
“Walking from Sighthill to city centre is like walking from one country to another. In city centre you see different people from the ones you see here, they are smiling and look healthy”( Informant 7a to Aarflot 2001a p.19).
The parental care by the locals in the area comes as a huge culture shock to the asylum seekers; it is very hard for them to understand that the youths that commit violent attacks and vandalism is so lightly punished. Parents in immigrant families express worries for their own children, as they know they will have to be socialised with local kids through the school and with locals in the neighbourhood. They are thus reluctant to let their children play with the local children after school. On the other hand a
“group of young asylum seekers have started to arm themselves with knives and forming gangs. They have expressed to the police that if there is new attacks as bad as the one where two asylum seekers had to spend 5 days in hospital, they will not just watch anymore, but start fighting back” (Aarflot 2001 a p.19)
In spring 2001 a committee was being established to start building bridges between the two groups. Despite some positive achievements by the church organisations, it may, however, be too late to stop violence. A gang inspired murder took place in summer 2001. An even graver situation may develop when the second generation of asylum seekers grow up, trapped as they are between the cultures of their parents and that of the local street culture. Many local ‘old-timer’ resourceful persons are giving up:
“Sighthill didn’t use to be like this, it is the Housing Department that has ruined our neighbourhood by putting the wrong people in. Good neighbours do not have a chance” (Informant 1b to Aarflot 2001a p.23)
There might, however, be ways to stop the neighbourhood deteriorating; the most obvious being of course an immediate stop to the allocation of more apartments in Sighthill to the weakest social clients and new groups of asylum seekers. A policy as recommended by Morrison (2000) including market promotion, plans for physical regeneration and transformation of parts of the apartments to private or shared ownership, may be a solution. A main aim would be to create a much more socially mixed community. Aarflot (2001 a) suggests a process of improvement through gradually passing phases consisting of conscious
136 raising ( learning about each other through media and all local meeting places), physical regeneration and sustainability (involving empowerment and transfer of responsibilities to the residents).
These two cases show two sides of the British housing dilemma. One is the oversupply of sub-standard housing in Northern England and Scotland, making it tempting for local authorities to allocate empty flats to new tenants as soon as possible without considering how the new tenants will fit in. They may argue that empty flats are often destructed by squatters and youth gangs making physical upkeep a problem. The other side of the dilemma is the tradition of spatial social segregation by class. It seems in Scandinavian, and possibly as well in Dutch and even Hungarian, eyes, that Myrdal' arguments (1945) in ‘American Dilemma’, that social segregation is very expensive for society is well understood.
Mainly the argument here rests on the possibilities for the next generation, that it there is definitely much to gain from giving all children equal education . This may be the most important argument for social mix, to guarantee that social deprivation is not inherited from one generation to the next. It seems to be of crucial importance that education is given in local schools of equal standard; the private schools increasingly popular also in Scandinavia being definitely a threat here. Bussing of school children as in the U.S., may be a form of solution when school districts do not have a reasonable social population mix, but it makes it of course more difficult for the children to attend after school activities together with their schoolmates.
CONCLUSION.
The globalisation processes leading to 'dual-city', social polarisation' and 'segregation' both in structural and spatial form is to a large extent modified by space-time budgets and private choices as well as by welfare state modifications. From NEHOM project analyses (Holt- Jensen et al 2004) we see it as necessary to combat spatial segregation leading on to spatial deprivation. This can be done through:
x compensation, in economic terms as relatively larger transfers per inhabitant to services for the population in deprived areas; through stronger investments in rehabilitation and physical upkeep; and through surveillance by neighbourhood wardens (an initiative studied in an English NEHOM case study).
x social mix, directly top-down through dispersal of social clients and possibly new immigrants, through urban renewal attracting new better off inhabitants to the area and through an urban development planning mixing different house and tenant types in the same area thus attractive a mixture of income types.
x creation of meeting places as community house, youth centre, local kindergartens and centres for elderly (church, cafe etc.)
137 x empowerment of the locals which may be achieved through housing associations or co-operatives and which may be strengthened through communal work. Hidden resources that exist in unemployed and deprived people may be released by this and lead to great gains both socially and in money terms. In one of the German NEHOM cases garden plots on green areas between the blocks of a social estate function as such a simple and positive initiative. In the Løvstakken case (Germiso 2001) the locally elected Youth Council, run by teenagers, is another example.
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140 KĘSTUTIS ZALECKIS
THE CITYSCAPE OF A CONTEMPORARY MEGAPOLIS: LINEAR OR HYPERTEXT?
(THE DWELLING HOUSE AS ONE OF THE CARRIERS OF THE HYPERTEXTUAL FEATURES IN THE CITYSCAPE)
SUMMARY
The cityscape is the urban construct which as a versatile phenomenon reflects cultural manifestations and transformations. By considering the structuring of the cityscape as the formation of an integral whole of cultural artefacts and by focusing on the semiotic theories as well as the theories extended by cultural-historical psychology, the contemporary architects face an urgent task of building a ‘living’ body of the city related to the cultural context by the semantic ties. Since culture may be described as a dynamic phenomenon, the perception and evaluation of the common, sometimes hardly distinguishable tendencies of transformation of the cityscape as the form of cultural content and the architectural-urbanistic task arising from them becomes an important condition of the formation of the mentioned ‘living’ environment. By employing the cityscape-text analogy, the author offers the assumption that the most exhaustive analysis of the alterations taking place in the structure of a verbal text could well serve in the exposure of the cityscape’s transformations. On the basis of the correspondence between the transformation of the polis into the megapolis discussed by Lewis Mumford in his theory of the city’s cyclical evolution conditioned by the formation of the alienated culture and the emergence of a principally novel textual form expressing the values of the alienated culture, the contemporary Western megapolitan cityscape is patterned as the hypertext. The most significant problems are as follows: do the hypertextual features really operate in the megapolitan cityscape? What are the spatial forms and limits of such expression? What practical tasks does it erect? In the article the analysis of the representations of the hypertextual peculiarities in an urbanized space has been carried out in the following stages:
x The generalized spatial models of the megapolitan cityscapes have been formulated on the basis of the history of urbanism and the facts of the contemporary urbanism;
x The essential peculiarities of the linear text and the hypertext have been discussed from the point of view of spatial perception;
141 x The possibilities of the representation of the hypertextual attributes in the megapolitan cityscape have been evaluated. The analysis allows for the assertion that, with the city’s reaching the stage of the megapolitan development, its cityscape starts demonstrating various hypertextual qualities (e.g. non- semanticity, whose the most important ‘carrier’ is a dwelling house; depersonalization imposed by the fading of the cityscape’s cultural distinctions; illusorily element and the absence of the monolithic aspect, which are determined by the visually active advertisements, etc.). However, despite the ascertained expression, the cityscape is not capable of a complete mutation into the hypertext. The basic reason is that the city as the representation of culture in the continuum of time and space, actually, cannot lose all the features of linearity. The interpretation of the achieved results from the philosophical point of view reveals the city’s twofold role: by having given birth to the alienated culture that threatens to consume its own sacred ritual roots and by turning into the stage of the anticultural expression, the city, as the phenomenon manifesting itself in the common and basically social space, at the same time remains the final, indestructible citadel of the linear culture and the guarantee of its revival. From the given point of view, the achieved results confirm the cyclical theory of the urban evolution, extended by Mumford. To put it in Mumford’s wording, when transformed into the megapolis, the city preserves in itself the eo/politan seeds and the promise of the rebirth of the eo/politan forms. The hypertext operating as an effective space of the interaction of individuals, the city always remains the space of the interaction between the society and the individual thus paradoxically becoming both the chief agent of the alienated culture and its counterbalance. From the practical point of view, the achieved results formulate a corresponding task and the landmarks of further research for the urban scholars and architects, i.e. to construct a vigorous cityscape not solely as a meaningful shape in a concrete context, but also as an integral whole preserving the strong possibility of its evolution and renewal as a cultural artefact. Despite the very fact that basically the hypertextual peculiarities cannot fully manifest themselves in the three-dimensional urban space, the described aim indicates the cherishing of the linearity to be one of the means ensuring the cityscape’s renewal. It should be also noted that the new existential context of the city requires the novel suitable linear forms. Evidently, the quest for such forms is the goal of further actual investigation.
INTRODUCTION
The cityscape is a mirror of the urban processes as well as of cultural phenomena and transformations, or rather, a hologramic picture allowing for the visual perception of in most cases immediately ungrasped phenomena. By considering free human will that affords the opportunity for choice and the socio-cultural nature of human consciousness that reveals the communal character of human needs, it is meaningful to construct the cityscape (as much as possible) in the way it would reflect the fundamental cultural processes and thus answer the population’s cultural-psychological demands adequately. The article discusses the problems of the cityscape’s formation in the context of particular contemporary cultural situations.
142 When treating the ‘body’ of the city as the form whose content demonstrates a plethora of cultural phenomena, the author has chosen the most purposive, though not a novel, vista regarding the cityscape as text. By regarding the substantiation of the mentioned point of view with the models offered by other fields of cognition beside the semiotic model, a more or less utilitarian goal of the cityscape’s formation and the versatility of the city as a cultural phenomenon, the article attempts the patterning of the model of the semantic system on the basis of Andrey Agafonov’s semantic theory of consciousness [22]; Chris Lofting’s universal dichotomic model of meaning exploration1 [13]; the neurophysiological explications of perception and the functioning of the cerebral hemispheres; theories of cultural-historical and analytical psychology; Lewis Mumford’s model of city evolution [4], etc. Hence the article aims at the consideration and estimation of the multi-faced and multi-layered aspects of the city’s existence thus attaching a consciously tangible cultural meaning to frequently met acts of urban planning acts. The analysis of the cityscape as text with the revelation of its more or less profound semantic strata was carried out by a number of authors, including Yuri Lotman [28], Jacques le Goff [9], Georgy Pochentzov [32], Vytautas Petrushonis [16], and others. The novelty of the research lies in:
x The reasonable analogy between the specific cultural transformations taking place in the city and the hypertext as one of the expressions of the corresponding cultural processes;
x the employment of the analogy in the process of interpretation of the cityscape’s evolution in a concrete cultural context;
x the formation of the direction and landmarks of the cityscape’s formation on the basis of the mentioned analogy.
THE CITY AND THE MEGAPOLIS
Homo sapiens is a being depending on culture and belonging to it. Thus, culture makes the context for any human activity. This statement has been echoed by the scholars of various fields of scientific enquiry. Consider:
x the environment consisting of cultural artefacts deconstructs the evolution of man as a representative of the physiological species thereby diminishing the importance of natural selection;
x cultural artefacts structure the psychic contents of an individual determining his/her way of thinking, taste, demands etc.;
x the archetypes of collective sub consciousness extend a number of images manifest in culture and structuring both culture and the individual, as well as the scenarios of his/her activity and reasoning. 1 E.g. of the creation, maintenance, and distribution of meaning.
143 The city is an inherent agent of culture whose roots coincide with the roots of culture. This idea has been confirmed by Kenn Wilber’s integral theory of consciousness [21]. In discussing the manifold kinship between the city and culture, it is important to emphasize their relationship based on the ‘hen-egg’ paradox. On the one hand, the city is born out of culture, on the other hand, it becomes a central constructor of culture or at least its catalyser, without which culture, in fact, is unimaginable. Here the city is understood both as a material urban structure and a man-environment system united by social-cultural-psychological links. The city’s ‘creative potential’ is revealed, for instance, by its essential role in the creation of historical time [4]. The city is a living organism surviving in a mutable cultural context. From the semantic point of view whose importance to society and culture cannot be overestimated, the main condition of the city’s cultural vitality is the meaningfulness of cityscape. Here meaningfulness is understood as the integrity of permanent and constantly renewable perceived relations between urban manifestations and other forms and contents of socio-cultural life. The city is perceived through the cityscape, i.e. its visual representation. Having the mutual city-culture relation in mind, it becomes obvious that the visualisation of the cultural phenomena in the cityscape is inevitable. However, since human beings possess free will, they may structure the cityscape as a ‘living’ or ‘lifeless’ body during the process of its direct or indirect formation. No doubt, it is necessary to discuss the horizontal limits of the creator’s liberty in different cultures as a separate subject, nevertheless the very possibility of free choice and the fact that the city and the cityscape are and should be experienced and perceived in a similar way by all the members of a cultural community2 raise the necessity of architectural structuring based on the cognition and consideration of the cultural context. The local or regional genius loci has been widely discussed both in the theory and practice of architecture, the accent being led on the importance of the preservation of differences. However, in the process, the resemblances should be perceived as well or at least they should be taken into consideration. Thus, the initial actual question sounds as follows: how might the most common cultural context of the contemporary Western City be described? The model of urban and cultural evolution extended by Mumford claims: the city, similarly to any living organism, undergoes birth, growth, death, and rebirth. The given model of the cyclic evolution is significant since it extends the conception of the cityscape’s vitality by embracing both the importance of its meaningfulness in the given cultural context and the urgency of the preservation of the potential modification. During its existence, the urban construct undergoes the following inevitable stages of evolution, those of the eopolis, polis, metropolis, megapolis, tiranopolis and necropolis [4]. Undoubtedly, these phases might be illustrated by the historical periods of the separate cities, which has, in fact, been done by the author of this theory. Yet, the peculiar kinship between the city and culture, their inseparability, the very existence of cultural areas, and the scholar himself [4] allow for the discussion of the common evolution of the integral whole of urban structures following the common cultural space. For the problems discussed in the article, the most important is the process of the city’s transformation into the megapolis. According to Mumford, movement reflects an essential turning point in the existence of the socium, when:
2 I.e. the cityscape is the text written by some author whose meaning must be deciphered.
144 x culture develops into civilization;
x life service transforms into life oppression;
x the city undergoes mutation thus becoming the anti-city with its idols, i.e. centrality, control, magnitude, power, common welfare, etc.
x social alienation replaces social community, etc.
In other words, the megapolis originates as an expression of alienated culture. Beside the mentioned features, the alienated culture encompasses the specificity of reasoning and action that alters the universality of human activity and its universal significance and of aimless manipulation that replaces intentioned creativity. Cultural and social integration degenerates into disintegration. Moreover, since man loses his importance as a chief cultural figure, here power becomes the working agent [4]. It goes without saying that all these aspects do reflect in the cityscape. As Leonidas Donskis claims, the megapolis (i.e. the megapolitan cityscape)3 comes to be a disintegrated form of the alienated culture, which spreads as a pointless infection in an urban body [4]. The very fact that in Western Culture the city undergoes the phase of the megapolitan evolution is testified both by the representation of the mentioned cultural modi operandi and by the obviously chaotic and in most cases practically uninterrupted mutations of the cityscape. For instance, the desire of the majority of the ‘respectful’ cities to erect more and more contemporary symbols of economic power and common wealth, i.e. the ‘towers of glass’ that are not a natural consequence of the local cultural character of functional necessities. Their anti cultural character is betrayed by the forms detachment from the content and by the absence of semantic informativity: identical buildings can serve as bank offices, commercial centres, and dwellings. The spread of the analogical megapolitan infection may be discerned in the many-storey Soviet style dwellings that passed on even into the country settlements. Taking into consideration that man has an inborn desire to catch the meaning of each perceivable object [22] and further revealing the problems of the cityscape’s formation from the semiotic perspective, the following question comes into focus: what are the peculiarities of the megapolitan cityscape-text?
THE CITYSCAPE AS HYPERTEXT?
The cityscape-text analogy is applied when analyzing the city from the semiotic point of view. It is based on the semanticity of human reasoning, i.e. in all things for trying to discover an indirect, hidden meaning. As mentioned before, the rightness and significance of this perspective not entirely in the context of the semiotic models are substantiated by the semantic theory of consciousness [22]. However, when directly relating the cityscape with a
3 Parenthesis mine, K.Z.
145 verbal text4 and trying to make the generalizing conclusions about the unexplored features of the urbanized space, such analogy should fulfil the chief requirement of the logical analogy: similar essential features of the two compared objects must be known [17]. Does then such analogy between the cityscape and a verbal text exist at all? Here are the arguments allowing for the positive answer:
x Both the cityscape and a verbal text convey the same most general cultural content;
x The same essential peculiarities are discovered both in the form of the cityscape and of a verbal text: o Indivisibility of the whole – with the exclusion of a single or several text elements (e.g. a word or a building), the integral whole (e.g. story or panorama) will result in the metamorphosis of meaning; o Atomicity of structure – the integral whole is divisible into the smallest indivisible semantic units; o Complexity of structure – the combination of the ‘atoms’ into autonomic groups before their integrating into a whole5; o Employment of certain rules of composition6; o Limited number of basic types of elements whose combinations produce different texts;
x The comprehension of both the cityscape and a verbal text depends on the knowledge of the language that develops on the basis of an unwritten social agreement [1] (verbal language or architectural language [18]);
x On the greater part the understanding of both signs depends on the associative links structured by cultural artefacts: the contents are conveyed through the signs directly unrelated with them [3].
By relying on the above extended factors, which motivate the given analogy, it is possible to claim that a culturally significant textual form text might serve as a basis for patterning the cityscape distinguished by the corresponding most common cultural peculiarities.
Actually, the hypertext is such a form of text. Its nature is fully exposed as the result of an expansion of the Internet technologies that are involved in the formation of the alienated culture. The hypertext has been created as a more effective space of intellectual communication (in the name of progress) and presented as its model corresponding social and physical reality7 more evidently [31]. This textual form as one of the forms of the alienated culture is an expression of the postmodern culture entirely reflecting its most important characteristics: pluralism, decentralization, fragmentation, and intertextuality [26].
4 As the best investigated and recognizable textual form. 5 E.g. sentences, or visual spaces and ensembles. 6 E.g. grammar rules or architectural-aesthetic rules of composition. 7 E.g. the process of reasoning and functioning of the social system.
146 The hypertext is opposed to the traditional linear textual form employed in the so called ‘Gutenberg era’. Actually, the linear text is marked by hierarchy, centralization, integrity, and tangible atomicity8. The priority of the content over the form9, linearity10, common reading rules11, completeness (i.e. fixation in time), static character, ‘territorial’ restriction, integrating basis, i.e. obvious direct relations between elements that do not offer wide freedom of interpretation12. The following features characterize the hypertext as such: anarchy instead of hierarchy, fragmentation, decentralization, certain illusority13, the priority of the form over the content (antisemanticity), absence of linearity14; a vague reading order; openness15, and dynamics16; intertextuality17; nomadic character and deterioration; associative links serve as an integrating basis, etc. The mentioned relative and, if taken individually, hardly comprehensive peculiarities18 will be further explained and analysed in greater detail in the discussion of their spatial urban expression. However, it may be pointed out that an apparent transformation of the qualitative features into their antinomies when passing from linear text to the hypertext, testifies to the correspondence of the culture’s mutation into the alienated culture displayed in Mumford’s model or, according to Donskis, of the city’s regress into its megapolitan stage of evolution. Thus, by relying on the given factors and by accepting the cityscape-text analogy, it may be resumed that the hypertext reflects the contemporary ways of reasoning and perception of information and of environmental characteristics of the megapolitan culture, which should be employed in patterning the most typical features of the megapolitan cityscape. It is important to emphasize that the author does not intend to identify the dichotomies of culture/civilization and polis/megapolis emerging here with the positive/negative or good/bad models. With regard to the city-organism parallel offered by Mumford, they should be rather treated as different periods of the existence of the urbanistic construct resembling youth and age in human context. In the life of the city each stage requires adaptation on the part of its citizens as well as cognition of the possibilities extended by every phase. Obviously, each period raises varying requirements for architects. The employment of the megapolitan cityscape-hypertext analogy results in a number of unavoidable questions. Do the contemporary megapolitan cityscape-text truly develop into a hypertext and what then are the spatial forms-means of such a process? Does the specificity of the city and the peculiarity of the spatial cityscape allow for the full representation of the hypertextual characteristics or rather extend a new aspect for such analogy and thus enrich it? What new architectural tasks might this analogy expose?
8 E.g. in a verbal text, a letter is the smallest unit. 9 E.g. the content determines one or another form. 10 I.e. a single end of the story and a single way leading to it. 11 I.e. from left to right and from top to bottom 12 At least at a surface level of the perception of the general meaning. 13 The material basis of the text – for the reader the binary 0-1 combination is implied. 14 Many ends of the story and many ways leading to them; any unit of information may become the point of support when passing to any other unit. 15 It frequently undergoes change and may be altered by the reader. 16 Expansion as the mode of existence. 17 The absence of boundaries, incompleteness, depersonalization. 18 Especially in the case of the hypertext.
147 The Peculiarities of the Textual Forms in the Space of the Cityscape
The task of this subsection is a consistent evaluation of the expression of all the peculiarities of the linear text and the hypertext in the space of the cityscape. Since their characteristics fall into certain dichotomies, which are, in fact, best understood when taken side by side, the most general expression of the mentioned features has been analysed by the comparison of two generalized and, according to Mumford, cardinally opposite models of the cityscape, i.e. the politan and the megapolitan cityscapes. Before passing to the space analysis, several points should be noted: Firstly: the principal spatial cityscape’s structure in whose spaces the corresponding textual peculiarities come into focus should be outlined. Since the article discusses the cityscape as a result of perception, its structure may be determined by the content of perception: the integral whole of the cityscape (image, panorama, mental model), and its integral parts interior visual spaces, single objects, details). In the article, the image as an object of enquiry requiring additional sociological research and connected with the contents of various media rather than with the real cityscape19 has not been investigated more comprehensively. To characterize the structure of the city’s mental picture the author employs the model offered by Kewin Lynch that embraces districts, roads, landmarks, knots and boundaries [11]. Here the panoramas are analyzed as an indivisible whole. According to the conditions20 of their comprehension, the community of perception21 and by seeking the necessary compatibility with the model of the city’s mental picture, the visual spaces are divided into roads, knot spaces (squares, public gardens, etc.), and the interior spaces of the urban quarters. Objects (buildings), with regard to the semantics of perception and to European urban traditions, are divided according to their content-function, e.g. dwellings, commercial, administrative, and sacred buildings. When necessary, the mentioned objects are analyzed by employing the corresponding terms of spatial composition, such as closure/openness, symmetry/asymmetry, dominant, accent, hierarchy, rhythm, background, semantics, etc. Secondly: since the cityscape is treated as a result of perception, it is necessary to specify the models defining the perception, which are used in the analysis of the probable representation of the textual features in an urbanized space. The article demonstrates the author’s reliance on theories and models, which directly or indirectly speak of perception and the factors shaping it: the semantic theory of consciousness that substantiates the importance of the semantics of perception [22]; the model of semantic system [1]; the dichotomic model of the perception of meaning offered by Lofting that links the semantic model with the peculiarities of the functioning of the central nervous system [13]; the neurophysiologic models of perception [8;25;29], and, indirectly, the models of the comprehension of the verbal text’s meaning [23;24], etc. Thirdly: it is urgent to indicate, at least in a preliminary manner, the most significant differences between the eo/politan and the megapolitan forms. In this case, the author means the generalized models of the corresponding phenomena that extend the peculiarities common 19 Even if a generalized one. 20 E.g. from permanently changing positions, from static positions, etc. 21 When perceived by many or few spectators.
148 to all the objects of a certain subgroup. When concentrating on the polis, the orientation is directed to the small Western-European medieval town model well-known in the history of urban development, which is inseparable from the neighbouring landscape. The choice has been made by ignoring the polis of Ancient Greece since the above described polis demonstrates the direct, consistent cultural relation with the megapolis of the Western Civilization. What regards the eopolis, the author relies on the hypothetic reconstruction of the city on its initial ritual grounds structured by Mircea Eliade [7]. In the context of Western Europe, this phenomenon is not typical however, with respect to the religious origins of the city [10; 30] and the evolutionary, but not revolutionary, urban development, the eopolitan peculiarities assist in the disclosure of some less distinct yet significant, when compared with the megapolitan ones, features of the politan form. In the discussion of the megapolis and its metastasic expansion, each capital of Western or Central-Eastern Europe might serve as an example yet only on condition that the common spatial peculiarities of the cityscape characteristic of all cities are taken into consideration. The most typical characteristics of the eo/mega/politan forms enumerated according to the above indicated spatial structure of the cityscape are:
x The complex of the eo/politan space is relatively small, closed, maximally concentrated and integral, often symmetric, and with clear boundaries. The megapolitan complex, in its turn, is incomparably larger, open, dispersive, and fragmented, without clear boundaries, asymmetric, and demonstrating an organic form.
x The polis is most frequently perceived from a single well-chosen panorama22, which possesses one or several distinct dominants and accents of its separate elements, and an integral contrasting background that creates favourable conditions for the visual perception of the most important objects. In the megapolis, various panoramas merely represent the parts of the city. In the panoramas significant for the city’s image and mental picture, the dominance of single objects is replaced by the dominance of their complexes, the so-called ‘urban hills’, whose location and boundaries in most cases may be only approximately defined. In fact, the accents, as certain hierarchical groups of the most important objects in the panorama, disappear. Moreover, in the majority of the panoramas, the monotonous background demonstrating different degrees of visual ‘aggressiveness’ is dominating. On the whole, after the disappearance of the ‘specialization’ of the architectural shapes23, the difference between single dominants or accents and the background turns out to be less perceptible. The very background, in its turn, also loses its monolithic character24.
x The mental model of the eo/polis, with regard to the size and spatial characteristics of a medieval European town, is integral25 with all clearly distinguished and perceived elements of the model: knots-centres26 that coincide with the arrangement of the vantage points27; with the roads possessing clear beginnings and ends in the most important knots28; clear boundaries both of the whole view and of the town’s districts, and easy recognizable districts because of their details betraying the specialization of 22 Evident in the engravings illustrating the medieval urban panoramas. 23 I.e. the relation of certain shapes and their variety with the buildings of special purpose. 24 If compared to medieval towns. 25 Offering the regular possibility to discern the most significant points from any part of the town. 26 In which a single most important center dominates. 27 The church, the town hall near the market square, the castle, etc. 28 E.g. town gate-the market square.
149 the craftsmen. The view of the megapolis, similarly to its fragmented whole, is fragmented and hardly eye-embraced as an ensemble. In most cases, the boundaries between the districts, as well as the districts themselves, because of their ‘filling’ and the similarity of details, grow up in an accidental manner. The vantage points do not coincide with the knots-centres. To say more, the very knots-centres may embrace the area of the whole district or compete with each other. Frequently, the roads have no clear beginning or end, and some parts of the city escape the general mental model of the city. Natural elements turn out to be a significant factor both in the formation of the boundaries of the model’s districts similar in their inner characteristics29 and of individual districts30.
x All types of visual spaces in the politan cityscape demonstrate the closed character starting with the court yards of possessions, continuing with the solid perimetrically built closed street perspectives, and finishing with the closed Gothic squares in the corners of which the streets meet. The megapolis embraces the spaces of all characteristics31, yet, actually, by considering the open street perspectives and vast monotonous suburbs, it may be pointed out that openness manifests itself more frequently. Another essential difference should be maintained too: the eopolis demonstrates a clear functional space specialization32.
x When considering the cityscape’s objects and details, the following essential difference should be discerned: the polis reveals a small shape variety and a great detail variety related with their functions; contrariwise, the megapolis demonstrates a great variety of shape unrelated with concrete functions and the scantiness of details that frequently specify the function. The importance of the transformation should be emphasized, too: in the case of the polis, it is the form that points to a certain function, and, in the case of megapolis, it is the detail. Furthermore, the megapolis offers a new type of detail: in it, visual advertisements prevail. These are visually aggressive details that frequently overshadow the building, the part of which they are. It is also important to mention a special type of the advertising detail that needs no building or volume, i.e. the advertisement displayed in a free space33.
The interpretation of the above mentioned spatial features of the cityscape in the context of the most frequently mentioned features of the two forms of a verbal text will be presented below.
29 E.g. the river or green hillsides. 30 E.g. a big park in the dwelling district or suburb. 31 I.e. closed, semi-closed/semi-open, and open. 32 E.g. according to Marshal McLuhan, a square is the place of all-round communication, the function which is lost in the case of megapolis. 33 On the roadside, fence, above the street, etc.
150 THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PECULIARITIES OF THE LINEAR TEXT AND THE HYPERTEXT IN THE EO/POLITAN AND MEGAPOLITAN TYPES OF THE CITYSCAPE
This problem will be discussed with regard to the following significant factor: the hypertext is not solely the form of a verbal text but rather a more precise model of the social system and of functioning of human brain. When trying to explain the non-linear regularities operating in their activity and qualitative evolutionary shifts, such and similar systems are patterned as the complex ones and work ‘at the edge of chaos’ [6]. Another peculiarity of such systems extended by their models is the incomprehensibility of the part when set apart from an integral whole. Therefore, in order to reveal the specificity of the hypertext and evaluate the representation of its features in the urbanized environment more properly, the above corresponding peculiarities have been slightly generalized and expounded as the sum of the aspects of a single indivisible phenomenon inwardly related and resulting from each other. The scientific material is extended according to the following scheme: firstly, the chief opposing differences of the textual forms are revealed34 through the introduction of the spatial interpretation of their representation; secondly, the expression of the features of the textual forms is evaluated in the mega/politan cityscapes. To give the visual aspects to the extended analysis the following illustrations might be offered: the book might serve as the most typical example of a linear text and the web of textual pieces scattered on the Internet and linked together by the html references as the most typical example of a hypertext35.
The basic features of the linear text and hypertext and their possible spatial expression:
x One-dimensional/multi-dimensional;single-plane/multi plane; integral/fragmented. The mentioned pairs of features are easily grasped when comparing the book to the text of the Internet pages: in reading the book and by finding some reference to another literary work, first of all, the page of the linear text is finished to the end; however, on the Internet, by using the html references, the reader may instantaneously jump from one textual fragment to another. The conclusion revealing the essence of such difference is as follows: the existence of the spatial and temporary continuum in the linear text or the existence of the linear text in such continuum, in which each text or its area occupies an individual part of the space that does not overlay with any other space and where the passage from one point to another requires the adequate expenditures of energy and time. Thus, some spatial parts are less accessible than others. For the sake of interest, it should be pointed out that such conception of the spatial continuum, which reveals the peculiarities of the environmental perception, has been legitimated in the principles of the paradigm of geographical regional analysis [15], the territorial premises of central locations [15], and methods of the formation of urban spatial structures [27]. However, the mentioned continuum does not exist in the hypertext.In the urbanized space, the absence, weakening, or imperceptibility of the described continuum should be expressed through the fragmentation of visually or conceptually perceived space. 34 With greater accent on a single element of the dichotomy. 35 Although the latter may be discovered in a dictionary encyclopaedia, or even in the Bible, e.g. any verbal text that is read by following no precise order.
151 x Linear organization/web organization. In the case of the linear text, an individual reader36 is led by a single consistent route, i.e. from the beginning to the end of the text. Contrariwise, in the hypertextual web, every reader moves in his/her own unique way, which is never the same even when reading the same text again and again. It should be stressed that the individual ways of a great number of readers may never interact. Thus, from the point of view of the city’s spatial structure the essence of the linear organization might be described as follows: an unavoidable consistence of the routes of movement is conditioned by the mentioned continuum of the spatial linear text, in which the two-dimensional plane is fully and maximally assimilated, i.e. the movement does not allow the missing of any segment of the route. Yet, in the hypertext, such restrictions do not occur: the reader’s movement is entirely free, one proceeds wherever and how s/he wishes by jumping from one point to another. Such interpretation of linearity is illustrated by the model of the city’s mental picture, extended by Lynch, which points to the integrity of the route’s involutes37 as a necessary condition to perceive the integral route [11]. In the urbanised space, the fading of the linear structure is represented through the fragmentation of the net of movement as well as its vagueness: the disregard of the principle ‘the shorter the way to the end, the more purposeful it is’, from the point of view of the city’s functioning’; the fragmentation of several spaces and the absence of determination38.
x Unbroken direction/mutability of direction. The hypertext offers no straight ways from the common beginning to the common end. Here the individual preferences of the reader or accidental cases determine the beginning of reading, the turns or pauses. However, the linear text deprives the reader of such chances because of the necessity of the gradual comprehension of the text’s general meaning and its significance [23; 24]. In the spatial context, the steady trend of the text operates as the linking of the consecutive ways with a clear, determined, non altering goal, i.e. the object of the movement. Such interpretation has been confirmed by Lynch’s model of the city’s image that points to an obviously perceivable or imaginable direction as one of the conditions necessary for the way’s entrance into a general mental model of the city [11]. This idea was also approved by Carl Gustav Jung who described the way and the image of the centre connected with it as an expression of the fundamental archetype of self-distinction [34]. In the discussed case, the hypertextualization of space should operate through the vagueness of the destination of spatial communicative axes, landmarks, centres, and peripheries.
x The clarity of structure/amorphic structure. The linear text is a completed, immutable piece possessing clear structurally distinguished parts39 and the main uniting line of the fibula with several secondary lines. Contrariwise, the hypertext has no determined end and is a constantly altering, having no determined end, non- hierarchical, non-structured amorphic mass. The linear features of the spatial structure or order are analogical to those of a verbal text: the whole’s division into parts that by no means may be superimposed on each other; the unification of the integral whole’s with the help of the purposeful consistent hierarchical elements,
36 As all other readers of the same text. 37 I.e. integral rhythm, gradual alteration of the involutes’ filling, etc. 38 Both along the way, because of an uneven alteration of the urban filling, and in the individual sections, because of the openness of the road’s space. 39 I.e. introduction, parts of the plot’s development, denouement.
152 concentration into centres, and detachment from what is ‘not a whole’ (i.e. by closure, etc.).All the mentioned things reflect the chief means of structuring (both in the processes of reasoning and psychic cognition and in the environmental models), i.e. analysis and synthesis [17]. Correspondingly, they manifest themselves in the urban structuring models, such as functional zoning, functional frames, centres, and dominants in the hierarchical perspective, etc. The spatial expression of the hypertext should not posses all the mentioned characteristics but should operate through their decay or absence, i.e. through vagueness or inconsistency of the hierarchy of objects and places, the already mentioned unclearness of the aim, the evenness of the urban spatial mass40, etc.
x Homogeneity/intertextuality. Intertextuality is understood as an insertion of one text into another thus making it unfinished, inhomogeneous, and manifold. The intertextuality of the hypertext operates in several ways:
x Citation, since, with the help of the html references, the text may be constructed purely of quotations. It is important to stress that they may acquire various forms41 thus transforming the hypertext into an heterogeneous piece of space;
x Decentralization and infiniteness, since the abundance of references and quotations wipes off all the boundaries as well as the centralized structures of the hypertext thereby making it undergo continuous alteration (i.e. to be always a different one);
x Depersonalisation, when the individuality of the author and with it a clear meaningful system of values melts away in the ocean of citations. When discussing the problem of the urbanistic form of the city, it should be stressed that it consists of open (spatial) and closed (filled with building constructions) volumes. Therefore the interpersonality of the cityscape should manifest itself in the appearance of a new kind of non-volumetric objects; in the weakening of the authorial role of the creator, both in the cases of individual objects and of the integrated whole; in the decline of the impression of the whole’s steadiness, which, having in mind the connection of the hierarchy with the mentioned impression [13], as pointed out by Lofting, should be associated with the incomprehensibility of hierarchy as such, etc.
x Atomicity/illusority. The linear text put down on paper has a clearly perceived, tangible, and indivisible structural unit, i.e. the letter. The binomial ‘unseen’ code (0-1) makes the basis of the hypertext and, thanks to it, the encoded information becomes readable. With respect to this aspect of the hypertextualization of the urban space, it should be noted that here the hypertextualization should manifest itself by one or another virtual form of the environment: either in reality non- existing objects should be perceived as a part of the city’s integral whole.
x Semanticity/non-semanticity. In the linear text, it is the content that determines the textual form. However, in the case of the hypertext, because of its highly individual character, accidentality and inconsistency of relationships, the form, by 40 I.e. the absence of centres. 41 E.g. video, audio.
153 acquiring the most unexpected shapes, may exist without a common cultural content or may encompass a socially meaningless formal content. The ‘logical’ link between the concepts of the sausage and the philosopher Plato could serve as an example of the latter statement: the sausage is made of pork, the pig has bristles, brushes are made of bristles, they are used by painters, the Mannerists were painters, the Mannerism is a trend in art that expresses certain ideas, the importance of the ideas was stressed by Plato [26]. Thus, both in the cases of the verbal and of the spatial text, the mentioned aspects would operate as non- semantic links of the whole or as highly individual signs involved in it. In the case of the cityscape, it finds expression in the absence of the link between the architectural form and content, the non recognizability of the functional purpose of an architectural object, etc.
x Local character/illocality. As mentioned before, the linear text occupies an integral space, in which each object has its fixed place. The reader, in his turn, when approaching various places of the text, notices their differences. However, in the hypertext, because of the immediacy of links, the local differences of locality do not occur42. It offers the possibility of the instantaneous jumps from one text to another and a straight return to the same place. In the real space, it finds expression in the nomadic way of life43 or in the vagueness of the differences between various locations, monotony of the urban filling, and so on. In the city, the latter peculiarity of the hypertext is most notable.Is the hypertextual expression apparent in the cityscape? Is it more obvious in the megapolis than in the polis? What elements or parts of the cityscape turn out to be the reflection of the ideology communicated by the hypertext? These questions may be answered only by having evaluated the reflection of the established spatial representations of the hypertext in the generalized models of the mega/politan cityscape: x The fragmentation of the cityscape’s integral whole. The integral whole of the cityscape is perceived in the panoramas and in its general mental model. The panoramas of the megapolis get partially fragmentised: because of the size of the city, when compared with a compact medieval town, the panoramas first of all do not embrace the whole town and its most characteristic objects. Because of the same reason, a greater number of nearer and further planes enter the panoramas and, with nature’s ‘entrance’ into the city, the contrast between ‘grey’ and ‘green’44 becomes less distinct or totally disappears, which, in its turn, weakens the perception of the city as an integral organism. The conceptual picture of the megapolitan type of the city when compared with that of the polis also undergoes fragmentation: because of the vague net of roads, cenres, and landmarks, some parts of the city’s mental model are not perceived as the integral parts of the same entity [20]. Despite the mentioned tendencies of fragmentation, the city exists and functions in a continual common space as the whole of objects and phenomena related by the urgent functional-spatial-semantic links. Because of such semantic- functional integrity, the semanticity of perception, cultural determination [8], and, to rely on the scholars of geography, the urban elements operating in space as well as the regularity of the concentration of action toward the centres [15], man will
42 I.e. are not grasped. 43 The wanderer is at home everywhere. 44 According to Jacques Le Goff, this dichotomy is the central one for the people of Western Culture [9].
154 perceive45 the body of the city as most probably a disintegrating system incapable of absolute falling into pieces.
x Fragmentation of the road-net and its irregularity; vagueness of the road spaces. The city’s roads-streets are perceived as a part of the conceptual mental model and as a certain type of the cityscape’s visual spaces. The fragmentation of the road-net is observed in the conceptual model of the megapolitan cityscape with an expanded area. First of all, because of the weakened relationship between the roads and visual landmarks [20], the appearance of the roundabout ways46, the detachment between the passers-by and the traffic47, and the absence of geometrical characteristics of the motor roads48, the megapolitan road-net is considerably more fragmented than the politan one. With the expansion of the street routes, the preservation of integral or consistently altering density, rhythm, and size of objects in the involutes becomes rather complicated, therefore the streets are perceived as the ways of the conceptual picture with difficulty. However, the road-street net’s visual spaces having clear boundaries in the polis, in the case of the megapolis, frequently lose their closed character and clarity. Here the street-space lined in the meandering route through a dwelling district of free structuring whose yard spaces in many places melt into the street space acquires an implied character. Nevertheless, despite the road net fragmentation, the city’s road net because of the mentioned continuity of the urban space, the natural centripetal tractive forces, the impact of the integral infrastructure on the functioning of the city, and the continuous tendency of the minimization of its distances, as it is in the case of the city’s integral whole, is not capable of the complete segmentation into separate hypertextual fragments.
x The fading or absence of the attributes defining a clear structure: the vagueness or inconsistency of the hierarchy of places and objects, the evenness of the urban mass49. Such peculiarities are most distinctly perceived in the panoramas and the conceptual model of the city. In Medieval Europe the town demonstrates a very clear structure of the panoramas: the contrast between the dominants-accents and the urban background50, distinct hierarchy of the dominants, the opposition between the centre and the periphery, and the obvious boundaries of an urban composition. However, in the megapolitan panoramas, the mentioned characteristics are manifested less evidently: accents and dominants compete with each other, the contrast between the background and the dominants is not so distinct, in many cases, the centre does not conform with the most significant dominants, and the contrast between the periphery and the central part may turn out to be completely imperceptible. When compared with the polis, the conceptual model of the megapolitan city demonstrates the transformation of a monocentric structure into the net of competing centres and of the districts with different fillings into the paste with identical filling, etc. Yet, despite such structural process of chaos, and because of the functional necessity, of the urge of the mentioned 45 Though, from the compositional point of view, not in an entirely integral way. 46 The roads merely leading into other roads but not from one centre to another, as it is in the case of the eopolis. 47 Because of the difference in the speed of motion, the lack of common landmarks, and the traffic roads’ solely spot-type contact with another filling of the city’s mental picture, the observer perceives them as a net to a great extent separate and related only in several points. 48 The observer most easily grasps a straight street segment as an integral unit. 49 E.g. absence of centres, the disappearance of the boundaries between certain spaces, etc. 50 Formed of dwelling houses of similar form and size.
155 central tractive forces, the uniform communicative infrastructure, and the unavoidable community of the cityscape perception, the megapolitan structure of the cityscape does not undergo the mutation into a hypertextual chaos.
x The existence of new, visually active non-volumetric objects. Single objects as well as their details are perceived in the inner visual spaces of the cityscape. In the megapolitan spaces, an extremely new, visually extremely active, non- architectural51 type of objects, in its essence, seeks no adjustment to but distinction from the surroundings, i.e. visual advertisement. Such type of objects introduces the form and content of cultural phenomenon of an entirely different, directly unrelated with the functioning of the city and finding expression in entirely different, in most cases individual spheres of life, thus, in principal, breaking the monolithic character of the linear body of the city and making it close to the polysemantic hypertext.
x The weakening of the authorial role. An ‘authorial hand’ may be noticed in the panorama, the mental model, inner visual spaces, single objects, and details. First and foremost, it is important to claim that the author of the cityscape is the socium rather than an individual52. By the ‘authorial hand’ the author of the article means the recognizability of the social expression of a certain culture. No doubt, the closer examination of the medieval cityscape may evoke doubts whether it reflects any characteristics, world-outlook or world- experience of a concrete culture. Having in mind the clearly distinctive character of the objects dominating in the integral background of the panoramas, it might be added that, the individuality of their constructor was well perceived. However, because of disappearance of the technological restrictions in the megapolitan cityscape, the local natural conditions lose their role as the main factor determining the architectural expression. Because of these reasons: the growth of the migration of city inhabitants, and the rise of cultural varieties where the global architectural fashions turn out to be extremely significant, the pictures of different cities get semblant. For instance, in contemporary ‘forests’ of skyscrapers and suburban cottages, the distinct local culture cannot be recognized. With regard to an individual style of expression reflected in the objects, it tends to be observed with difficulty because of several reasons: frequent attempts to dominate at any cost, the postmodernist habits of architectural citation, and the dominance of detail in the recognition of the type of object.
x Dynamism. Bearing in mind the impact of the hierarchical relationship causing the impression of steadiness (the idea extended by Lofting [13]), the dynamism of the cityscape may be related with the imperceptibility of the hierarchy of its parts or objects. The subject has been discussed in the analysis of the structural evolution of the cityscape. The assertion of the impossibility of the disappearance of the hierarchical expression in the urbanized space points to the rise of the dynamism of the megapolitan urban view, though nevertheless, in principle, the cityscape remains a static object.
x Imperceptibility of the existing integral parts of the cityscape. It might be associated with the conceptual picture of the city. As the analysis shows [20], with
51 e.g. not discoursing in the language of architecture. 52 This statement does not fit in the analysis of the individual objects of the cityscape.
156 the formation of the uneven net of ways and landmarks of the city’s conceptual picture and the decrease of the cityscape’s legibility [12], some districts sufficiently large in their area may not be perceived as parts of an integral urban body. Contrariwise, in the compact and easily legible polis, it is scarcely probable.
x The perception of the objects or details non-existing in the urban volume or insignificant from the volumetric point of view as considerably important elements of the cityscape. In the mentioned context, the most purposeful is the discussion of the visual inner spaces of the cityscape, of single objects, and, in exceptional cases, of the implied panoramas. Here visually extremely active and aggressive advertisements play an important role, which, in fact, make a rather insignificant part of the cityscape’s volume according to the occupied physical space. Yet, in the observer’s perception, it may compete with the volumes dominating in the city. With the various kinds of media having become an inseparable part of human life, the image of the city is often constructed without seeing the object itself. Actually, when trying to form the external image of the city solely out of several accidental familiar objects, a misleading, illusory, implied panorama is constructed. Such increase of the importance of media in the perception of the cityscape provokes the creation of the illusory character typical of the hypertext.
x The disappearance of the relationship between the architectural form and content and the unrecognizability of the function of the architectural objects. It is perceived solely by distinguishing the individual objects of the cityscape and their elements. In the polis, each type of object53 differs in its typical shape and details, or its abundance. Thus, every object is easily recognizable and, depending on its social or semantic role, is more or less dominant in the integral whole of the cityscape54. Practically, in the case of the megapolis, such order is destroyed: with the absence of the form and content relationship, the detail (frequently accidental) becoming the only semantic sign of the building, and with the narrowing of the variety of detail, the function of the majority of the buildings turns out to be unrecognizable in their exterior. Hence an exceptional role falls on the part of the dwelling, which, because of the variety of the inhabitants’ demands and immense technological possibilities, acquires the variety of shape and size, becoming a compositional element of the cityscape55. Such representation of the identical contents in a variety of shapes makes the megapolitan cityscape essentially anti semantic and thus, in the context of the integral whole of the cityscape, turning the turning the semantic form-content correspondence into a mere play on forms.
x Vagueness of the differences between various places and the monotony of the urban filling. It is observed in the urban panoramas, the city’s mental model, and visual spaces. Having in mind that the scope of attention is limited [8; 25] and that, principally, the variety of the cityscape is perceived on the basis of differences [33], the filling of the megapolitan cityscape, in spite of its frequent distinction by a great medley of the objects of a similar scale, is nevertheless perceived rather as an unvarying mass56, but not as a sum of different objects. On the other hand, large 53 E.g. merchants’s or craftsman’s dwelling house, town hall, mansion, church, monastery, etc. 54 I.e. structuring dominants, accents, or background. 55 E.g. a dominant, accent, part of the background, etc. Hypothetically it is possible to imagine a sufficiently structured composition of the panorama or the conceptual model of the megapolis structured merely by dwellings, however, it is impossible in the case of the polis. 56 Sometimes also absorbing the single dominants.
157 monotonous suburbs and the districts of many-storey dwelling houses are also perceived as districts with the same filling. However, in principle, the urban objects cannot get fully levelled because of the following reasons: functional differentiation of objects, the tractive forces of centres that alter the intensiveness of the architectural filling, etc. The carried out analysis allows for the claim that, with the city’s reaching the megapolitan stage of evolution, various peculiarities of the hypertext manifest themselves in its cityscape. Actually, the strongest manifestations are the following ones:
x Non-semanticity whose most important ‘carrier’ is a dwelling;
x The lack of uniformity caused by active visual advertisements;
x Depersonalization determined by the disappearance of the cityscape’s cultural characteristics;
x Illusority created by the advertisements, the virtual image of the cityscape constructed by the media and by its decreasing legibility.
Partially manifesting peculiarities of the megapolitan cityscape are:
x The fragmentation of the conceptual model of the city caused by its size;
x Chaotization of the steady structures57;
x The dynamism and non locality of the cityscape.
Despite the representation of the mentioned hypertextual peculiarities, the cityscape is not capable of the entire transformation into a hypertext. The basic reason is this: in fact, the city as a cultural expression in the continuum of time and space is not capable of being deprived of all the features of linearity.
IS THE LINEAR CITYSCAPE THE TRUE GOAL OF ARCHITECTURAL CONSTRUCTION?
The result of the hypertextualization of the megapolitan cityscape demonstrates a philosophical and practical-architectural significance. When interpreting the achieved results from the philosophical point of view, the twofold role of the city comes into focus: having given birth to an alienated culture that threatens to destroy its own sacred ritual roots by acting as the stage of the anti cultural expression, the city as a phenomenon manifesting itself in the common and in principal social space turns out 57 The disappearance of hierarchy; the weakening of the linearity of ways; decentralization, lack of the integrity of the boundaries between the parts, etc.
158 to be the final, indestructible citadel of the linear culture and thus the guarantee of its rebirth. From this point of view, the achieved results confirm the cyclic theory of the evolution of the city extended by Mumford. According to his theory, by having developed into the megapolis, the city still preserves the seeds of the eo/polis as well as the possibility of the rebirth of their forms. With the hypertext arising as the space of an effective individual interaction, the city always remains the space of the interaction between the society and the individual, hence manifesting itself both as the agent of an alienated culture and its counterbalance. From the practical point of view, the achieved results formulate the corresponding tasks for the urban experts and architects. As mentioned before, with regard to the semantic theory of consciousness [22], it should be pointed out that one of the urgent goals of urbanistics is the formation of a ‘living’, i.e. perceptible and interpretable58 cityscape retaining the potential of its own renewal. Having in mind the social origins of culture and the semantic field formed by it, it should be stressed that a ‘living’ cityscape is, in fact, the linear cityscape. In spite of the fact that actually the peculiarities of the hypertext cannot be fully expressed in the three- dimensional space of the city, the cherishing of its linearity does not lose its importance. The reason lies in man’s free will that is capable of the narrowing or extending the linearity of the cityscape59 and at the same time in the psychological acceptability of the urban space [5] and its significance as a cultural artefact. Here the term ‘artefact’ is used on the basis of Michael Cole’s cultural-historical psychology [2]. Having recognized the importance of the development of the cityscape’s linearity, it is urgent to admit that, with the alterations of the city’s cultural situation and its form, the means of the linear structuring employed in the polis, to a considerable extent, do not fit in the case of the megapolis. Therefore, the quest for a new spatial form of linearity turns out to be a current task for the urban experts and architects.
CONCLUSIONS
x The analogy between the cityscape, the linear text and the hypertext might be successfully applied as an attempt at distinguishing and patterning the tendencies of the evolution of the megapolitan urbanized environment in a corresponding cultural context that determines them. Such analogy reveals the problems of the cityscape’s construction, describes some important goals of its formation, and specifies the landmarks for the quest of the adequate urban means.
x From several perspectives, the megapolitan cityscape turns out to be similar to the hypertext. The most important ‘carriers’ of the cityscape’s hypertextualization are the following : o Dwellings that acquire the most various and, in many cases, accidental architectural forms and ruin the form-functional content correspondence of the cityscape; 58 Meaningful and significant. 59 To be more precise, its favourability or non favourability to the inborn linear structure of the environmental perception.
159 o Multiform advertisement transforming the cityscape into a multiplex conglomerate mass and constructing the impression of its virtual reality; o Media offering deformed virtual images of the city; o Dominating identical architectural forms and details depersonalizing the cityscape. x Nevertheless, in principle, the cityscape cannot lose its original linearity because of the peculiarities of the city’s spatial-cultural expression. From the philosophical point of view, this statement reveals the importance of the city as a potential cradle of culture and the guarantee of cultural revival, even within the anti culture that was given foundation by the same urban development. From the practical urbanistic perspective, it inspires new architectural-urbanistic tasks, i.e. the preservation and cherishing of the cityscape’s linearity. x In spite of the fact that the urbanized space cannot entirely be deprived of its linearity, the formation and cherishing of the cityscape’s linearity turns out to be an important task. The reason lies in man’s free will that may both diminish and increase the degree of linearity of the cityscape and hence the significance of the urban space as a cultural artefact. x It should be stressed that a new context of the city’s existence requires the adequate new linear forms. The quest for them is the goal of further actual investigation.
160 REFERENCES
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161 Vaitkevichiute V. Dictionary of International Terms. Vilnius, ‘Žodynas’, 2001. Zaleckis K. The Archetype of the City in the Mentality of Lithuanian Society and the Aspects of Its Employment in Urban Design. Doctoral Dissertation. Kaunas, Institute of Architecture and Construction, 2002 (in Lithuanian). Wilber K. An Integral Theory of Consciousness // Journal of Consciousness Studies. 4 (1) February 1997, p. 71 - 92. Агафонов А.Ю. Основы смысловой теории сознания. СПб., Издательсво ‘Речь’, 2003. Бахтин М.М. К методологии гуманитарныхнаук // Эстетика словесного творчества. М., Искусство,1979. See: http//lib.userline.ru/644 (2004.02.26). Васильев С.А. Уровни понимания текста // Понимание как логико-гносеологическая проблема. Киев, 1972. See: Славская А.Н. Личность как субъект интерпретации. Дубно, Феникс+, 2002. Данилова Н.Н. Психофизиологияю. Учебник для вузов. М., ‘Аспект пресс’, 2001. Емелин В.А. Гипертекст и постгутенберговая эра (WWW document). Http://emeline.narod.ru/hipertext.htm (2004.05.10) Иодо И.А. Основы градостроительства. Минск, Высшеишая школа, 1983. Лотман Ю.М. Семиосфера. СПб., Искусство-СПБ, 2000. Лурия А.Р. Основы нейропсихологии. M., ‘Academia’, 2002. Мень А. История религии // Том 2. Истоки религии. Москва, Слово, 1991. Патаракин Е.Д. Гипертекст как основа взаимодействия (WWW document). Http://uic.nnov.ru/pustyn/cgi-bin/htconvert.cgi?hypertext (2004.04.20) Почепцов Г.Г. Семиотика. M., Рефл-бук, Ваклер, 2002. Филин В.А. Видеоэкология. М., Тасс-реклама, 2001. Юнг К.Г. Психология бессознательного. М., Реабилитация, 2001.
162 GRAHAM TOWERS
THE IMPACT OF IDEOLOGY ON HOUSING DESIGN
SUMMARY
For much of the 20th century housing design in Britain has been rooted in ideology. On the one hand was the traditionalist approach based on the ideas of the Arts and Crafts and Garden City movements. This was largely realised in the development of low density houses with gardens On the other hand – Modernism sought to provide light and air by building high freeing the ground for recreation space. These ideas were realised in the building of multi- storey estates. Underlying these contrasting approaches was a conflict between ‘formalist’ and informal approaches to design. Amongst some architectural theorists there was recognition of the restrictions imposed by these approaches and the need for greater choice. This formed the basis for a new ideology which stressed the engagement of building users in decisions about the design and use of their homes This took two forms. First the idea of ‘adaptability’ - designing homes so that their layout could be changed to meet evolving life patterns. Second ‘customisation’ – offering individuals choice of finishes, fittings and certain aspects of the layout of their homes. From the late 1960s there were community-based campaigns opposed to clearance and redevelopment of the inner cities.. This gave rise to a more fully democratic approach – engaging users collectively in all design and development decisions. Participation has played a key role in developing housing for co-operatives and successful programmes of modernisation for housing estates.
TRADITIONALISM VS. MODERNISM.
Traditional housing design is rooted in simplicity. It was based on the use of local materials, which would be readily available, and simple construction techniques, which could be easily mastered. Such simplicity was essential for the construction of large scale mass housing. Rare and expensive materials and highly skilled craftsmanship were preserved for the houses of the wealthy The same was true of advanced design ideas. From the 18th century onward the homes of the rich were designed with the principles of the classical revival of the renaissance. This was true of both the fine country houses and the town houses. The squares and crescents of Georgian Bath and the Nash terraces in London were the prototypes for high
163 quality urban houses in neo-classical style. As it became more common, more down market, the Georgian house became more simple, more traditional in its use of materials and techniques. The Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century was founded on dislike of Victorian urbanity and machine mass-production. It looked to a revival of traditional crafts and building practices which, it was felt, had been obliterated by the classically inspired Georgian and Regency housing. In their pioneering suburban houses for wealthy clients Arts and Crafts architects revived such features as steep pitched roofs, half timbering, tile hanging, bay windows and side hung casements. All of these had been features of the pre-industrial architecture of Britain. These design features were incorporated in several pioneering developments such as the model towns of Burnsville and Port Sunlight and the first garden city at Letchworth. These traditional features were absorbed into the suburban housing of the 1930s and have continued to influence the design of low density housing. Arts and Crafts ideas also found expression in the design of early multi-storey housing. This included mansion blocks for the wealthy and tenement blocks for the deserving poor. The Modern Movement rejected the traditional approach. It had a quite different form of expression – flat roofs instead of pitched; white painted walls instead of brick or tiling; flat facades with strip windows in place of bays and turrets; an absence of decorative detail. The earliest expression of this aesthetic was in the individual houses of Le Corbusier and others built in the 1920s. During the 1930s a few houses in Modernist style were built in Britain for individual clients. But, on the whole, Modernism had little influence on the design of houses With blocks of flats, though, it was a different story. Apartment buildings by Modernist architects became an inspiration to housing designers. None more so that those by Berthold Lubetkin particularly the pioneering ‘Highpoint’ development in Highgate which is still highly regarded Many blocks of flats were built under the influence of Modernism. Most are regarded as failures, if only for social reasons. Some people do appreciate the openness and good light in Modern flats provided by large areas of glazing. In particular, the large sliding windows giving on to generous terraces were a key innovation of lasting value. Modernism still finds favour in the design of large new apartment blocks but many of these are now clad in traditional clothes. It is something of a paradox that while Modernism has, over the past 50 years become the dominant style for the design of public buildings, it has had relatively little lasting influence on housing design. There has been some rationalisation, some simplification but, in the main, it is traditional styles and materials which characterise the deign of homes
FORMALISM
The conflict between ‘formalism’ and what might be described as a more pragmatic, problems solving approach to design has lain beneath many of the conflicts between architectural theories for a long time. It symbolised the difference between Classicism and the Arts and Crafts movement; it has been part of the conflict between different branches of Modernism; it has characterised contesting approaches to architectural education. It is an important issue in housing design.
164 Formalism can be defined in at least three ways x The application of rules. Classicism had a clear set of rules including the use the three classical orders; the proportions of the ‘golden section’; and the importance of symmetry. These rules could be made to work in the design of grand houses but became inhibiting when applied to repetitive urban housing. For example terraced housing cannot be designed effectively within the constraints of symmetrical planning. For example in Northdown Street in central London four houses are designed as one giant classical portico destroying their individual identity. Modernism also had rules which laid down the basic appearance of building regardless of local climate and vernacular traditions x Pattern making: This can apply to plans – landscape designs are often based on patterns which look good on paper but which mean nothing when viewed from ground level. In housing, designs are often compromised by ‘facadeism’ – the desire to treat an elevation as a pattern rather than functionally. The strip windows in Le Corbusier’s houses were pattern inspired and were often blanked behind. Pattern making is commonly found in Lubetkin’s facades. For example on the Halifield estate balconies are used purely to create a façade pattern. Some flats get them and some don’t when self-evidently the functional requirements are the same.(1) x Preconception: Designs are often based on a pre-conceived idea or shape. Sometimes this can be simplistic. A recent example is the ’gherkin’ office block in the City of London where the shape takes precedence over the effective functioning of the building. In social housing there are many instances of design ideas overriding user needs. An outstanding example is the development at Marne-la-Vallee near Paris where housing is built in a grandiose and bombastic neo-classical style with one apartment block taking the shape of a huge disc. (2) Ricaordo Bofil has more recently completed a similar scheme in Montpelier where the buildings are so strongly dominated by a pre-conceived style that they are barely recognisable as housing.
The alternative to formalism is a more carefully considered and open minded approach. This starts without preconceptions and analyses the functional requirements, site conditions, orientation and the local context. It may also include a range of project objectives in terms of energy conservation, use of materials, flexibility in use, maintenance considerations and so on. Design is a matter of considering and resolving these requirements many of which may be contradictory. Formalism is often inimical to the proper resolution of the functional requirements and may prevent them being met. At the same time, there may be room for some aspects of formalism. The use of formal shapes in planning such as squares and circuses may give clarity to the urban environment and help people relate to it. The existence of some rules may provide a framework which gives consistency and order to residential development.
165 CUSTOMISATION OF HOUSING SPACE
The dominance of the Traditionalist and Modernist ideologies denied the individual householder any significant degree of influence or choice in the appearance and quality of their own homes. Generally, such freedom has been the preserve of the rich who were able to commission the design and construction of their own homes. Inevitably these were mostly individual houses on large sites. The idea of ‘customising’ mass housing lies deep in architectural thinking of the 20th century. In 1932 Le Corbusier proposed, for Algiers, a multi-storey linear structure composed of serviced decks. Within these decks housing would be developed by individual householders in a variety of styles reflecting their own culture and taste. (3) In 1961 Dutch architectural theorist John Habraken published a critique which derided the prevailing approach to the design of mass housing - providing homes in which the occupants had no means of shaping their own environment or expressing their own preferences. Habraken proposed separating the structure and services - "supports" - and the enclosures forming the dwellings - "infill". Urban support structures could be built providing multi- storey serviced decks. People could rent or buy space on these decks and have their own homes built into them. A variety of manufacturers would be able to offer the infill components for a new home, custom planned using prefabricated elements. Having selected a supplier customers could " . . visit the showrooms of the manufacturer of their choice. With the help of a representative of the firm an effective arrangement of dwelling is decided upon. . . The representative invites [the] customers to return in a fortnight. The dwelling will be ready for inspection in the showrooms. At the appointed time they see a full scale model of their dwelling. They walk about it, test doors and windows, visit kitchen and bathroom, try the usefulness of rooms and cupboards. After suggesting a few alterations they decide to buy. The manufacturer transports the parts to the support structure where the dwelling is finally assembled in a short time" (4) This was a high ideal and an important aspiration. People should have the right to plan their own homes and to choose what they look like. The result would be satisfied customers and an urban environment enriched by the variety produced by individual self expression.
ADAPTABILITY
Habraken’s ideas were never realised in their literal form. But they did influence two housing projects which experimented with the idea of adaptability x PSSHAK. During the late 1960s, two young architects - Nabeel Hamdl and Nic Wilkinson - developed an application of Habraken's ‘supports’ concept. This idea for flexible housing was dubbed Primary System Support Housing Assembly Kit. Unlike Habraken's original concept PSSHAK did not use a large scale support structure but concentrated on housing which could be adapted to individual needs within a small scale
166 standardised shell. Only one significant scheme was built using this concept. At Adelaide Road North London eight three storey blocks of local authority housing were built. Each block comprised a 'primary support' shell consisting of floors, roof, external walls, windows and doors, and ducts to serve bathrooms and kitchens. The blocks could be subdivided in a number of ways to provide different mixes of dwellings. Within each home a variety of layouts was possible using prefabricated modular partitions. Prospective tenants were allocated housing space and each was invited to design its layout using an instruction manual. The layout could be designed to suit each tenant's choice of the relationship and size of rooms and also accommodate the furniture and fitting they already had. Once tenants moved in they had the chance to have the layout re-arranged after a trial period and the system allowed for further changes in the future. (5) x Diagoon Houses. The Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger was influenced by the general interest in the Netherlands in user participation in design and by the work of Habraken in particular. The idea of people interacting positively with the buildings they occupy influenced many of his projects. During the 1960s he planned a development of adaptable houses at Delft. The full scheme was never realised but a pilot project of eight ‘Diagoon’ houses was built in 1971. The design of the houses was flexible so that the occupiers themselves could decide how to divide the space and live in it. If the composition of the family changed the house could be adjusted and, to a degree, extended. Each house consists of two fixed cores containing stairs and drainage/services. These connect with several half-storey levels which can accommodate a wide range of different uses and spatial sub-division. The interaction between the half levels creates unusual visual connections between different spaces and activities. The occupants of each house were offered a range of options for its layout and division. The houses can also be extended by enclosing the car port space at ground level to make a garage, office or other usable space; by enclosing the roof terrace to make a sun space or an extra bedroom; or by infilling the recessed parts of the plan at front and back.(6)
Both these projects were a limited realisation of Habraken’s ideas. His intention was that individual preferences would be expressed externally in variations in window types and sizes and in different cladding materials. In the PSSHAK scheme tenants had some choice in location and in the planning of their homes, they had no control over the form of housing or over its external appearance. In the Diagoon housing the basic form and appearance of the buildings was determined when they were built. Residents did have freedom to adapt the interior and they have the opportunity to influence the external appearance when carrying out extensions. The principle of adaptability is a good one and it can fairly easily be applied to the design of individual houses. Purpose-designed into new urban housing, though, it presents two difficulties. The first is the question of density and intensity of development. Adaptability has been presented as a model for ‘starter’ homes which can be expanded as families grow. This requires that initial developments are quite low density allowing for a build-up over time. Developers would be required to build housing which was, in effect, only partially finished. In a market situation this would mean selling at a price well below that of a normal development. The second difficulty concerns how easily adaptations could be made. Even with demountable partitions there would be considerable disruption to lifestyles and to finishes and decorations. It is questionable whether adaptable housing could be changed that
167 much more easily than say the typical Victorian terraced house. The ability to adapt and extend these older houses has been one of the reasons for their popularity.
DEGREES OF CHOICE
Adaptability means giving householders the means of changing their homes as their famines grow or their lifestyles evolve. Bit an equally important aspect of customisation is to give residents more choice in the way their homes are designed before they move in. In the comprehensive modernisation of housing estates carried out by many local authorities it has been common practice to give residents a considerable degree of choice. These choices can include: x Layout and finish of kitchen units x Colours of floor and wall tiles x Colours of internal paintwork x Wallpapers x Front door colours
All these choices can be given with virtually no cost and with no significant variation to the general specification. It would be relatively easy to extend these choices to include sanitary fittings, glazing to doors, light fittings and other internal design issues. These choices are not always given in new-build private housing. There seems no reason, though why developers should not offer such customisation at minimal cost At the next level of choice is the internal layout of homes. Some choice can be offered in the layout of houses but the greatest scope is in development of multi-storey flats. The basis of such developments is to provide the superstructure, the external envelop, the access system and the services. Within this there is a high degree of scope for variation in the internal layout of the dwellings. Some developers are now offering choice of room sizes, numbers of bedrooms and layouts. The greatest choice, though, is offered by ‘lofts’. These are serviced shells without internal division. The purchasers are left to arrange their own partitions, fittings and finishes. There are some limitations on the location of sanitary fittings but, beyond that, residents have a high degree of freedom to design the layout and appearance of their homes. The ultimate in customisation is the ability to determine the design of the whole house. In the past this has only been possible with the detached villa. In a recent Dutch scheme, though, they have found a way to apply such choice in urban housing. The Borneo development in Amsterdam is, in part, an experiment in housing design. In one long terrace each owner/occupier and their architect has been given the freedom to develop highly individual designs. A strong framework was defined which set out the buildings perimeters and established certain key functional requirements. Within this there has been a great deal of
168 scope for the expression of personal preferences in both the functioning and the appearance of the houses.
DEMOCRATIC DESIGN
It is important to give people more influence in the design of their homes and customisation is a significant part of this aim. Based, as it is, on individual choice it can only have an effect on the interior and to a limited degree the external appearance of each dwelling. If user involvement is confined to customisation the form of a development, its housing mix and the design of the external environment would be left entirely to professionals. These issues can be influenced by the participation of householders in a collective debate about the design of their homes The demand for democratic participation in housing design and development issues grew out of the community movement of the 1970s. Then whole swathes of inner city housing were being swept away by comprehensive redevelopment. The communities of people who lived there were broken up and dispersed. Before long, threatened communities began to protest at this destructive approach and to demand involvement in the decision- making process. An early model for a more democratic approach to design was the Byker redevelopment in Newcastle. The scheme was designed by Ralph Erskine in 1970 and constructed over a period of 10 years or more. From the start residents were invited to participate in decision making both informally – through visiting the site-based design office – and in a more structured way through attending liaison meetings. The scheme’s most prominent feature is the ‘wall’ of multi-storey flats which snakes along the northern edge of the site. The wall was a critical first step in the development process. It meant that a large amount of housing could be built on a small amount of land preserving the great majority of the existing terraced housing. Once complete, clearance and reconstruction could proceed on a phased rolling programme, re-housing the existing residents street by street. After the wall the reminder of the site was rebuilt as terraced houses and small scale flats in accordance with residents’ wishes. (7) Keeping communities intact became a key aim of a more democratic approach to housing design and development. But it also ensured that the improved housing – whether achieved through reconstruction or refurbishment – met the needs and wishes of the people who were to live in it. Democratic discussion and debate produced solutions which were different from what might otherwise have happened and which were more appropriate to their purpose. Being more appropriate, democratic solutions are more likely to stand the test of time. The principle of participation has become established over time and it is now an integral part of the improvement process for social housing estates. Techniques have matured and now involve a complex mixture of communication and decision-making processes involving people both as individuals and engaging them in the activities of small and large groups. (8) The processes involved in estate improvement, however, are not necessarily appropriate to the contemporary agenda of new housing construction on ‘brown field’ land.
169 HOUSING CO-OPS
During the 1980s a considerable number of housing co-operatives did develop new housing for their own members and their experience might be applicable to the processes necessary today. Typically a co-op would consist of 40 to 80 households. The first steps involved establishing funding, the support of an umbrella organisation and the identification of a site. A project committee would then be elected. This would appoint an architect and set a brief in terms of the numbers of dwelling s required and their size mix. Through discussion, research and feedback with members the committee would decide on the form of the housing, the layout of the site and .the details of materials and components which affect the appearance of the buildings. Individual households were then offered choice in the layout and finishes in their homes. Quite often the completed schemes were distinctively different from what might otherwise have been built. (9) There were housing co-ops in most major British cites but they flourished particularly strongly in Liverpool. In 1982, eight co-operatives were already established and more were to follow. The established pattern of social housing in the city had been to build low scale walk- up blocks of flats of three or four storeys. The co-ops all broke with this pattern choosing instead to develop family houses with a few small flats for the elderly. The layout of the new housing varied considerably, however. Some co-ops chose conventional low density patterns, others went for more urban layouts of courts and alleys or houses ringing a central green space. In appearance there was a general preference for tradition with pitched roofs, timber windows and walls of brick or render finish (10) A recent scheme in which co-op members were influential in designing their new building is the Homes for Change project in Manchester completed in 1996. This was a development of 50 homes and a range of workshops and community spaces. The scheme was developed by a housing co-operative with a comprehensive participation process. Apart from their value in democratising the housing design and development process co-operative have an important continuing role. They are responsible for managing the housing in perpetuity. Thus has an important function in maintaining quality. If the occupants of housing are responsible for the maintenance of buildings and the public environment and for controlling anti-social behaviour it is more likely that the integrity of the development will be sustained. Sometimes, for this reason alone co-operative management is introduced after a scheme is completed. This was the basis of a series of community based housing developments at Coin Street in central London.
DEMOCRACY IN NEW HOUSING
Co-operatives were never numerous and are unlikely to be so. Most new housing will continue to be developed by social landlords or private developers. A degree of the democracy inherent in co-ops could, with benefit, be injected into this process. A key feature of democratic design was that the future occupants of dwellings were known well in advance. This meant they could take part in the design process and their homes could be customised for
170 them. This is much more difficult with most new housing development and may be impossible. Some effort could be made though. Social landlords usually have waiting and transfer lists. They may well be able to pre-allocate new homes. Even if they cannot they do have existing tenants who would be highly likely to have pertinent comments to make on the design of new housing. It should be perfectly possible to form a panel or committee to advise on new developments. Democracy is more difficult for private developers. Homes are often sold well before completion, though, which should make possible a considerable degree of customisation. Schemes are subject to the planning process though this is dominated by professionals and their concern for technical and urban design issues. Developers could help their cause, both in public relations and in their planning applications, by recruiting advisory panels or ‘focus groups’. These could include housing specialists as well as ordinary people resident in similar types of housing. Concerted moves to bring greater democracy to the development process could have a significant impact on the quality of new housing
REFERENCES
John Allen Berthold Lubetkin (London, Merrell Publishers Ltd., 2002) p 123 Ian Colquhoun and Peter Fauset Housing Design in Practice (Harlow Essex, Longman Scientific and Technical, 1991) p 118-121 Charles Jencks Le Corbusier and the tragic view of architecture (London, Penguin Books Ltd, 1975) p 122-3 N.J.Habraken Supports - and alternative to mass housing Scheltema & Holkema NV 1961. (English edition, London, Architectural Press 1972) p 60 Graham Towers Building Democracy – community architecture in the inner cities (London UCL Press Ltd, 1995) p 131-2 Arnulf Lüchinger Herman Hertzberger – buildings and projects 1959-1986 (Den Haag, Arch- Edition, 1987) p 72-85 Ralph Erskine, "Designing between Client and Users" in Richard Hatch (Ed) The Scope of Social Architecture (New York and London, Van Norstrand Reinhold, 1984) Graham Towers Shelter is not Enough – transforming multi-storey housing (Bristol, The Policy Press, 2000) p 140-142 Graham Towers Building Democracy – Op.Cit. p 89-94 Nick Wates “The Liverpool Breakthrough” The Architects’ Journal (8 September 1982) p 51- 58
171 ROODE LIIAS
THE CONCEPT OF AN INTELLIGENT CLIENT TRANSFERRED FOR PRIVATISED HOUSING SECTOR
ABSTRACT
Over the past years there has been a significant shift towards outsourcing of facility and real estate services in both the public and private sectors. This trend is a part of wider economic restructuring linked to the growth of specialist knowledge-based organisations in the society.
At national level, a strategic objective of facility management is to provide better infrastructure and support to business and public endeavours of all kinds and across all sectors. At local level, its objective is effective management of facility resources and services in providing shells of support to us all; support to the operations of organisations, their working groups, and project teams and individuals, including households.
However, research has shown that successful development and implementation of facilities management strategies need active participation and involvement of a wide range of well- informed end-users. In the case of housing the end-users are the residents, either the owners or the tenants.
The paper gives a wider view on the problems related to managing the privatised housing stock of shared ownership in proper repair – especially addressing the relationships amongst the service providers and consumers in the housing sector. The aspects of professionalism are discussed through the prism of introducing the concept of the intelligent client for privatised housing markets.
172 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In most of the countries when housing issues are studied and discussed the aspects of poor repair are quite often listed as the matter with the highest priority. [1,2] The problem is, that there is rather significant gap in the conditions that are required nationally compared to the actual provision of housing facilities and services. The reasons for this gap in technical quality-levels for different European countries are different.
In the East-European countries owner-occupation prevails absolutely with the ownership levels about 95% of the whole housing stock, or even more. [3] Most of the blocks of flats have been privatised flat by flat. Accordingly in these buildings and in these countries responsibility for the technical quality of the stock remains with all these owners. Consequently, if the reports about housing conditions report on poor repair of the stock, these reports should especially address the owners, and study carefully their motivation, and their potential to act in the housing market.
Traditional institutional owners of the rented housing stock in the western countries are experienced, having relevant organisational structure for management, and there is know-how available to up-keep the stock they are responsible for. In the East-European countries the majority of the owner-occupiers are inexperienced in this role and lack of any experience; sometimes there is even lack of motivation to act as an owner in the market. Though for centuries the head of a household always took the full responsibility for property management of the estate and farm-house, today all the owners cannot be considered fully competent on all the questions any more – national legislation prescribes numerous obligations for the owners, but also the facilities in the buildings have become technically more complicated for up-keeping. Therefore maintaining a house or a flat today cannot be based on natural competence that anyone has received by birth. The problem is that the new generation of owners lack relevant educational experience and housing reports are increasingly reporting the levels of poor repair.
For the countries in the Baltic region (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) housing stock maintenance has been missing for two generations; accordingly there are no traditions to organise maintenance related activities and services in the most reasonable way. When massive privatisation of housing stock was launched in the post-soviet countries (mid 90s of the previous century) national housing policies were targeted only to the transformation of the property-related rights. At this stage nobody was designing any long-run sustainability in managing the new ownership based housing stock. [4] Reasonable and well functioning models to maintain the privatised housing stock was completely lacking – there was even no need to discuss these aspects as the former municipal housing maintenance companies took over also the privatised stock and they remained the key-actors in the maintenance market sector. At the same time it was believed that very soon households would form associations and the problems of management and maintenance would be solved quickly and in a friendly manner.
173 Current studies that are done about the new technical faults which have been found in the multi-flat blocks suggest the following reasons: x workmanship that has been used for the renewal and maintenance works in the buildings has been not professionally competent: there have been direct contracts agreed with workers who in fact both legally and physically cannot be responsible for the works they have executed and moreover they have still fulfilled only the basic aesthetic requirements of the owner. x the owner-occupiers have to be not only the major decision-makers as to the technical situation, but also to schedule the works. In the latter case they have to carry dual and extremely contradicting roles; the major constraints in this case are related to the possibilities of financing the works – cheap solutions used are not always the most reasonable ones in long-term x there is the quite widely spread public consideration that up-keeping of a property is a primitive and simple activity, and accordingly the costs related to this cannot be significant and are not important in the budget of the owner; therefore maintenance works of newly refurbished structures and systems are not even planned or executed professionally.
The major finding from above is that too often the new owners themselves have initiated creation of contemporary faults; but mainly these are based on lack of experience of managing property and poor technical knowledge. Though in housing related studies and reports major technical faults are listed, very little is discussed about the role of the owners and about their potential to tackle the issues they are facing. During the current renewal and reconstruction boom (for example in Estonia) there are several major faults created for structures and facilities. Most of these are not due to poor professional decisions; the owners have either solely or collectively made these decisions causing additional costs and risk.
The major reason for making not professional decisions by the owners is related to rather normal wish of the owners to cut budgets and save money. [5] These savings are usually the following: x professional experts are not employed to advise about the solutions related to reconstruction; this consultancy is related to considerable costs for the owners and often advice is asked from different sources free of charge and the final solution is compiled by the owners themselves x if different alternative solutions for reconstruction works are available price becomes the major decision-making criteria for the owner though the cheapest solutions not always will be the most reasonable ones x salary and the related taxes for qualified workmanship is one of greatest cost-elements; major cuttings in the budget can be done when less qualified workers are used, and also taxes can be avoided when workers from the black market are used
174 All these three possibilities are widely used when planning and implementing the refurbishment projects. Not always, but often enough the owners of these projects later turn to professional experts for advise – to rectify the faults done already.
ORGANISING MAINTENANCE OF HOUSING
For the countries in the Baltic region housing stock maintenance has been missing for two generations, accordingly there are no traditions for these activities and services in the market. When property reform was launched, nobody was designing reasonable and workable models to maintain the massively privatised housing stock.
The first stage of organising maintenance (in Estonia) was based on compulsory contracts – the new owners of the housing units (flats) as well as the documents to ownership had to sign contracts with the municipal maintenance company (MMC) that had been responsible for the works in the house earlier. With this contract for maintenance the market was guaranteed for the MMCs and there was no any motivation for these companies to improve the level of services provided – in fact nothing changed. [6]
Step-by-step dissatisfaction started to grow with these inefficient service-providers. Opposition was initiated by the forming of home-owners’ associations (HOA). In HOAs the flat-owners saw the possibilities of reorganising maintenance in an alternative way, but especially to govern and control the costs – in the housing sector there has been no tradition of cost-management; tariffs for works were stated by the municipal authorities and in fact these tariffs were never cost-covering ones. The nominated for the works MMCs started to raise prices for services justifying it with the need to introduce cost-covering principles for the sector; at the same time there was no information delivered to these who paid the bills – accountancy to the owners of the units was missing. Prices for the services increased, poor- quality services were provided and there was no possibility for the flat-owners to control the costs without joining the associations.
Accordingly, first of all the HOAs became the instrument for cost-controlling, and secondly, do-it-yourself (DIY) became the major concept for managing maintenance. To reduce housing costs the most widely spread position by households is – we can do it ourselves; we can do it even cheaper! It was generally believed that doing management and maintenance for a block of flats would be cheaper and of higher quality than the services provided by a company. Based on this rather debatable argument the following statements and conclusions became rather common ones in different housing related reports and papers: ‘housing associations have a higher economic efficiency than companies providing services! – their building maintenance cost per square metre is 29 per cent lower than that in similar municipal housing!’. These arguments are even today widely believed.
175 Can it be really true that a non-professional service is provided so efficiently? In certain cases for sure, when the services are not clearly defined and there is no control exercised by the owners: it may be possible that the profit-margins for housing services may reach the level of 30 per cents. Still most often the reason for such dramatic cost-cutting is based on ignoring especially routine maintenance works. Rather often for most people (meaning – the majority of the owners of the flats in the blocks) routine maintenance works are a waste of resources. When emergency repairs, or reconstruction, or maintenance is not needed – expenditures to routine and preventive activities may be saved for the residents. Whether this saving is sustainable in long-run is another question.
Based on above the image of cheaper servicing of the blocks of flats is due to the fact that certain obligations and works are not carried out by the HOAs compared to when a professional service providing company provides the similar services paying also all the relevant legally payable taxes. In the case of identical works done by a professional team compared that to an amateur workmanship the professional work is more expensive, but amateur work cannot be more effective.
In fact, when studying this issue two economic terms ‘cheap, cheaper’ and ‘cost effective, effectiveness’ are considered as synonyms, though they represent fully different attitudes in business. Studies show that ‘effectiveness’ in housing maintenance can be increased when preventive and conditional maintenance works are carried out regularly in the way proscribed in the professional maintenance manuals.
Still for several years there has been the period for wide public support to build up non- professional maintenance service system and this has caused harm to the structures; but also to society and especially the economy by allowing a shadow economy to develop.
BACKGROUND FOR USING FM IN HOUSING
Especially during the past ten years in Europe there has been a significant shift towards outsourcing of facility and real estate services both in the public and private sectors. This trend has become common in nearly all the sectors of the national economy and accordingly a number of new models of managing properties have been proposed and introduced. However, both research and best practice show that successful development and implementation of management of facilities needs the active participation and involvement of well-informed end users. The same may be said about housing where the households – owner-occupiers or tenants – are the actual end-users for housing sector related services. [7]
At a national level, the strategic objective of facility management is to provide better infrastructure and quality support to business and public activities of all kinds and across all
176 sectors. At a local level, its objective is the effective management of facility resources and services in providing support to us all; support to the operations of organisations, their working groups, project teams and individuals. [8] This concept and these trends in the market-place form part of a wider economic restructuring linked to the growth of professional organisations on both sides of the service process – the service providers and the consumers.
Demand for building services during its life span is continuously shifting due to changes in the primary production process as well as the changing demand from households. As a result buildings are adapted and it must be anticipated that increasingly it is not the built environment, as such, for which there is demand, but for the services to be generated by various structures – people are not interested in having only walls and pipes, but they need adequate conditions for living to be provided. Anyhow, walls and pipes can provide services only when they are adequately maintained by the relevant professionals. A similar approach is becoming an underlying principle also for the housing sector and its residents in spite of the fact that their new status for the ownership requires more professionally provided services to assure their living conditions are adequate for normal habitation.
However, research has shown that successful development and implementation of facilities need the active participation and involvement of a wide range of well-informed end users – in the case of housing these are the residents, either owners or tenants.
The role of an informed owner in the property market requires a significant degree of operational knowledge and experience[9] to: x understand and clearly specify the service requirements and targets that are most suitable for the property they own; x co-ordinate the relations among co-owners when managing property; x understand and develop service delivery strategies and manage the implementation of outsourcing strategically most important services; x agree when monitoring the standards used when describing quality levels of services and benchmarking performance; x manage different contractors for cleaning, maintenance and repair works and monitor their performance level; x understand the provided relevant financial, technical and managerial reports; x be ready for negotiations with contractors or users of the space and agreeing changes to service requirements; x developing his/her own owner’s skills through awareness raising, but especially through regular training.
177 Based on the criteria described above, educating the property owners (especially owners in the housing sector), becomes vital for managers and operators when enabling them to fulfil their roles and perform their full professional potential in the market.
THE OWNER AS THE MAJOR DECISION-MAKER
Administering of owners’ obligations may be viewed as a three-fold list of activities that has to be covered – an owner has to consider any activity listed below in respect of how it can be carried out in practice to meet his or her interests in the best possible way. Accordingly, he/she has to be ready for decision-making and for covering the related costs [10]: long-term decisions x introducing a maintenance manual for the property – the building and its structures – and assuring reasonable performance of it x compiling a relevant economic plan (business-plan) to run the property following the requirements described in the manual x planning schedules for maintenance works for the forthcoming years x preparing and signing long-term contracts for preserving the property and getting necessary utilities services x assuring the availability of professional supervision to guarantee that all owners interests are reasonably followed x deciding about developing different projects to refurbish and renovate the building to improve its quality and meet the changing needs of households operative decisions to x assure that routine and regular monitoring of the situation and condition-assessment is be carried out on the property x supervise different contractors/workers performing scheduled maintenance works x plan and order all necessary security measures, including negotiating reasonable insurance x assure that professional teams are available to treat emergency situations x take decisions about organising tenders; including setting up a list of criteria for selecting the best bids x prepare and sign contracts for maintenance with suitable contractors
178 administrative decisions x taking reasonable decisions about employing staff and assuring that the owner can properly fulfil an employer’s role x forwarding relevant authority to any person who represents owners in negotiations or dispute settlements x administering financial and technical documentation about the property x assuring the availability of all necessary reports and taking decisions based on analytical data about the results of maintenance
If property-owners understand their decision making role in the property market, the more rapidly professionals for administering and maintenance will emerge onto the marketplace. Professionals are specialists with relevant skills and organisational structures; normally their activities are co-ordinated through relevant professional associations.
PRACTITIONERS AND PROFESSIONALS
In fact the owners of dwellings are not all professionals in housing management and maintenance – they are professionals in their specific fields they are trained for and their only wish is to have a decent shelter for their household. The owners have entered the housing market not to arrange maintenance in order to consume the quality of housing and the services related to it – only a few owners in a block of flats are ready to dedicate their time for administering and maintenance. Accordingly, people are ready to allow them to be nominated or elected as chairpersons of home-owners associations. They may even lose or forget their actual profession they were trained for and these people step-by-step start to retrain themselves to become fully competent in the field.
What is the difference between professionals and practitioners in the market? Practitioners may also be skilled and experienced, but they miss certain institutional community structures and relevant behaviour. Correspondingly, professionals have [11]: x specific and definable knowledge and skills base that has to be acquired and tested; x a high degree of behavioural self-control via codes of ethics; x a recognised social responsibility that gives a primary and selfless orientation to the community interest.
The role of professional associations in the society and professional associations for housing management and maintenance lies particularly in [12]:
179 x defining clearly the field of activities they are concerned about; the best solution here may be compiling standards (or classifications) for maintenance activities describing both the activity or the service provided, and the result to be gained when proper methods are used – these are the quality criteria the stakeholders will require for acting in the market; x introducing professional criteria for the individuals who are involved in the sector; for this – still depending on national legislation as well – vocational standards for professions are required, defining the body of knowledge that professional and reliable housing administrators and facilities maintenance tradesmen should know; correspondingly compiling the necessary training schemes; x introducing professional tools to be used in everyday activities to deliver best practice. For this the publishing of handbooks and sample documentations (e.g. contract forms, checklists for condition surveys of the dwellings), and also analyses about housing administration and maintenance prices are required, in order to give professional assessment to the current activities in the market, and also to forecast further development of the sector; x advising clients and promoting the importance of the sector in the society; as described before clients of housing maintenance services are not experienced in all the details and particulars, therefore a client has to be properly and adequately informed about the service for successful service provision; parallel to this, similar information-flow has to be arranged also for the whole society, especially due to the inherited and still very low image of housing maintenance.
Today owners of flats in the blocks do not fully understand the benefits and necessity of forming an association and using their rights granted to them by the law – to draft a strategy for their property and take decisions to preserve it. Solidarity among the residents is generally a response to an external threat. When the cost of maintenance services increases rapidly, or visual damages appear in the block, or the current management company is found negligent when running the property – this becomes an extreme shock for the owners by make them feel as real owners!
CONCLUSIONS AND FINDINGS
Housing in East Europe has suffered from two dramatic revolutionary changes during the last decade – firstly there has been the massive privatisation and transfer of responsibilities, and secondly, the owners have started to realise their status and role both in the society and in the housing market. But their activities according to the status given are lacking the professionalism required – decision-making requires confidence, but also basic competence about the topics related to everyday property management issues.
180 The role of the owner-occupier household is two-fold and quite contradictory. Being the owners but also the users of the premises it is extremely difficult to set up proper priorities. Having rather limited resources available their major preference may be related to stabilising their current financial condition avoiding any investments, which will become a major burden for their family cash flow. At the same time any property owner should be interested in preserving the property – investing in repairs becomes essential, though it is rather risky as contradicting ideas are circulating about the lifetime of these blocks that have been privatised to them.
As property owners they should follow legislative obligations a priori; users and individuals – those who have to cover the costs – still keep in mind their current financial ability (budget of the household). And today to run the infrastructure and the equipments installed in the dwellings is becoming more and more complicated for the household, especially when acting as owner-occupiers.
The market requires intelligent owner-occupiers to act and govern the market. For this, considerable vocational training schemes are to be introduced targeted to the owners. Though these training schemes are introduced step-by-step still more efforts will be required by the policy makers. In connection with this the following aspects need to be discussed: x Who should have the major incentives in society and/or the business sector for organizing and training residential property-owners. Does it mean that organising training courses to increase the owners’ competence is the next step in the whole transition process? x What is the role of the state and/or the municipalities when organizing these awareness raising schemes (actions); especially as it has to be remembered that they have been the institutions standing behind the massive privatisation.
The whole concept is extremely clear – it is necessary to institutionalise market-based mechanisms which should ensure continuous management of the property for the long term, accepting that most people simply want a secure home in good repair for an affordable price! Owner-occupiers are practitioners for decision-making who are looking for professional and quality services in the market – a poorly developed market creates the preconditions for non- professional services to be provided. In turn, owners will face more problems when running their properties.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The paper is based on the experience gained from several projects targeted to advise the housing sector stakeholders. There have been several housing profile studies carried out in different East and Central European countries in 2000-2003, and on the Nordic Council of
181 Ministers funded project ‘Developing professionalism for housing maintenance management in the Baltic States’.
The author is thankful for all the teams of these projects for their wonderful cooperation.
REFERENCES
The Lithuanian housing strategy. (2004) Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania. R.Liias. (2002) Existing housing stock and new housing construction (Chapter II). County Profiles on the Housing Sector. Republic of Moldova. UN Economic Commission for Europe, Geneva. Bulletin of housing and building statistics for Europe and North America. (2000) UN Economic Commission for Europe, Geneva. R.Liias (200) The role of private sector in housing supply and renewal. Report of the UN Regional Workshop on Housing and Environment: 22-23 November 1999: Vienna International Centre./ Vienna/United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat). L.Peetrimägi, R.Liias. (2004) Modelling expenses for repair works. 4th International Postgraduate Research Conferentse, April 1st-2nd 2004, University of Salford, Blackwell Publishing. R.Liias. (2002) Developing Estonian National FM Standard: Process, Problems and Outcomes. Proceedings of the CIB Working Commission 070; Global Symposium; Glasgow. P.Roberts. (2001) Corporate competence in FM: current problems, and issues. Facilities, vol 19, No. 7/8, MCB University Press. B.Nutt. (2000) Four competing futures for facility management. Facilities, vol 18, No. 3/4, MCB University Press. R.Liias. (2004) Understanding facilities management: pricing the housing administration services. Modern Buildings Materials, Structures and Techniques: abstracts of the 8th International Conference; held on May 19-22, 2004, Vilnius, Lithuania, Technica. R.Liias, J.Kröönström. (2004) Kinnisvara korrashoiu strateegia ja korraldus eluaseme omanikule. (Owner’s strategy to maintain and manage his dwelling-property. In Estonian), Tallinn, TUT press. R.Liias. (2004) Educating and training the counterparts in the property market. Education and economy. 6. May 2004: proceedings of the international conference, Tallinn, TUT press. R:Liias. (2004) Developing Professionalism for Housing Maintenance Management in the Baltic States. Tallinn,. Midterm-report.
182 JUDITH ALLEN
IT AIN'T NECESSARILY SO: SOCIAL EXCLUSION, SOCIAL CAPITAL AND LOCAL ASSOCIATIONAL ACTIVITIES
In the first round of National Action Plans to Promote Social Inclusion, seven of the EU15 member states saw neighbourhood disparities as the most significant spatial dimension of social exclusion, and a further three identified it as important in combination with rural or regional dimensions. The Commission commented that all of the Plans were weakly developed in terms of involving poor people themselves and involving other stakeholders (European Commission 2002).
A key element in the discourse associated with the National Action Plans has been the idea of building social capital among the poor by enhancing their participation in localised community or voluntary groups. Such participation, it is assumed, will promote trust and reciprocity among neighbours, lead to enhanced life opportunities underpinned by locally tailored delivery of public services, and serve as a prophylactic against race riots, criminality and other incivilities.
There are a number of reasons for thinking ‘it ain't necessarily so’. This paper reviews some of the analytical puzzles embedded in the moral-practical assertion that building neighbourhood-based social capital among poor people should be a key strategy for combating social exclusion, and/or promoting social inclusion and/or cohesion and/or solidarity. It then presents the results of a cross-national research project focusing on 11 neighbourhoods in nine west European countries. The paper focuses on local associational activities. It identifies who the neighbourhood actors are, the relationships among them, and how these relationships are structured into a web of networks which may be or may not be effective in addressing social exclusion, inclusion, cohesion and/or solidarity60.
60 The study, "Neighbourhood governance: Capacity for social integration", was funded by the European Commission (HPSE-CT-2001-00080), and included nine countries: Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, German, Italy, Portugal and Greece. Two of the 11 neighbourhoods had internally differentiated structures and could be, themselves, regarded as several neighbourhoods taken together. The case studies and final report can be found at www.infra.kth.se/SB/sp/forskning/index.html.
183 CONCEPTS AT THE HINGE:CONCEPTUAL CONFUSIONS AND METHODOLOGICAL PUZZLES
The central problem with concepts such as social exclusion, social inclusion, social cohesion, etc is that they lie on the hinge between political and scientific practices. As elements in political discourse, they signal broad visions about the future of society and inform broad policy orientations. Their political meaning shifts as policies deliver the usual mix of intended and unintended consequences, effectively or less effectively, as the same broad objectives are pursued by different levels of government (from supra- to infra-national) with different configurations of competencies, and as underlying political alliances form and re- form. As a ground for scientific research, this terrain is particularly sandy. The scientific concepts which grow in this soil have their own natural history, shaped both by the need for focused evaluative research to underpin policy initiatives and by the relative autonomy of intellectual practices from political discourses (cf Buck et al, 2001, for an excellent discussion of these issues). When the political discourses and intellectual practices are located in relationship to supranational institutions and their member states, these complexities become even more multiplex.
This discursive context is both a curse and a blessing for social researchers. The curse lies in the usual problems of attempting to do politically relevant and intellectually rigorous research. The blessing, however, is that it points directly towards cross-national research. Neighbourhood or community studies within a single country face immense difficulties in disentangling the causal efficacy of national contextual factors. The best that can be said, in most instances, is that contextual factors create opportunity and constraint structures at a local level. Cross-national research yields the possibility of identifying which national contextual factors play a causal role in determining localised social processes.
The root concepts informing the research reported in this paper were social exclusion and social capital. Since both concepts have a deep fuzziness arising from their political/scientific nature, they were used as guiding threads in designing the research, that is, they were subject to critique at each stage and alongside the development of the empirical work61. The comments below set out key elements of this critique in order to show how the comments and critique oriented the research.
SOCIAL EXCLUSION:HISTORY OF A EUROPEAN POLICY
The French concept of social exclusion was adapted when it became institutionalised in the European Union's Action Programme to Combat Social Exclusion and Promote Social Solidarity, launched in 1993. The central republican element of the concept was retained.
61 An earlier project by the same team, on neighbourhoods and social exclusion, had established a common language, orientation and basic methodology (www.improving-ser.sti.jrc.it).
184 This asserts that "Government [takes] seriously its responsibility . . . for the provision of order and cohesion in public space and social life of all citizens . . . that is, committed to combating (or mitigating the impact of) a range of different logics that threaten to exclude the citizenry from full participation in the broader republic" (Taylor 2003, p 17). Thus, the European approach rests on the notion of social cohesion, underpinned by a common citizenship, in which the rights and obligations of citizens are reciprocated in the actions of agencies and partnerships throughout the Union. The notion of governance, in the sense of mobilising a very wide range of actors to work in concert, replaces the emphasis on government and is also central to this political programme.
The European Union's Action Programme emerged shortly after the first direct elections to the European Parliament and the Maastricht Treaty and can be seen as an important component in establishing a "European political and social space". Governance, citizenship, social solidarity and social cohesion were linked together in a programme designed to address the wide variety of social processes leading to the emergence of what was then seen as the 'new poverty'. Age, gender, and regional differences were seen as fundamental dimensions of these social processes. Whether worklessness, in itself, generated poverty or threatened social cohesion was seen as contingent on national, regional and local social structures, labour market practices and welfare systems. Ironically, the key role of citizenship in this constellation of political ideas was quickly associated with an increasingly exclusionary treatment of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers – newcomers and non-citizens.
Along with many other academic commentators, Taylor interpreted economic restructuring in the 1990s in terms of de-industrialisation and neo-liberalism. While this view was no doubt true for some of the member states, it is certainly far too simplistic to capture the dynamics of economic change across the whole of Europe (Cars and Allen 2001, Allen et al 2004).
In 1993, there was an important discursive shift in European Union political discussion, away from seeing problems as matters of harmonising the activities of independent nation-states towards seeing them as affecting the whole of the Union, which happened to be structured into member-states. The overarching problems associated with creating a European society turned around two broad issues. One was how to support the development of a European social welfare model which could give substance to the idea of a common European citizenship. The other was to guide economic change in order to position Europe as a whole within a global economic structure. By the late 1990s, it was clear that economic change could best be characterised at the European level as a process of tertiarisation. This formulation of the issue captured both the processes of de-industrialisation in some member states and the shift from rural agricultural economies to urban service based economies in other, never-very-industrialised member states. This view of economic change at the European level is now embedded in a range of policy initiatives to promote a knowledge based economy. At the same time, the project to promote a European social welfare model proved to be misplaced. The model was loosely based on corporatist models associated with Fordist manufacturing industry. Given the disparate welfare regimes among member states and the limited competencies of the Union itself, the project mutated into one of promoting active welfare states capable of adapting to the tertiarisation of the European economy. The main tool for promoting active welfare states is to require member states to prepare National
185 Action Plans to Promote Social Inclusion and to engage in a process of mutual learning (known as the open method of co-ordination). The emphasis on governance, on mobilising all relevant bodies, is one of the four fundamental objectives of the programme agreed by the Council of Ministers in Nice in December 2000.
Thus, the central linkage between governance, on the one hand, and social inclusion, solidarity and cohesion, on the other hand, which characterises the current programme can best be seen as part of a commitment to managing structural change in a way which supports the development of a European political, economic and social space while tailoring specific welfare actions to national and local situations.
SOCIAL CAPITAL:HISTORY OF AN IDEA
The notion of social capital is now in such general political/scientific usage that no research touching on localised interpersonal relationships can be innocent of it. Scientific approaches to the notion of social capital can be divided between those based on Bourdieu and those based on Putnam. The Bourdieusian approach locates social capital as a characteristic of individuals, given their biographies and social positions. Since the research focused on relationships among groups and agencies working within neighbourhoods, Bourdieu's approach was both inappropriate and too reductionist for this purpose (cf Paadam 2004 for an excellent development of Bourdieu's work).
Putnam's work, however, presents more subtle issues. His approach originated in a study of Italy, in which he attributed the relative economic prosperity of central Italy to the presence of lively social networks and their role in creating a civic culture over a long historical period. In contrast, he explained poverty in southern Italy in terms of the absence of such networks, essentially reproducing Banfield's "amoral familism" argument (Putnam 1993, Reis 1998). He then further elaborated the concept of social capital in his expansive, ingenious, and immensely influential study of the history of voluntary associations in the United States in the twentieth century (Putnam 2000).
There are some important problems with this intellectual history. Firstly, there are alternative explanations for the relative prosperity of different Italian regions, for example, the relative fertility of the land itself or differential histories of land ownership and control, that is, agricultural social production structures. Secondly, there are historiographic problems with how Putnam's work is rooted in a Tocquevillean vision of American society. Observing American life in the early nineteenth century, de Toqueville not only noted its rich community based associational structure, but also argued that it served as a substitute for the more robust governmental structures in Europe at the time. In other words, de Tocqeville saw local associational life as a weakness which would inhibit the development of government in the
186 United States. Putnam follows the dominant American historiographic tradition, which celebrates local associational life and ignores questions about the role of governmental structures. In other words, he fails to see, in either amoral familism in southern Italy or local associational life in the United States today, how these structures of social relations substitute for weak states which are unable to ensure the welfare of their citizens.
The effect of locating the concept of social capital in this frame is to focus attention on its affective components, the trust and mutual reciprocity which is built up among members of voluntary associations. The analytical problem is that these affective components carry extremely strong normative elements within them. The overall effect is to reduce Putnam's analysis to a simple injunction: building local associational social capital is a good thing. As a moral-practical proposition, this raises questions about the appropriate circumstances within which it can and/or should be pursued. Some of these questions, about the systematic distortion of communication associated with disparities in power, can best be analysed within the framework of Habermas' theory of communicative action and are clearly relevant to the groups which are formed when the state promotes local associational activities as part of neighbourhood programmes. Other issues relate to what might be called the governance of welfare, that is, the way political systems manage the links among welfare state provision, labour market practices and family/kinship/friendship relationships. Welfare governance clearly shapes the societal spaces within which local social capital can be built. Systems of welfare governance vary among the European countries, but the European countries as a whole are significantly different from the United States, which stands out from almost all other advanced industrial countries, in Esping-Andersen's terminology, as a liberal residualist welfare state (Esping-Andersen 1990: see also the analysis in Allen et al 2004). In such circumstances, de Tocqueville's fear, that local association life would work as a prophylactic against the state taking responsibility for welfare, seems well founded. In the European context, however, the picture appears more complex.
The normative elements within Putnam's concept of social capital can easily lead to premature closure in scientific work. To summarise: Putnam suggests that participating in community groups builds interpersonal relationships of trust and mutual reciprocity, which congeal into forms of social capital which can be used to combat social exclusion. (Over)stating Putnam's position in this way helps to clarify the critical scientific issues: Under what circumstances is the absence of trust, or even active mistrust, a fully reasonable response by local actors? Under what circumstances do interpersonal relationships congeal in ways which counteract social exclusion, and under what circumstances do they congeal in ways which intensify social exclusion?
187 POLITICAL/SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Analysing the concepts of social exclusion and social capital as moral-practical propositions helps to distinguish issues of political relevance from those of scientific rigour in framing research. Identifying the specific moral-practical propositions embedded in the political use of these concepts lets the political context determine the broad orientation of the research while at the same time opening up a space for specifying scientific-technical propositions to guide the research. The general research question can, thus, be framed as identifying how and to what extent local associational activities support the creation of forms of social capital which contest social exclusion within specific national welfare governance systems.
REFRAMING THE PROBLEM:OPEN QUESTIONS
Framing the research questions in terms of local associational activities has two advantages. First, it isolates scientific propositions from moral-practical propositions. Second, it facilitates transferring Putnam's concept into the context of modern European welfare states. This approach places community activity by residents in the context of the activities and services provided by the state (and, in some places, NGOs) on a localised basis.
There is scattered evidence which suggests that common images of socially excluded neighbourhoods are too simplistic. For example, of the indicators of social capital used in the General Household Survey in Great Britain, there is only one which strongly distinguishes rich and poor households: feelings of safety after dark. On three indicators relevant to assessing local associational activity, poor households report higher social capital than richer households: neighbourliness, friendship networks, and relative's networks (Social Trends 2004, table 5.24: see also Hall 1999 for a longitudinal analysis of these indicators). Detailed analysis of opinion poll data shows that rich people living in predominantly poor neighbourhoods are far more dissatisfied with local facilities than poor people in any neighbourhood (MORI 2004). More generally, Crow (1997), reviewing the literature on neighbouring and community, argues that neighbouring relationships are the outcome of a set of dynamic tensions at both structural and local levels. Consequently, it is not possible to predict, in principle, what the pattern of relationships will be in specific local areas.
What is required for comparative studies is a systematic analytical framework within which different patterns of local associational activities can be identified. Shaping the central research question in terms of local associational activities opens out the research along two broad dimensions. The first is to look at the links between localised social processes and social exclusion. The second is to look at the social dynamics which localise problems. Both these dimensions give depth and range to the notion of localised associational activities.
188 LOCALISED SOCIAL PROCESSES AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION
Jordan (1995) argues, in general terms, that local associational activities can solidify broader processes of social exclusion, and Warren's (2001) detailed study of the effects of different kinds of civil associations shows that they vary systematically in terms of the extent to which and how they promote the civic virtues associated with democracy: tolerance, ability to negotiate differences, representation of specific groups, etc. Our earlier study on neighbourhoods and social exclusion suggested that where the only outlets for expressing broader social conflicts are contained within localised areas, then there was an implosionary process which intensified divisions among local groups. These studies suggest that not enough is understood about the linkages between basic social dynamics and local associational activity. It is clear that three fundamental cleavages underlie conflicts within neighbourhoods: age (youth versus elderly), race and ethnicity (both between indigenous and non-indigenous groups and among different non-indigenous groups), and length of residence. However, they don't work in the same way in every place. Some places are riven by deep schisms between groups: Other places exhibit a tolerance verging on indifference.
There seem to be a complex underlying dynamics at work in neighbourhoods. Some of this is captured in Elias' classic study of newcomers in a suburb in Leicester in the 1950s. This study of newcomers and long-settled residents, in which there were no significant social differences between the two groups, showed how the long settled group's exclusion of newcomers from local status positions, together with the use of gossip which labelled aspects of the newcomers' behaviour as uncivil, created strong incentives for newcomers to assimilate into the normative order of the established group. Parallel processes clearly characterise adolescence as a social process of assimilation into adulthood and can be made more complex by ethnic diversity. However, processes associated with both adolescence and ethnic diversity have other complicating features. Adolescence becomes more difficult if the normative order of adulthood is itself undermined by economic tertiarisation, and the assimilation of ethnic minority newcomers into a dominant normative order may be inhibited by the existence of alternative normative orders associated with religious differences. Clearly, the time scale of these processes is generational and continuing. But, what is more important in generalising Elias' approach is to recognise a central irony: ‘Localised’ social exclusion can be part of a process which has the effect of integrating outsiders into a normative order in a way which combats ‘globalised’ social exclusion.
What this suggests is that timing is everything in looking at specific neighbourhoods. One output of the sequencing of these complex, relatively autonomous and dynamic social processes is the continuous re-creation of local social structures. These structures can be analysed in terms of three questions (Vranken 2001): x The extent to which social differentiation becomes social fragmentation, or the extent to which different groups live separate and parallel lives x The extent to which social differentiation is associated with social inequality, or the extent to which local status hierarchies are associated with privileged access to resources
189 x The extent to which social fragmentation and social inequality combine to create the social exclusion of specific groups
This analysis suggests that some sorts of interventions in local associational activities may intensify processes of fragmentation, inequality and social exclusion, while other sorts of interventions may inhibit these processes. Since it is difficult to measure process using single-point-in-time case studies, reframing the question in terms of a set of criteria for assessing how local structures function is useful.
THE SOCIAL DYNAMICS OF LOCALISATION
Neighbourhood or community studies are the most obvious way to study local associational activities. However, this method raises three interpretative problems. Firstly, however the boundaries are drawn, there are likely to be "size effects". Neighbourhoods are open social systems, in the sense that people are free to form social relationships within them or outside them. The larger the urban area within which the neighbourhood is located and the more diverse the population within the neighbourhood, then the more likely it is that the neighbourhood system will be significantly open. Insofar as the (politically informed) assumptions behind the research are that local associational activities will enhance what is assumed to be residents' restricted access to resources available in the rest of the urban system, then it is important to distinguish between access which builds on local associational activities and other forms of access which already exist.
Secondly, it is important not to confuse spatial and social segregation. On the one hand, not all cities are subject to processes which concentrate poor people in specific areas. Milan, Athens (Maloutas and Karadimitriou 2001) and Genoa (Seassaro 1995), for example, are characterised by a fine grained spatial mix which arises from the significance of vertical social segregation in multi-family housing. Different social classes simply live on different stories of the same building. In a number of southern European cities, where women are still ascribed primary caring responsibilities but access to housing requires two incomes, the increasing use of live-in domestic help leads to a highly dispersed group of marginalised workers (Arbaci 2004ff). On the other hand, the discussion above indicates that the relationship between spatial concentrations of poverty and social exclusion is not always straightforward. Some poverty pockets appear to reflect deeply seated processes of social exclusion while others appear to have little effect on their residents.
Thirdly, what ‘local’ means in this context is problematic. In practice, spatial boundaries tend to be drawn around neighbourhoods on one of three criteria, defined by: x The local authority, either as a sub-unit of government or as the promoter of a specific programme of intervention x Spatial concentrations of poorer people
190 x Natural urban physical boundaries (similar housing types, major roads, rivers, discontinuities in public transport systems, etc)
These boundaries may overlap or even fully coincide. However, only the first relates directly to local associational activities, in the sense that local authorities are local social actors within the spatial area. For this reason, the size, competences and spatial structure of local government are important. In terms of the other two criteria, the relationships are more contingent. Spatial concentrations of poverty depend on the processes which have brought people to live in the area eg the role of social networks in accessing housing, choice versus constraint, bureaucratic methods of allocating housing, etc. Natural boundaries are only likely to affect local associational activities insofar as the friction of distance comes into play.
REFRAMING: STEPPING STONE OR SIDE-STEPPING?
The remarks above show how some of the widely held but crude images of socially excluded neighbourhoods embodied in political initiatives import a range of questionable hidden assumptions, some derived from the strength of political intent and some derived from previous sociological studies. In such a context, stepping stone concepts, or provisional concepts, often provide a useful way of moving forward scientifically.
The notion of local associational activities is proposed as a way of focusing the empirical research on phenomena which can be observed in all neighbourhoods. The criteria derived from Vranken can be used to link an account of the way these activities are structured to an assessment of how processes of social exclusion have an impact on the neighbourhood, taking into account local demographic dynamics, local authority services and programmes and the national contextual factors summarised under the concept of welfare governance.
In this way, the notion of local associational structures is not so much a stepping stone concept, as a side stepping concept, designed to evade some of the complications of doing politically relevant and scientifically rigorous research.
Neighbourhood governance and structures of local associational activities
A key output of the research project as a whole was to synthesise a framework for analysing structures of local associational activities. This section of the paper focuses on explaining the framework and the subsequent section analyses the framework in terms of networks of social relationships.
191 RESEARCH PROCESS AND ANALYSING THE RESULTS
The empirical research was based on case studies of 11 neighbourhoods in nine of the EU15 member states. Effectively, the neighbourhoods were chosen because they were the focus of government (local or national) sponsored programmes to address localised areas of social exclusion. These programmes were just beginning in some neighbourhoods and just drawing to a close in other neighbourhoods.
The case studies were designed to explore four neighbourhood issues which had been identified in the previous project: safety and security, managing public spaces, education, and unemployment. In the event, local respondents paid little attention to unemployment issues, generally seeing them as a wider-than-neighbourhood problem. A first round of interviews with residents and local agencies identified governance arrangements in the neighbourhoods: Who did what and with whom did they work? A second round of interviews with professionals working in the neighbourhood assessed the effectiveness of neighbourhood governance arrangements.
Each of the case studies was reported in a comparable format, answering a set of questions which reflected the concept of neighbourhood governance behind the overall project. The initial analysis of the case studies was structured along the same headings, and then synthesised. It, thus, reflects the whole data set for all 11 neighbourhoods62. The framework for analysing local associational activities is at the heart of the synthesis. It starts by identifying "neighbourhood actors", then discusses how they work together and the types of networks which structure their relationships. The main findings from comparing the neighbourhoods are incorporated into the discussion of the framework.
IDENTIFYING NEIGHBOURHOOD ACTORS
‘Mobilising all actors’ is a key element in all strategies to combat social exclusion. Four groups of actors were identified in the study neighbourhoods: residents, professionals, framework setters and elected officials. Each is discussed in turn below:
62 The next stage would be to apply the synthesis to re-analyse the neighbourhood data, but this requires further funding or another research project.
192 1. Residents: Three types of residents' groups were identified: x Completely voluntary groups of residents: These were relatively rare. Some groups started out in this way and moved on to become more formalised over time. Other groups disbanded after a short period of activity, or were not observable because they considered their activities as private. x Groups of residents set up by professionals and agencies as a way of delivering services: There were two types of such groups. The first was where "group working" was the preferred method of service delivery, eg family support groups, youth clubs, language classes, etc. The second was where professionals and/or agencies were required to set up consultative user groups as part of consultative and/or quality assurance processes. Some of the consultative groups were quite powerful since professionals were dependent on them to meet wider requirements. x Groups of residents set up by professional community workers as part of a community development initiative: These were the most frequently observed form of residents' groups.
2. Professionals: Two general types of professionals were identified. With the exception of a few in Dublin and one in Turin who had been ‘home grown’, professionals did not live in the neighbourhoods. x Professionals rooted in the neighbourhood: The formal role description for these professionals focuses on work in the neighbourhood. They may be employed by a variety of different agencies, local public agencies, non-governmental agencies, national and even supra-national organisations. Much of their work consists of bringing people together around neighbourhood issues, and their methods of working depended on the extent to which residents' groups already existed or not. In more developed circumstances, there were complex issues about the mutual dependence between these professionals and residents' groups, which could often be traced to the extent to which the work of the professionals was seen as a top down or bottom up initiative. x Professionals working in the neighbourhood as part of larger agencies: The main factors influencing the work of these professionals were the extent to which they had flexibility and autonomy to tailor their approaches to specific features of the neighbourhood. Professionals working for major asset holders in the neighbourhood (large, usually public sector landlords or prospective developers) had roles which, in some places, were limited to simply delivering a specific service while elsewhere they encompassed responsibility for managing more general neighbourhood issues. In a number of the neighbourhoods, religious organisations played an important role in community life, and adapted their services to the needs expressed by residents more readily than public sector agencies and major asset holders. By and large, private sector businesses took little interest in the neighbourhoods, although agencies mediating between residents and the job market were more active.
3. Framework setters: The significance of this group of professionals emerged from the research. They are not usually visible in the neighbourhoods but play an important role in
193 determining what the visible actors do. They comprise line managers of professionals working in the neighbourhoods, those with responsibility for city wide physical renewal or neighbourhood management initiatives, or managing specially funded regional, national or supra-national programmes. An key issue in all the neighbourhoods was the extent to which framework setters co-ordinated their work among themselves and/or tailored it to the specific features of a neighbourhood.
4. Elected officials: The role of elected politicians varied immensely, partly as a consequence of very different formal electoral systems and partly as a consequence of their own political commitments and ambitions. In several neighbourhoods, they played a strong role, either visibly or behind the scenes. In other neighbourhoods, they were strongly distrusted by residents – or they themselves distrusted organised residents' groups.
194 Figure 1 provides a template for identifying the actors involved in the neighbourhoods. The dotted arrows show the less visible relationships. It also shows that many of the key relationships occur outside the neighbourhood itself, as well as showing how many actors' relationships with residents are mediated by relatively junior professionals within public bureaucracies. Figure 1. Neighbourhood actors
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The diagram shows that actors are defined both by their own objectives in relationship to the neighbourhood and by their relationships with other actors.
195 MOBILISING NEIGHBOURHOOD ACTORS
For the formal actors, mobilisation means strengthening their orientation towards the neighbourhood, either awakening their interest in the neighbourhood or changing the nature of a pre-existing organisational interest in the neighbourhood. For residents, mobilisation refers to identifying the potential for setting up residents' groups around specific neighbourhood issues or to developing their relationships with a wider range of formal actors.
A number of points were made in almost all neighbourhoods: x Face-to-face interpersonal contact is the basic glue that holds groups of actors together. x The underlying dynamic in the relationships between residents' groups and front-line service delivery workers is shaped by the formal organisational interests of those workers. These were also the strongest relationships in the neighbourhoods. x Where front-line workers are placed within bureaucracies which are strongly divided vertically, this creates a dynamic which obscures or devalues issues which cut across the vertical divisions. x This vertically divided dynamic is reinforced because the relationship between framework setters and residents is mediated, either by community workers or by front-line service delivery workers. x Community work skills are fundamentally different from the skills involved in delivering centrally determined services in a neighbourhood. This often creates tensions between community workers, whose position is legitimated by their relationship with residents, and front-line service delivery workers, whose position is legitimated by their place in a bureaucratic hierarchy. x There are formal organisational biases against identifying non-visible groups of residents or starting new groups among residents. x The nature of the relationship between community workers and residents is important. In at least one case, a highly informalised relationship inhibited community workers from supporting residents in forming relationships with other agencies. At the other end of the spectrum, where community workers saw residents as their main manager, a much wider range of relationships was facilitated.
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Working relationships among actors tap into two different ways of organising social relationships: hierarchy and network. Hierarchical relationships characterise the formal large bureaucracies within which most neighbourhood professionals work. Networked
196 relationships can rest on a variety of bases: day to day social relationships among residents, the space of the neighbourhood itself, at different levels within vertically structured bureaucracies, and around politicians as members of an elected governmental body. In other words, hierarchies and networks are not independent social phenomena, but different dimensions of the relationships among actors. (Figure 1, for example, can be read vertically or horizontally.) It is the relative strength of the two dimensions, and how they are interwoven, that is important.
There were two situations in which working relationships were absent. They form polar situations, which help to locate the other neighbourhoods. In Portugal and Greece, there were almost no relationships, either among professionals or among residents, at the neighbourhood level. This is almost certainly explained by the strongly vertical political processes and absence of a range of local (social) services which characterise welfare governance systems in these two countries. In Dublin, there were two strong networks operating in the neighbourhood, one of which (a bottom up organisation with strong links with residents) refused to work much with the other (a top down organisation being set up by the central government).
Working relationships among professionals These were relatively common. Six types of relationship could be identified: x Joined up or transversal working: This occurred in two circumstances. One was where a key mobilising issue was defined in a fuzzy enough way to involve a range of actors. Crime prevention, youth and children were particularly effective ways to bring actors together. The other was where there was a coherent top down broadly conceived neighbourhood renewal strategy designed to bring a wide range of agencies and residents' groups together. x Contract based: In one case, where housing management was provided under contract to the local authority, working relationships were very effective when the contractor could see cost savings associated with it. However, the tight specification of the contract precluded working relationships around fuzzy issues. x Interface determined: In this situation, solidaristic working relationships within the neighbourhood were enhanced by opposition to a strongly vertically divided city-wide administration. x Experimental: Relationships were formed around new ways of working, either with specific client groups (eg families with children) or within fuzzy mobilising issue (eg drugs). These projects usually had a long term perspective oriented towards mainstreaming the innovation. x Ad hoc: These were short term and usually event or task focused, in which a group of professionals sought new ways to reach out to residents. x Capital investment based: Large scale capital investment programmes necessarily require extensive collaboration among a wide range of actors for effective implementation and can generate quite complex structures of relationships among professionals.
197 Working relationships among professionals depended on a social infrastructure within the neighbourhood, usually a loose grouping of professionals who were willing to spend time getting to know each other. Such groups provided a pool of expertise which could be tapped by its members either in their routine day to day work or to support ad hoc and experimental initiatives.
Working relationships among residents The dynamics which bring residents' groups together, or keep groups apart, are very different from those which characterise relationships among professionals. The extent to which residents work together depends on both the motivations which might bring them together and the underlying social relationships among groups of residents. Three types of motivations can bring people together: x Shared social identity: A common ethnic identity was the strongest motivation in the neighbourhoods we studied. A shared occupational history formed a strong common bond among residents in one neighbourhood. x Shared personal interests: In most neighbourhoods, small groups of residents met together frequently and informally, to play football or bingo or pursue other hobbies and leisure interests. x Shared life issues: The most common were children, youth and safety. Groups around these issues were found in all but the Greek neighbourhoods.
Where there was deep mutual hostility and suspicion, residents tended to stay apart from each other. In these circumstances, the neighbourhood's problems are often, but not always, ascribed to other groups of residents rather than being seen as a common situation affecting everybody. This dynamic was particularly marked in the ethnically mixed neighbourhoods. Depending on the size of the group and the history of settlement, it was common for ethnic groups to have separate organisations, especially where religion formed a parallel dimension of difference. Distinctively different housing areas could also form a basis for strong divisions.
Working relationships between professionals and residents Different types of relationships between professionals and residents can be placed on a spectrum in terms of the balance of power in the relationship between professionals and residents: x Client groups for professionals: Group working characterises a number of social work practices, eg family support or mental health support. Some forms of youth work also fall into this category. In this case, the formation, functioning and termination of the group is determined by professional judgements.
198 x Groups supported by professionals to meet requirements for "consultation" on service delivery: Examples are residents' groups in the context of neighbourhood renewal programmes or advisory groups established around specific facilities or services. These are usually quite formal, and residents are, as it were, being "invited into" the normal functioning of a formal organisation. The agendas are usually determined by the organisation, while residents participate mainly out of personal interest and acquire power based on "voice". x Groups using facilities or services provided by formal agencies: This includes, for example, adult and language education groups, youth clubs, etc. In this case, professionals determine who has access to the facility and on what terms, which may be very open. The user group's power rests on the possibility of "exit". x Groups formed by community workers employed by formal organisations: These are usually formed to address a neighbourhood based issue, and the community worker provides a secretariat function. Effectively power is shared between professionals and residents. This type of groups is the most likely to serve as the basis for an umbrella group of other residents' groups. x Groups employing their own workers: These are usually funded by government or other formal agencies. The purposes may be quite general and diffuse, or very specific and local. Examples range from general tenants' or residents' groups through to specialist advice for immigrant groups, legal advice agencies, and independent drug advice agencies. In these cases, the balance of power reflects the position of residents as an employer vis-à-vis the expertise of the employee. x Groups formed by or around religious facilities: The purposes may be religious instruction, organising voluntary community activities, sociability, etc. The balance of power between "professional religious workers" and residents varies with the organisational structure of the religious organisation, but the norms governing the relationship are determined outside the functioning of public agencies.
The dynamics in the working relationships between residents and professionals are shaped by two factors. The first is funding: who pays the professional's salary? The second is whether the group is designed to be permanent or transitory. The dynamics are also shaped by the wider political system within which they are located. For example, in Amsterdam, a political culture which is deeply invested in consultation supports the formation of residents' groups almost "naturally". In Newcastle and in Turin, local political cultures among residents, which were strongly based in trade union traditions, found difficulty operating in an environment governed by public interest norms. In the clientelist political culture of Portugal and Greece, formal residents' groups were interpreted by other residents as only self-interested and, thus, somehow morally questionable.
199 THE ROLE OF FRAMEWORK SETTERS IN NEIGHBOURHOOD BASED RELATIONSHIPS
Framework setters are rarely visible in neighbourhoods but have a strong influence on the kinds of working relationships which can be developed within them. There are four ways in which framework setters influence these relationships: x Determining the type of programme to be applied in the neighbourhood: Two types can be distinguished. Neighbourhood management focuses on improving the effectiveness of service delivery. It assumes that if residents are enabled to be more demanding on service providers, then services will meet residents' needs better and the residents will become more socially integrated. The time perspective is typically indefinite. In contrast, neighbourhood renewal programmes are commonly associated with implementing new working relationships among professionals to consult and/or involve residents. These arrangements can be conceived very narrowly, especially if the aim is confined to physical renewal, or very broadly, if the programme spans social and physical renewal. Nevertheless, the perspective of these programmes is typically time limited. x Shaping revenue funding arrangements for neighbourhood initiatives: Two kinds of funding are necessary to support residents' participation in neighbourhood groups. The first is for community workers and the second is for specific projects or additional services identified by residents. Insecure funding inhibits full-throated participation by residents and time-limited funding generally has little continuing effect, although it may have a high impact in the short run. Funding arrangements may divide residents' groups, by forcing them to compete against each other, or help to unite groups by emphasising collective initiatives, such as common facilities. In addition, because most residents' groups tend to be socially closed, the distribution of funding plays a strong role in determining which residents are enabled to become more active. x Activating activists: Framework setting organisations are permanent, but many residents' groups have a natural lifecycle, which ends when activist residents withdraw, when some project or task has been achieved or when they lose funding. A related phenomenon is turnover in community and front-line service delivery staff. Given that interpersonal relationships glue working relationships together, both the lifecycle of residents' groups and staff turnover can lead to the deterioration of arrangements which seek to involve residents. Thus, the extent to which framework setters see activating activists as a continuing, rather than once and for all, investment in the neighbourhood influences the dynamic sustainability of neighbourhood working relationships. x Creating support structures for neighbourhood working relationships: Relationships among professionals working in neighbourhoods are likely to remain ad hoc and limited unless framework setters create support structures behind the scenes. Four aspects of these structures affected neighbourhood relationships. First, the extent to which support structures spanned divisions in a vertically divided bureaucratic organisations affected which neighbourhood professionals could invest in expanding their working relationships. Second, the extent to which framework setters could accept that one size does not fit all affects the extent to which neighbourhood based working relationships could adapt to the social dynamics of neighbourhoods, both in different neighbourhoods and over time in a single neighbourhood. Third, and a related point, was the extent to which framework setters could tolerate residents' perceptions of proper ways to work together, both among themselves and with professionals, affected which residents could be fitted into the
200 system. This was particularly important among minority ethnic populations, who may have views about the proper conduct of collective business which do not fit with indigenous and/or bureaucratised methods of working (Allen and Cars 2001: Temple and Steele 2004). Similarly, immigrants without civil rights, asylum seekers and illegal immigrants are frequently reluctant to engage with public authorities, so that involving them requires approaches which recognise their insecurity. Fourth was the extent to which framework setters could provide a clear structure of incentives for developing neighbourhood level working relationships both among professionals and for residents affected their span For example, where local government delivers few services, there is little point in residents engaging with it.
The local associational activities among neighbourhood based actors, residents and professionals, create local networks of relationships. It is the structure of these networks which determines what can be done in any specific neighbourhood, both because they are relatively more stable than the identities of specific actors and because they shape the paths which allow neighbourhood actors to access a variety of different types of material and organisational resources. The next section of the paper looks at how relationships can be represented in terms of networks.
NETWORKS AND NETWORK BUILDERS
Network builders are people who bring groups of people together so that they can pursue common objectives. Figure 2 develops the map of actors in Figure 1 to show the types of networks we found in the neighbourhoods, shown by the circles. The dark arrows indicate organisations that may contribute, sometimes substantially, to network formation but do not fit neatly into the underlying structure of relationships shown on the map. The dashed arrows indicate points of weakness in the structure.
The diagram illustrates key points about the ways networks functioned in the neighbourhoods: x There are two basic types of networks: Those which bring individuals together into a group, and those which span different groups. x Community workers have a key position in linking networks together. This can be a position of great strength, or it can be a position fraught with conflict. x Whether networks of residents link with each other is an open question. In at least two neighbourhoods, there were totally separate networks, within different social groups, which were not linked at all. x In service delivery networks, the relative balance of power between residents and the service delivery workers, is affected by the extent to which the residents are linked to other residents' networks.
201 x Where separate networks are linked with different service delivery workers, it is common for neither the workers nor "their" networks to be linked with other networks, which limits the range of issues that can be raised in these forums. x The extent to which framework setters are networked among themselves influences the types of issues which can be raised within service delivery based networks. x Similarly, networking between framework setters for neighbourhood management or renewal and the normal service delivery agencies affects the range of issues which can be raised during formal consultation on plans for the area. x The most common network builders "outside the box" were politicians and religious organisations. They occupy a special position which can span a variety of networks, and they are the two main neighbourhood based actors who had institutionalised links outside the neighbourhood. x Network builders have a specific range of skills: Spotting common issues, interesting people in working together with others, supporting the articulation of common aims, mediating differences within the group or network, and negotiating with other networks.
202 Figure 2. Neighbourhood networks
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The evidence from the neighbourhoods showed how the set of networks functioned:
203 x The "normal" fragmentation of service delivery within a neighbourhood puts great demands and limits on residents' groups. Either their agenda is limited by the fragmentation, or they must have immense skill and experience to network among themselves and broaden the agenda, or they require professional support from community workers. In two neighbourhoods, we found residents with such skills, experience and support. In these neighbourhoods that there was also a very high level of conflict between the residents, on the one hand, and the municipality and central government on the other hand. x The extent to which relatively junior service delivery workers and community workers are able to mediate between residents' groups and framework setters determines the avenues available for challenging processes of social exclusion. In practice, relying on mediation by these workers tends to reproduce rather than challenge processes of social exclusion. x The key resource for residents is the presence of community workers. The easiest way to contain problems within the private realm and/or within the neighbourhood is to fail to fund such workers. x The strongest localised networks in clientelistic political systems were among kin and friends, and service delivery was mediated by a clientelistic exchange between family networks and politicians. In these circumstances, it was very difficult for community workers to insert themselves. x Network building takes considerable time because it is based on interpersonal relationships. In two neighbourhoods, time limited projects designed to build networks among residents were extended because in one neighbourhood there were no pre-existing networks and, in the other neighbourhood, pre-existing political experience had been trade union based in a clientelistic system. In these circumstances, both a long time horizon and quick wins are necessary to persuade residents to engage in neighbourhood based networks. x While network building involves managing and/or resolving conflicts within the network, strong networks can also sustain and promote conflict among different social groups. In some cases, this is a consequence of empowering some groups of residents to raise issues in a public forum while excluding other groups from these forums. In other cases, separate networks cement solidarities within groups who are already hostile to each other.
The overall set of networks can be thought of as depicting a web of networks. Within this web, some networks are more important than others in supporting local associational activities. Two were particularly important: First, those which formed around community workers because they were potentially more open in terms of which residents might become involved and in terms of how issues could be framed; second, those which involved framework setters, because this allowed access to resources. The implications are that the networks which form around service delivery workers generate a kind of stasis. Although resources can be pumped through service delivery agencies, and services improved, these networks rarely have the potential to create movement by reframing neighbourhood issues or challenging localised exclusionary processes.
204 CONCLUSIONS
Programmes to combat social exclusion lie within moral-practical debates throughout Europe which link them to the reconstruction of welfare states to adapt to the tertiarisation of the European economy. When these programmes touch on neighbourhoods, they are frequently linked with a Putnamesque concept of social capital while at the same time being detached from the overall political project. The problem then becomes framed as one of a disinterested local state intervening in ways to change social relationships among residents in the neighbourhood. This often rests on an idealised image of democratic neighbourhood governance, in which a neighbourhood-wide umbrella group of residents' associations relates to a range of local agencies and organisations, which, in turn, are strongly oriented towards listening to residents.
More frequently, we found a range of residents' groups, some large and some small, some working together within a larger umbrella organisation, some hostile to other groups but more often simply indifferent, sometimes with overlapping membership among groups but more often separate, some set up formally and others meeting quite informally, some working collaboratively with a range of agencies and some restricting their attention to a single agency, some task and project oriented and others simply engaging in social activities which they enjoyed doing together. In short, it was not always appropriate to measure the neighbourhood against the idealised image. At the same time, we found that policy interventions to promote local social capital based on this image were often short run, resources were only for short periods of time, and ill-judged tactics made problems worse.
The problem with these problems is that when localised programmes come unravelled, there is a tendency to blame the victims, usually residents, low level service delivery professionals, and occasionally, neighbourhood projects and managers.
But all this only raises the question: what kind of image can guide interventions in neighbourhoods? To answer this question, we analysed local associational activities, including state agencies and organisations among the actors we identified. On this basis, we identified how relationships among actors were structured, both by formal organisational relationships and by the web of networks among them.
One important implication of the analysis is that change processes which are designed to combat societal level social exclusion need to be flexible in how they deal with the localised forms of social exclusion which arise out of local social dynamics. At the same time, state based programmes need to see that the state is half-in and half-out of localised social dynamics. It is both a localised actor, well-embedded in local associational activity in specific ways, and a societal actor promoting forms of intervention which have a definitive impact on localised areas, local associational activity and local working relationships. Localised relationships are dynamic for two reasons: One is the underlying social dynamics among residents and the other is that programmes of intervention have dynamic structures
205 (short run neighbourhood renewal versus long run neighbourhood management). Promoting social change, through programmes to combat social exclusion, in such a fluid situation requires ‘flexi-structures’. The notion of webs of networks seems useful in this context.
A second implication of the analysis is that the webs of networks which characterise neighbourhoods vary from place to place. This is not so much a matter of complexity as one of differentiation. It is a bit trite to say that local programmes must be adapted to local circumstances. The bigger problem is how to identify the significant differences between places in a systematic way in order to build meso-level concepts which can guide the shape of larger programmes while allowing them to be adapted to specific localities.
REFERENCES
J Allen and G Cars (2001) "Multiculturalism and Governing Neighbourhoods", Urban Studies, 38:12, pp 2195-2210 Arbaci, S (2005ff) "Southern European multiethnic cities and the enduring housing crisis: framing the urban and residential insertion of immigrants" Housing Theory and Society Buck, N, et al, (2001) Working Capital: Live and labour in contemporary London, London: Routledge Crow, G (1997) "What do we know about the neighbours? Sociological perspectives on neighbouring and community", in P Hoggett (ed) Contested communities: Experiences, struggles, policies, Bristol: The Policy Press Duffy, B (2002) "Unhappy Places" available at www.mori.com/pubinfo/rd/places.shtml (downloaded 24 September 2004) Esping-Andersen, G (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Cambridge: Polity Press European Commission (2002) Joint Report on Social Exclusion, DG EMPL/E.2, Luxembourg: EC Hall, PA (1999) "Social Capital in Britain" British Journal of Political Science, 29, pp 417- 461 Jordan, B (1995) A Theory of poverty and social exclusion, Cambridge: Polity press Maloutas, T and Karadimitriou, N (2001) "Vertical social differentiation in Ahtens: Alternative or complement to community segregation?" International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 25:4, pp 698-716 Paadam, K (2003) Constructing Residence as Home: Homeowners and their Housing Histories, Tallinn: Tallinn Pedagogical University
206 Putnam, RD (1993) Making democracy work: civic traditions in modern Italy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press Putnam, RD (2000) Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of Amercan community, New York: Simon and Schuster Reis, E (1998) "Banfield's Amoral Famlism Revisited: Implications of High Inequality Structures for Civil Society" in J Alexander (ed) Real Civil Societies: Dilemmas of Institutionalisation, London: Sage, pp 21-39 Seassaro, L (1995) "Nature, history, culture as active factors in urban change. Long term evolution and recent changes in the housing system of the Genoa metropolitan area" in L Padovani, Urban change and housing policies: Evidence from four European countries, Dipartimento di Analisi economica e sociale del territorio, IUAV, Venice, pp 135-174
Social Trends, (2004) No 34, London: Office for National Statistics Taylor, I (2003) "Limits of Market Society: European Perspectives" in H Steinert and A Pilgram, Welfare Policy from Below: Struggles Against Social Exclusion in Europe, Aldershot: Ashgate Temple, B and Steele, A (2004) "Injustices of Engagement: Issues in Housing Needs Assessments with Minority Ethnic Communities", Housing Studies, 19:4, pp 541-556 Vranken, J (2001) "Unravelling the Social Strands of Poverty: Differentiation, Fragmentation, Inequality and Exclusion" in HT Andersen and R van Kempen (eds) Governing European Cities: Social fragmentation, social exclusion and urban governance, Aldershot: Ashgate Warren, M E (2001) Democracy and Association, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
207 KATRIN PAADAM AND LIIS OJAMÄE
IDEOLOGICAL SHIFTS AND SHIFTING RELATIONS OF ACTORS IN THE FIELD OF HOUSING.
ABSTRACT
This paper begins with discussion of multi-fold changes of relations in modern housing in light of the dramatic ideological and rapid structural shifts during fundamental societal transformations last century which affected the roles, interests, responsibilities and strategies of actors. We first summarise these changes concerning the relationship between agencies of housing provision such as market and public institutions as well as their clients – the individual agents. With insights into specific contexts of the formation of the Estonian housing sector we then undertake a more detailed focus on a differentiated group of individual actors’ perceptions of their current housing conditions as well as their distinct position on accessing their preferred housing. Drawing on several recent (2001-2003) quantitative and qualitative housing studies and some earlier or considerably early research the paper aims to show that the modern dynamics of housing relations has to be interpreted against the background of an intense interplay between shifts having taken place on the structural level and in individual experiences in the past. It is observed that rapid shift of formal ideology and the change of relations and the subsequent structural opportunities do not necessarily define the ways people conceptualise residential culture and their individual preferences of residence.
INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE AND TO THEORY
Estonia has been practising its return to capitalism for over a decade by now. These have been turbulent times for the housing field, as transformations of relations on all scales of interaction have been profound and rapid. However, the peak of a radical change of the tenure structure in 1995, which as a consequence of denationalisation of housing property called for new strategies from the part of all actors involved in this sector - the state, local governments, market and service institutions as well as residents – denoted only the beginning of continuous re-definition of the relations between agencies.
208 Therefore and because of, perhaps, too little time between the recent profound change and the present stage of the field formation it is too early to make an attempt to de-deconstruct this social experience. On the other hand, the speed of these transformations seems to demand systematic observation of ongoing sifts in the field as well as in theoretical discourses concerned with explanations of the interplay between agencies and structures creating and changing the field. It can, at this point, be argued that in terms of the reformation of statuses (tendency towards the domination of homeownership) and relationships between agencies (reduced significance of state or local government institutions and the growth of the role of free market in the housing provision) the Estonian housing field has experienced a number of changes in a very short period of time compared to the emergence of similar trends in many European societies having experienced no fundamental transformation of social systems. The current accelerated transformation of the housing field in Estonia has distinct characteristics which can be observed on the former non-synchronised developments in the respective field of the two distinct social systems during the post-war (WW II) period. Estonia and many other post-socialist societies are, so to speak “catching up” on what has been left uncompleted before the cataclysmic socialist turn in their political systems. Today, developments occur in conditions that Giddens (1997) would conceive of as “obviously extreme” with a confusing mix of understandings, relationships and the very state of affairs concerning the conditions of the housing sector. Estonia is in a way leaving behind the destruction of the World War II only today as it is facing the challenge of reconsidering what has been inherited from the previous periods of its societal and urban residential history.
Hence in view of any of the aspects of changes in the housing field which need re- conceptualisation it seems more important than ever before to make the analysis pertinent to the time-space and cultural-structural scales of the construction of society along its history. Understanding embeddedness of housing processes within the social structural developmental context and, therefore, as a distinct experience in different societies, has been fundamental in a number of housing research studies (Kemeny, 1992, 1995; Jacobs, 1999 etc).
There is abundant academic literature, which discusses transformation issues and, in particular, the differences of housing developments in similar type of societies. Much of this discussion has a primary focus on the structural development of a field within a broader societal context (welfare regimes, citizenship etc) and institutional agents’ strategies (market and public policies etc). Most of these interpretations draw on the thesis of the dual nature of the relationship that forms between structures and agencies. However, agency is rarely defined as a complex concept as they overlook the constitutive role of individual agencies in this relationship, except in research based on social constructivist discourse clearly stipulating the duality of this relationship (Kemeny, 1992, 1995; Jacobs, 1999; Gurney, 1999; Rowlands and Gurney, 2000 etc). Individual agent’s self-perceptions seem to be far too rarely subjected to research interest as a symptomatic expression of disguised positivistic assumptions on how the social world functions.
The focus of analyses on structures heavily implies primacy of differentiated scientific interests. Since social science is a science which studies itself (Touraine, 1988) the focus of theoretical discussions in different societies synchronises with a particular moment in their societal history and not necessarily with a particular phase of social relations in another
209 society (societies). Thus, the identification of societal, structural and cultural specificities of a given society is also significant for an understanding of the formation of research interests conceptualised in particular theoretical perspectives.
Nevertheless, there is probably one, (though one of the most confusing concepts framing the housing studies) which is nonetheless the most applicable concept for the analysis of change and distinctions between housing relations in different societies – ideology. The usefulness of such a conceptual tool in the understanding of human agency and making of the social world, moreover explaining modern divergent societal paths and their connectedness with specific cultural-historical pasts, has been highlighted by social theoreticians (Bourdieu, 1999; 1994; 1998; Foucault, 1972 etc) and some housing researchers (Kemeny, 1992; Ruonavaara, 1996 etc).
Ideologies are considered to play a significant role in the formation of relations in the housing field, being part of the struggle between various agents negotiating over their interests. However, most authors agree that ideology is but one of the many factors defining agents’ opportunities to pursue their interests. Expressed with some difference views on ideology appear close in a number of housing texts: Kemeny (1992) acknowledges that there is an interactive relationship between ideology and social structure, Jacobs practically does not distinguish between the notions of ideology and social structure (1999:222) and Ruonavaara (1996) identifies ideology as one of the influential kinds of discourses of a very broad scope. All three, however, seem to suggest that ideology is a set of values defining “what is and what is not possible, efficient, desirable” (Kemeny, 1992:95) or “what a society is worthy of aspiring to… and showing the means to achieve it” (Ruonavaara, 1996) or “ on what an elite base their actions” (Jacobs, 1999: 57).
Taking a broad view on the concept of ideology, it is argued that as a set of dominant values, it is a rather persistent category applicable in the analysis of very different social structural and cultural circumstances. It can be identified as a separate category of thought from a formal political discourse, e. g. of an institutionalised political regime constituting a structural (ideological) framework for individual actions but not necessarily shaping individuals’ world view or altering their basic value systems. What is really happening on the level of people’s daily lives has to do with a combined effect of the notions of ideology and myth. Kemeny asserts that ideology as a very general orientation of reality (1992: 102), in order to be successful, should consider the existing myths which are an essential part of reality construction (1992: 103). This is because myths have an emotional appeal which is deeply rooted in specific cultural and social milieus (Kemeny, 1992). Given this, we would like to postulate that the fundamental societal transformations which took place twice last century in Estonia and entirely changed the structural and relational context of the field of housing form only a subtle relationship between radical change of formal ideology and individuals’ residential dispositions. Individuals’ experiences in various social systems with specific constraints and opportunities cannot be wiped away in the course of changing ideological circumstances of a structural nature. These experiences are part of individuals’ cultural capital (in the Bourdieusian sense) which have a tendency to be maintained and developed as a system of understandings, beliefs, tastes and preferences, though not always applicable within specific structural constraints, quite contrary to the social and economic capital or symbolic
210 capital, which might be lost, especially at the extreme cases of societal transformations like the transition between social systems (Paadam, 2003). Therefore, it is argued that ideological shifts or severe changes on a formal level have a situational affect on individuals’ ways of constructing their residential strategies but they may not change entirely their dispositions in cultural terms of preferences.
In this paper we focus on the construction of relations in the housing field in Estonia by conceptualising the changes along three phases in the field history connected by fundamental disconnections caused by two significant societal transformations last century. Our interest is also to postulate that there are some aspects of housing (physical and aesthetic structures contributing to the construction of meanings and residential identities), which are as essential, but often forgotten or overlooked, as the mainstream housing research emphases (access, affordability and provision). With the legacy from the past experiences on the background we then introduce the analysis of the current phase in the field as perceived by residents concerning especially their housing situation in terms of tenure and actual conditions and their opportunities for pursuing preferable housing by phrasing three simple questions: “what do people have?”, “what do people want to have?” and “what can people have?”. The final task centres around conceptualising formal ideological change and consequent change of structural circumstances linking with agents’ responses to these changes and their constitutive role in this process. In this way we would look for the connections formed between the changing (institutional and individual) strategies and formal ideological shifts in the past and present.
PHASES IN FIELD DEVELOPMENT – BRIEF HISTORY
In this section we make an attempt to briefly summarise the main characteristics of the chronologically presented phases in the Estonian housing history in the 20th century. We will have a special focus on the city of Tallinn as the most mixed of the urban contexts in the country and as the most salient reflection of urban and societal changes.
I FIRST PERIOD OF INDEPENDENCE 1918-1940S
The built form and spatial conditions: *wooden residential buildings dominated in the country and in Tallinn, e. g wooden houses comprised 84.1 per cent of the total stock in 1922 decreasing to 77. 6 percent by 1934 with a total number of dwellings 45 219; (84 per cent in the whole country, 303 958 dwellings). (Rahva demograafiline…, 1924; Eesti arvudes 1920-1935, 1937); *active construction of residential buildings started in the second half of the 1920s and continued in the 1930s with many stone buildings added in the course of the development of the central area of the city; *architecture representing most styles of the time was created increasingly by Estonian architects (earlier architects being of Russian and German origin);
211 *relatively small blocks of flats were a dominating housing type, consisting in the main of 1- and 2- room flats. In the 1930s the share of 3-room flats increased: the average number of rooms per flat was 2.5 by 1934 (Eesti arvudes 1920-1935, 1937); *the average floor space per capita before the WW II was 13.8 m2 and the privacy indicator improved from 1.6 in 1922 to 1.3 by 1934 (Eesti arvudes 1920-1935, 1937); *living standard became higher and housing construction became more of a focus of careful and integrated (local government, property developers, engineering, construction and maintenance companies) urban planning (Loman, 1938); special institutional measures were taken to control the building quality (Building Loans Committee; Kalm, 2001).
Tenure structure and relations: *private rental housing dominated in the city: 91 per cent of housing constructed in 1918- 1930 was in private ownership (Tallinna linna statistiline…, 1931); *municipal share of housing ownership increased a few percents in 1930s, new buildings (in the central area especially) were designed with great care and were increasingly of higher quality; *renting was a norm also for the middle classes; *co-operative construction activities emerged in 1920s and then again at the end of the 1930s (when the national loan programmes were introduced); *the movement ‘own hearth’ (Kalm, 2001; like ‘own home’ in Finland and Sweden, Ruonavaara, 1995) motivated housing improvement activities of individuals and strengthened ‘home ideology’ associated with privacy and homeownership.
Residential culture (Paadam, 2003): *was based on a shared understanding that owners take care of property (daily maintenance, management and repairs) and residents respect the rules set by the owner and existing legislation; *such an order was to a considerable extent negotiated in a way which satisfied both parties as residents largely strived to secure a sense of home not only by acquisition of secure tenure status but also by agreeing ways of behaviour in order to secure their sense of home in every sense of their residence.
212 II SOVIET OCCUPATION – 1940S – 1991
The built form and spatial conditions: *war time damages and in-flow of the Soviet immigrants caused a serious housing deficit. The housing deficit, especially for quality housing, lasted until the end of the period in the late 1980s; *the construction under the first years of occupation was characterised by the building of relatively small stone blocks; * a number of pre-war projects were completed, thus, the first post-war architectural contributions did not differ much from the pre-war design; *the impact of the Stalinist architecture could be defined as relatively liberal in Estonia, however, the Russian impact was clearly seen from the 1950s onwards on some sites (Kalm, 2001); * construction of large-scale housing started together with an extensive development of the building industries in the 1960s and flourished until the end of the 1980s; *relatively large blocks stand in the central sites of even the rural centres and the city of Tallinn grew towards suburban areas, next to the earlier created detached family housing districts; *family housing construction was not promoted but allowed to a limited extent to mitigate the deficit. Design and size, in particular, was highly controlled and standardised; *the dominating type of flats consisted of two rooms (40 per cent). The number of 3-room flats grew in the 1980s (Social trends 2, 2001). Bigger flats of more than 3 rooms made up about one tenth of all the types (Tallinn arvudes 2001, 2002); *the average floor space per capita followed the dynamics: 1945 – 9.3 m2, 1955 – 9.1 m2, 1960 – 10.8 m2, 1985 – 18.1 m2, end of 1980s – 21 m2 (Bruns, 1993); * the privacy index for Tallinn housing was 2.1 in the years 1945-1960 and made a slow improvement up to 1.1 by the end of the 1990s (Arengukava 2001-2005, 2000).
Tenure structure and relations: *the main act of the occupation government concerned land and housing property nationalisation. Owners, especially of rental blocks in cities were expropriated of their property, often deported or evicted from their houses or flats occupied by their families and the property distributed to new tenants under the control and order of municipal authorities; *public housing became a dominating tenure type. The share of co-operative and privately owned family houses was small in Tallinn (14 per cent and 10 per cent respectively; Tallinn arvudes 2000, 2001). ‘Ownership’ became a myth in a sense that it could be defined by life- style rather than property ownership (land belonged to the state), however, it became the life- style that people dreamed of;
213 *housing provision was characterised by central distribution principles, implemented by local governments, employing organisations and central government to a limited extent; * ‘egalitarian housing distribution’ was another myth of the time: higher status in the Soviet social hierarchy guaranteed choice of housing in all its dimensions on a larger scale; *housing costs were low for the sector and was highly secured by public funding.
Residential culture (Paadam, 2003): *was defined by the new official ideology of shared collective living, however, this never really accepted by individuals possessing a different experience from the pre-occupation period. These dispositions were passed over to the next generation; *residential blocks were maintained and repaired by institutional owners; residents had no role or responsibility in these activities, except for co-operative blocks. As a result these buildings had and maintained a higher quality compared to the public blocks; *older residential blocks from the pre-war period were gradually degrading as the central and local governments’ investments were channelled into the construction of new pre-fabricated blocks; *shortly after the war there were still shared understandings of a desired residential culture; the more established the Soviet socialist relations in the field became the more radically different became the residents’ mentality, characterised by carelessness towards all scales of a residence beyond the boundaries of a flat. However, flats became the only secure and private place for creating a sense of home; *the image of a ‘happy collective way of Soviet ways of living’ had, undoubtedly, a negative effect on the previously existing dispositions of, especially, the native residents with very distinct understandings of residence and home.
III REGAINED INDEPENDENCE - 1991
The built form and spatial conditions: *at the beginning of the regained independence up to more or less the present, the existing housing fund consisted of the residential buildings inherited from the previous period. In Tallinn, in particular, large-scale housing with standardised design from different periods dominates (see Figure 1);
214 Figure 1. Households in different types of dwellings, 2003 Source: Statistical Office of Estonia. Note: detached housing includes terraced houses and semi-detached houses. Blocks of flats consist of at least three separate flats.
*there are, nevertheless, particularly attractive areas, which have become subject to gentrification: the Old Town, central districts of high quality historical architecture, and other relatively central wooden areas; *since a significant part of the old residential buildings belong to the heritage fund the gentrified areas have become vulnerable to unprofessional and ignorant renovation-restoration activities (Paadam, 2003); *The Heritage Board members are active but as an institution underfinanced. Also, the legislation is weak in respect of sanctions against violations (Changing neighbourhoods in Tallinn…, 2002); *the construction of residential blocks virtually ceased for the first years of independence due to the re-structuring of all activities in all fields in society as well as agents’ re-positioning in the social space. In 2004, the yearly share of new construction or thoroughly rebuilt housing was 3% of the existing total stock (Statistical Office of Estonia). *new construction market began to target primarily the affluent clients – the “nouveau riche” – at the beginning of the restoration of capitalist relations; from 2003-2004 onwards the real estate market was booming in parallel with the housing loan market, as a result of which a number of new ‘property villages’ have emerged in the suburban areas or outside Tallinn; *from the end of the 1990s some programmes were introduced to promote purchase of housing particularly facilitating the entry into the housing market of young families, professionals and tenants in the restituted housing, e. g. in the form of income tax incentives (concerned only with housing loan interests) and additional housing loan guarantees to reduce the amount of down-payment; *the latest trend, which is part of the new city planning is the newly built central high-rise blocks for affluent young clients. *the privacy index for Tallinn housing was 1.1 in 2000 and has not changed since, whereas the floor space of 22.9 m2 per capita (Population Census 2000) has increased to 26 m2 in 2005 (Statistical Office of Estonia).
Tenure structure and relations: *the first and most important act paving the way for the restructuring of housing relations was denationalisation of property - restitution of expropriated land and housing property and privatisation of the state, municipal and company housing by the sitting tenants; *massive acquisition of homeownership has resulted in an even higher percentage of private housing in the total fund than in the pre-war time;
215 *a straightforward outcome of restitution may be considered the restoration of the private rental sector of housing; *denationalisation has caused three types of problems: (1) concerning tenants in the restituted housing – unequal opportunities for obtaining ownership of housing, (2) privatisation in haste – low income groups are in difficulties maintaining their homeowner status, pointing up the need for social policy measures, (3) almost full-scale privatisation left no resources managing the public needs for social and municipal housing – the need for new residential buildings; *while at the beginning of the 1990s the housing costs made up 2-3 per cent of household expenditures, by the end of the 1990s they already made up 19 per cent on average (Social Trends 2, 2001), with a slight decrease to 16% in 2003 (Leibkonna elujärg 2004); *there is no housing deficit in the country as a whole, but some in Tallinn. However, the deficit of quality is overwhelming; *access to the housing market is difficult for new (e. g. young people) and non-affluent groups. At the same time the situation in financial markets has been favourable during last years - lower interest rates (3.3-3.5%) offered by banks have enlarged the circle of eligible households considerably. The current loan market shows a tendency of getting overheated, which should alert us about the future increase of risk (e.g. in case of unemployment, health problems etc); *maintenance responsibility has passed over in full to individual owners. In order to manage property flat owners are bound by legislation to found flat-owners associations (governors assigned in houses with no association by maintenance companies having provided service earlier); *maintenance services are marketed at a high competition level – owners of housing, flat owners’ associations especially, are increasingly becoming experts on service quality.
Residential culture (Paadam, 2003): *can be contradictory by nature: dispositions towards restoring caring behaviour on all scales of residence are confronted by habits obtained in the previous system; *individualisation of residential strategies having focused on immediate living space needs to be balanced with collective actions on all scales of residence and in all types of housing; *emergence of ‘gated communities’ can be seen in newly constructed detached family housing areas; *’home ideology’ (Ruonavaara, 1995) is highly promoted in a neo-liberal political context; it is the meaning of home which is sold at the market (Dovey, 1999) rather than housing (observation of new advertising culture).
216 What people have, want to have and can have – some evidence from recent housing studies
Having reviewed the structural changes through three different societal contexts we continue to focus on individual actors’ current perceptions of housing, their preferences and opportunities for moving housing in search for more favourable conditions. Our overview is based on research data concerning the city of Tallinn originating from several recent quantitative and qualitative studies conducted by research groups such as (1) the unit of sociology, TTU (1999), (2) the department of family sociology, IISS, TPU (2003), and (3) the inter-university research group set up for EU NEHOM project (2002) . If not stated otherwise, our discussion is based on the studies from 1999 and 2003, which, in general, have shown similar tendencies. At first, we will comment briefly on the formation of the current tenure structure and the social characteristics of residents in different types of owner occupied and rental housing. In Tallinn (and in Estonia) 96 per cent of housing is in private ownership and 4 per cent belongs to the public housing fund with 80 per cent of all households living in owner- occupied housing. Ownership of this housing property has been achieved in various ways: 50 per cent of all households are former sitting tenants having privatised their flats at considerable discount prices within the special schemes launched for privatisation of the public housing in the 1990s; 20 per cent of all households have bought their present flats at the market and 11 per cent are owners of either inherited or purchased single-family houses (IISS, 2003). House owners having acquired their houses during the Soviet system had to privatise land in order to secure their property ownership. Homeowners are divided into two different groups of house-owners and flat-owners. The small group of house-owners (11 per cent) have historically consisted mainly of Estonians residing in houses built before the WWII, during the 1950s-1970s at times of great public housing deficit; however, the number of wealthy Russian house buyers among them has been gradually growing especially in property developments in new locations. House- owners are a diverse group in terms of the value of their property as well as their economic capacity to act in modern circumstances. The share of better-off households (monthly net income above 5000 EEK per a household member) among them has been increasing due to new house purchasers and was twice as large as the average for the Tallinn population in 2003. Flat-owners are in the majority the former sitting tenants of blocks of flats in large-scale housing areas constructed between 1960s and 1980s. Forming a particularly heterogeneous group in terms of their demographic characteristics as well as their economic, social and cultural capacities, they can also be distinguished by ways they became owners of housing property. The group of flat owners consists to a larger extent of “privatisers” representing well above average groups of non-Estonians, elderly, and less solvent residents in the city. The ‘buyers’ form a group similar to new tenants in the private rental sector who are, in general, younger and better off residents. Despite homeownership having become a normalized housing behaviour, this widely accepted rule has not been followed in all individual residential strategies, either voluntarily or non- voluntarily.
217 Thus tenants also represent a heterogeneous group of residents in different types of the relatively marginal rental sector. As concerning the private rental sector there are two groups of tenants disposed to similar current strategies but with distinct capacities and motivational bases: (1) younger single people or cohabiting couples with relatively good monthly income having moved to Tallinn from other parts of the country who prefer renting at this phase of their life as they are not yet willing to settle down or have not enough capital to invest in the purchase of their own housing, which is, nevertheless, their future intention; (2) relatively older and/or with less economic capital, the tenants forced into their current tenure situation due to property restitution and their non-eligibility to privatise that housing as former sitting tenants of the then public housing who have not been able to change their housing situation for different reasons. Nevertheless, purchase of housing property in the market is particularly unaffordable for this group. The tenants in municipal housing make up the smallest group - 3 per cent -. There is, no doubt, an increasing demand for the enlargement of this sector for the clientele from both the restituted section of the private rental housing as well as the owner- occupied sector of housing. How do residents with experience of different tenure status perceive their housing situation today? It is not a surprise, especially when the massive change of tenure structure is concerned, that the highest satisfaction today can be found among house-owners (90 per cent satisfied) and the lowest among tenants (60 per cent). The share of the satisfied residents among flat-owners is 76 per cent. While house-owners value most the privacy in their residence as well as their peaceful, quiet and pleasant neighbourhood, the flat-owners are most satisfied with comforts in their flat. The two groups together with tenants are satisfied with easy accessibility of their housing location. During the four years between two surveys (TTU and IISS, 1999-2004), the satisfaction with housing costs, which are considered fairly reasonable, and good condition of their residential buildings has risen significantly among the Tallinn flat-owners and tenants. This may signal positive developments in the housing sector, where gradual improvements of physical and technical condition of buildings have enabled residents to economize housing costs and enjoy higher comfort. This observation is particularly sound in respect of blocks where residents have founded flat owners’ associations (Changing neighbourhoods…, 2002). However, compared to other tenure groups, tenants form a more diverse group in terms of satisfaction levels. It is argued that their relatively lower satisfaction with current circumstances has been affected by their earlier housing path and changes in tenure relations. Tenants in restituted housing, whose current ambivalent status has not particularly been in their own hands but was designed by the ownership reform, are considerably less satisfied with their current status compared to the ‘voluntary’ tenants in the private rental sector, having been able to make a choice and construct their current housing strategy in accordance with their capacities, high or low. As the most dissatisfied group the tenants have the highest potential for moving housing: half of them are planning to move within the next five years. It is considered that the higher potential of tenants’ housing mobility is related to the temporality of their current housing situation as it is believed to be a phase before moving on to ‘one’s own home’ (NEHOM 2002, TTU 1999). Nevertheless, also, the general rate of potential ‘movers’ has increased two times during the last decade in all tenure groups (see figure 2).
218 Figure 2. Residents’ intentions to move housing within the next five years Source: IISS 1993, IISS 2003, TTU 1999 The growing numbers of potential movers is supposed to reflect the widened scale of options available for individual actors at the property market together with the development of financial institutions and more favourable long-term housing loan conditions emerging in parallel with the gradually raising incomes and living standard. The ‘push’ factors which trigger moving are connected with insufficient quality of housing, or its unsuitability for the household’s needs (i.e. shortage of space, inconvenient interior planning of a flat etc), or unpleasant neighbourhoods (poor natural and aesthetic environment, as well as dislike of other residents of very different views on residential culture and behaviour) and appear the same for all ‘movers’. The residential districts targeted by potential movers are primarily those of new housing developments, either of single-family houses or blocks, as well as prestigious established districts of detached housing, Old Town and central areas. The latter concentrate residential architecture of high cultural as well as symbolic value with strong reference to the residential culture characteristic of the pre-occupation period before the 1940s. The areas of small-size, often wooden blocks with semi-private gardens, which are located close to the centre have become popular moving destinations for younger middle-class families. On the total scale of preferences the above housing types and locations dominate as a clear contrast to the Soviet-type large-scale blocks and their mixed compositions of residents. Housing preferences and the potential of moving housing are mostly related to the search of a place to create a home, where images of an ideal home are essential. All housing studies in Tallinn and Estonia have shown that ‘a house of one’s own’ – a single- family house – is a dominating image. Different studies indicate that 55-60 per cent of potential movers cannot actually make that choice, mainly for the lack of economic resources (the average monthly net income per household member was in 2003 in Tallinn 3470.- EEK; 2788.- in Estonia) . In 2003, individuals made 46972 real estate transactions (16 per cent more than during previous year, data for Estonia) with an average value of 418 000 EEK. (Arco Vara 2004). Lack of finances and inability to get a housing loan is also defining the housing path for residents in the rental sector. In addition to these economic constraints, one third of the tenants have complained (2003) that their housing choices are constrained by a limited variety of available good quality housing at the rental market. One of the most significant factors distinguishing between people’s economic capacity from the beginning of the ownership reform has been their positioning in the market after the denationalisation of housing property: they either became owners of restituted or privatised property of distinct market value or did not became property owners after all if they were situated as tenants in restituted housing or in public housing not subjected to privatisation. However, the realisation of preferences in actual residential strategies depends on individuals’ and families’ capacities, which have been obtained in the conditions of previous social systems of capitalist and socialist nature of relations (respectively before the 1940s and until 1991) and newly established structural circumstances, which intersect with unique personal experiences. Hence, individuals’ and families’ capacities appear as differentiated equally in terms of their economic status as well as their social and cultural dispositions.
219 Connecting ideological shifts with field formation in housing
The modern formation of housing relations in Estonia can be best observed in the study of three phases in the history of its social systems, two of which are shaped by capitalist relations and one, the intermediary phase, by social relations formed under state socialism. Hence, the phases of the development of the field are disconnected by fundamental structural transformations closely bound to radical ideological shifts in the understanding of the social relations in a society. The consequences of breaks or disconnections between the two phases in capitalist relations can, in our view, be analysed only through the dialectics of disconnections-connections between all three phases in the development of relations in the housing field. It is of particular interest in this context how the change of dominant ideological discourse at each of the societal ruptures relates to the restructuring of the relations between institutional and individual actors and, hence, the making of residential culture. A number of authors have emphasised the time factor in this process. This implies that the emergence of a dominant ideology and (re)shaping of social institutions can be understood only over an extended period of time (Kemeny, 1992: 95).
Having introduced in this paper the basic characteristics of the field of housing before WW11, during the Soviet system, and in the current situation in terms of the changes of the built forms and spatial conditions of residences, tenure structure and its relational aspects as well as the perception of residential culture, we contend that all different previous experiences have contributed to the formation of modern preferences of residents. The latter are quite differentiated due to distinct earlier experiences both on personal and collective levels and the previous as well as current conditions which have defined the structural boundaries for the realisation of individual aspirations in the field. However, it is considered that structural conditions, especially the social relations in the Soviet system and economic constraints in the current system cannot be viewed as the sole factors determining the formation of individuals’ preferences. As has been said earlier in this paper, the multi-fold cultural experiences are a strong driving force shaping the relatively persistent cultural dispositions of distinct groups. Therefore the ideological shifts changing the structural context of field relations may either be strongly opposed by individuals, particularly in respect of the myths of ideal residential culture, or supported by them in actual strategies of residents in respect of their consistency with recognised values. The current preferences in the housing field which predominantly centre around the detached housing ideal as opposed to the overwhelming experience of residing in large public blocks in the ideological context of the previous system signify that there has been no convergent shifts between formal ideology and the cultural dispositions of individuals, especially among those with alternative immediate or communicated experiences on a family level. And last but not least, these alternatives have been maintained, although on a low level in quantitative terms due to a symbolic affect of residential buildings of distinct form, aesthetics and age having existed in parallel to the dominant physical structures symbolising different ideology and thus the quality of life.
220 REFERENCES
Arengukava 2003-2009 (2002). www.tallinn.ee/est/linna_juhtimine/juhtimise_lahtekohad/arengukavad_ja_strateegiad/arengu kava_2003_-_2009 Bourdieu, P. (1999a/1972) Outline of the Theory of Practice, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Bourdieu, P. (1994) In Other Words. Essays Towards a Reflexive Sociology, Polity Press, Cambridge. Bourdieu, P. (1998) Practical Reason. On the Theory of Action, Polity Press, Cambridge. Bruns, D. (1993) Tallinn. Linnaehituslik kujunemine, Valgus, Tallinn. Changing Neighbourhoods in Tallinn: Mustamäe, Kalamaja, Kadriorg (2002) Paadam. K. (ed) Tallinn: TTU Press. Dovey, K. (1999) Framing Places. Mediating Power in Built Environment. London: Routledge. Eesti arvudes 1920-1935 (1937), Eesti Statistika Keskbüroo, Tallinn. Foucault, M. (1972) The Archaeology of Knowledge. London: Tavistock Publications. Giddens, A. (1997/1984) The Constitution of Society. Cambridge: Polity Press. Gurney, G.M. (1999b) Pride and Prejudice: Discourses of Normalisation in Public and Private Accounts of Home Ownership. Housing Studies, 14: 163-183. Jacobs, K. (1999) The Dynamics of Local Housing Policy. A Study of Council Housing Renewal in the London Borough of Hackney. Aldershot: Ashgate. Kalm, M. (2001) Eesti 20.sajandi arhitektuur. Estonian 20th century architecture, Prisma Prindi Kirjastus, Tallinn. Kemeny, J. (1992) Housing and Social Theory. London: Routledge. Kemeny, J. (1995) From Public Housing to the Social Market. Rental policy strategies in comparative perspective. London: Routledge. Leibkonna elujärg (2004) Tallinn: Statistical Office of Estonia Loman (1938) Uus Kopli. In: Varamu. 2., pp. 725-736 Overview of the Estonian property market. 1st half of 2004. (2004). Arco Vara Real Estate Company. http://www.arcovara.ee/vfs/48/Eesti%20kinnisvaraturu%20ylevaade% 202004%201pa_ENG.pdf Paadam, K. (2003) Constructing Residence as Home: Homeowners and their Housing Histories. TPU Dissertations on Social Sciences. Tallinn: TPU Press.
221 Rahva demograafiline koosseis ja korteriolud Eestis. 1922.a. Üldrahvalugemise andmed. Vihk 1 (1924), Riigi Statistika Keskbüroo, Tallinn. Ruonavaara, H. (1995) “Housing Discourse and Detached House Ownership in Early 20th Century Finland”, pp. 261-276 in J. Allen, I. Ambrose and S. Brink (eds.) Making Them Meet. Policy. Design. Management. Satisfaction, CIB Publication-176, SBI, Hørsholm. Ruonavaara, H. (1996b) “The Home Ideology and Housing Discourse in Finland 1900-1950”, Housing Studies, Vol. 11, No 1, 89-104 Rowlands, R. and Gurney, C. M. (2000) “Young People’s Perceptions of Housing Tenure: A Case Study in the Socialization of Tenure Prejudice”, Housing, Theory and Society Vol.17, No. 3, 121-130 Statistical Office of Estonia, http://pub.stat.ee/px-web.2001/dialog/statfilere.asp, 01.10.2004 Social Trends 2 (2001), Statistical Office of Estonia, Tallinn. Tallinn arvudes 2001 (2002), Tallinna Linnavalitsus, Tallinn. Tallinna linna statistiline aastaraamat. VII Aastakäik (1931), Linna Statistikabüroo väljaanne, Tallinn, pp. 80-99 Touraine, A. (1988) Return of the Actor. Social Theory in Postindustrial Society. Minnesota: Minneapolis University of Minnesota Press.
222 KEVIN GILLIAM AND BARRY HILLS
THE COMMODIFICATION AND SELLING OF ‘COMMUNITY’ IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Even the most diffident peruser of recent housing literature cannot help noticing that ‘social exclusion’ is in danger of becoming yesterday’s slogan. ‘Community’ as a focus has now made a comeback and has moved steadily through housing consciousness as panacea, then tourism and now piety.
The imprimatur was not long in coming:
“At the heart of my beliefs is the idea of community. I don’t just mean the local villages, towns and cities in which we live. I mean that our fulfillment as individuals lies in a decent society of others………….the renewal of community is the answer to the challenges of the world”. (Tony Blair)1
Few would want to argue as such with the sentiment even if vaguely and piously put, but what is incumbent on professionals is to request the inevitable clarification. What exactly is ‘community’ that leads to this ‘decent society’ and is it equally effective for all social groups?
“ ‘community’ – a word which continues to resonate through our everyday lives, a totem of how we would like our lives to be………The notion of community therefore retains an enduring appeal, even though it becomes a somewhat empty vessel into which we can pour our images of the Good Life. Who does not wish to live in a ‘community’?”2
The complex variety of structures; geographical, territorial and residential; social characteristics; shared interests; ‘spirit’ of community, community ‘sentiments’, or even shared dependency that can lead to a meaning of ‘community’ have been noted by many writers on the subject3 leading some to suggest that it is easier to define by omissions from the social scene rather than the often conflicting structural perspectives that are linked to varying degrees in different sub-cultures at different times in different circumstances!4
223 This has not prevented Governments sticking to what is simple and simplistic. A ‘Communities Plan’ launched with hyperbole to cover much of England has already drawn criticism from almost every professional body concerned with housing for its obsessive and uni-dimensional emphasis on building, building density and lack of attention to amenities5 even drawing attack from the relevant department’s own Governmental committee!6 It is not just a question of 200,000 new dwellings artificially located actually destructing amenities such as community centres, play spaces, libraries etc but also the realization that even well meant emphasis on ‘affordable’ homes do not, especially in rural areas, automatically mean or lead to or facilitate ‘community’7 any more than ‘decent’ homes (a new standard of measure in itself causing debate) means ‘decent’ communities.8 Interesting Governance in the more rural and deprived areas of Wales and Scotland have rejected this uni-dimensional approach decisively.9
Even HUD – the US Department of Housing and Urban Development with its primary focus on urban neighborhoods prefers talk of neighborhood goals, sustainable improvement and renewal with long term improvement to communities being “not just a matter of providing better homes or more jobs”10 The main professional body, the CIH not only agrees in the context of Western society but also as a guiding principle in the wholly different circumstances of less developed areas.11
With this emphasis on the vast amount of social and economic variables relevant to the structure of the problem let alone any answers, ‘cracks’ in the simplistic unanimity of merely involving community as a panacea, are well developed. Of course this in itself varies from the astonishing standard of, say, measuring development by how many McDonalds have been established(!)12 to the feminist and post-structuralist critiques based on potential aggressive effects of some conceptions of community on non-establishment or dominant social groups.13
Of course, the inevitable establishment stand-by of ‘communication difficulties’ can be wheeled in to explain the different perspectives.
“Hence the constant tendency in power groups’ terminology, Government White Papers, interminable speeches by the powerful to housing conference ………… emphasizing communication or amongst those who would be having ‘communication difficulties’. How convenient this would be. No real, raw clashes of conflict in society forcing us to confront painful possibilities of accommodating the needy, the powerless, the poor, the different by challenges to the economic and financial structure of society’s housing policies. Everything reduces to ‘misunderstandings’ which of course can be rectified, in due course, by improvements in communication. Real divides of interest or alienation or non-establishment perspectives are institutionalized away”14
224 So, as community as an undifferentiated concept slips away there is a compulsion on those who wish to use it politically to bolster it up. So how? In a time honoured way of the market: by branding.
Firstly, economists have noted that the problem of changing or complex perceptions of entities can be met by branding as a basic ‘repair’ to market fickleness. Heartfield in his study of brands has even compared the swift changing market to the Heraclitusion river (“One cannot step twice into the same river, for the water which you first stepped has flown on”15) but this intellectual debate and its complexity in the case of community has by-passed the consciousness of most Government figures who maintain on the whole that “the intellectual debate around the problematic nature of the ideal of community are therefore particularly important in refuting the simple minded political communitarianism of public figures like Tony Blair”16 A fair enough statement bearing in mind it is still possible to find the clichés ‘vibrant’, ‘sustainable’, living communities’, ‘urban renaissance’ and ‘aspirations’ in one sentence in common enough writings in housing circles.17
Virgin Chief Executive, Richard Branson, has defined branding as “creating a mutually acknowledged relationship between supplier and buyer that transcends isolated transactions”.18 This does enable us to see our various ‘transactions’ in the housing world at least in Britain – such as the removal of social housing via the ALMO (Arm’s Length Management Organization), Private Finance initiatives or buy outs by Housing Associations, housing ‘community’ (sometimes overtly cynically in the case of tenants’ votes) as a common catalyst - in effect an attempt at branding. And further, this is not just in the aforementioned scenarios; “Third Way’ incantations or, for example the Government pushed choice-based lettings schemes have cynically involved the ‘community’ brand even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.19 Again, interestingly, the Celtic Fringe have noticed this branding ploy’s negative simplicity and increasingly non-establishment orientated political parties have complained of it’s ideological and forcefulness and even its danger to local democracy.20
Secondly, branding is an attempt, as Heartfield points out, to avoid diminishing returns. Branding “raised the threshold to market entry at the cost of rivals”.21 The over-use of ‘community’ in this context could be seen as an attempt to establish a position over the ‘rivals’ say, resource redistribution; and, sure enough, this has been realized only too clearly by some.
“regeneration projects are not enough to solve the problem…….(and can)……never replace a root and branch redistribution of wealth in the country…….What we are still experiencing in Britain is a social and economic war against the poor and that is how people have been excluded in the first place…..”22
Another ‘rival’ could be meaningful transfer of power downwards and again the ‘community’ brand pedaled so anxiously by the establishment mysteriously excluded this possibility
225 preferring to embed the ‘community’ brand in structural dimensions institutionalizing interests and structures of power.23 Loyally, the establishment figures reach for disempowering clichés even when addressing themselves to ‘sustainable communities’: “…The public sector should be facilitating. The private sector should be delivering.”24
Thirdly, branding can be seen as a defensive denial of the contingency of market relations. Community is part of the advertising deal – a selling device warding off competition and it is in this vein that we can see the Government backed Egan Report on Skills for Sustainable Communities as a major recommendation prioritizing a National Centre, developing ‘generic skills’ including ‘leadership’ and ‘communication’. Community is not seen as empowerment but as being adequately ‘led’ by ‘communicators’.25 This use of community as advert has been used to justify exaggerated claims for miraculous community activity as a result of self- build26 and even more surprisingly, the rise of gated communities.27 When ‘community’ is invested as a by-product of increased tenants’ access to bank accounts28 it is clear that the advertising brand-element of community is paramount to a point where false consciousness seems an understatement.
Fourthly, there is branding as magical incantation – the belief in the magical properties of the brand. In market terms the product is tangible and the brand an abstraction, but for ‘community’ as a brand that is an advantage. As an urgent add-on to establishment pushes it help the sell: “crisis sells well” points out Umberto Eco.29 Focusing only on the more easily convenient ‘raw materials’ for community (buildings, space, space configuration) the virtual- community can be invoked and, of course, misunderstood even in real form as pathology of community is inferred from pathology of space and use of space.30 Ironically, for all the talk about the solid foundations of Western social democracy, the properly understood Islamic concepts of siyasa and shari’a when applied to politics obviate this deliberate confusion and magic.31
The fifth role of branding is of course as fetish. This is one of the more obvious of community’s role as a brand. Concepts originally seen as self-evidently good, but perhaps now attracting criticism, such as mixed tenure are reinforced by ‘community’32 and initiatives attracting mixed reactions (eg Home Improvement Poets) again have ‘community’ dragged in as emergency reinforcements.33 even the frankly unpopular (with housing professionals, consultants, local government, developers, planners and housing academics) such as the flawed and ill thought out efficiency indices that are almost certainly inimical to community development, still have ‘community’ as a fetish concept dragged artificially in as insurance.34 As a sort of sideline to a sociology of sociology the community as place fetish in itself has the brand shared into it – a point noted by feminist writers less than certain that it always reflects every perspective!35
A sixth element of brands is as the confuser of discrete elements, subsuming discrete commodities under one brand name-community in this case becomes attached to concepts whose value originates in large part from the brand. And, as with the market it is an excellent
226 device for ignoring types or complications n structure/background/history/power as the ‘brand’ attempts to subsume them all.
In this case any typology of community disappears. As others have pointed our communities are not always automatically caring, sharing, warm and cosy. They can be reactionary constructs, they can be oppressive constructs. Again, it is the feminist movement that has highlighted this.36 Poverty and despair can cut both ways in terms of community and notwithstanding the upbeat selling of self-build, gated communities etc mentioned earlier, deprivation can either facilitate or destruct community ethos depending on a variety of other social, cultural and historical factors.37 Even the demographics comparative or changing affect types of community and involvement and demands.38 The sixth element of branding has an ethnocentric dimension also that highlights its subsuming role. In the less developed world ironically community is seen in just those terms as resisting this monolithic line, with the inhabitants tending to define community as “the capacity……..to create, reproduce, change and live according to their own meaning systems, the powers effectively to define themselves as opposed to being defined by others”39 This desire has led to the theory of ‘glocalization’ – the amalgam of hybridization, heterogeruzation and credization.40
Seventh, there is branding as tamer of unpredictability. The Loyalty Card element. And, like some loyalty cards there is now a segmentation. A sort of bronze/silver/gold loyalty benefits. In the housing field in Britain this is in effect represented by the ALMO, Private Finance ‘initiative’ (sic), and sell-outs to housing associations.
Unfortunately rejection of any of these limiting ‘options’ carries no rights! This has caused disquiet even in establishment political circles where it is categorized as nothing less than bullying.41 Voting procedures have involved every traditional limitation available (little notice of ballot, lack of information, mysteriously missing voters, biased questions, pro- establishment information sent out with ballots, manipulation of media etc) with the final shocking disgrace of an official auditor announcing that much of the procedure was “unlawful” but that he had “decided not to continue proceedings”!42 As if that isn’t enough, tenants still not showing the right ‘loyalty’ to the establishment chosen community brand are now threatened with exclusion from decent homes standards (from a Government forever trumpeting their ‘social exclusion’ commitment). The inevitable apologist has now decided that “…(councils)…have a responsibility to weigh up carefully whether to accept the results of a tenants’ ballot…” and a team of Government “experts”(!) are now worried beyond scrutiny because current tenancy rights give tenants “effective property rights” and therefore need reform(!) notwithstanding the not unreasonable objection of housing professionals that these very rights “produce a secure environment which helps foster sustainable communities”43 However in a world where it can be seriously argued that ballots “run the risk that they might reject – (the options)…” and where tenants playing the ‘right’ role might be financially rewarded44 it is hard to resist the interpretation of loyalty card branding (with electric cattle prods).
227 An eighth role of branding is as mission statement/life-style. The contribution in market terms, of the workforce, is to act as expressions of the brand. In terms of community as a brand it is the tacit understanding of what is expected of the community. This can be banal as when the Community Housing Task Force suggests ‘leadership’ whatever this means (it certainly does not mean radical, demanding, anti-establishment, accountable leadership!) as the key role in community45: or unconsciously ideological in terms of vacuous prioritizing of ‘cohesion’ (round what? a radical, left wing agenda?)46, or manipulative as in the case of ‘empowering’ BME communities in terms of reaching “hard to reach” (ie non-establishment orientated) groups.47 Even the seemingly spontaneous community expression (eg festivals or suchlike) can have a sponsored/promoted agenda reinforcing ‘official’ perspectives of community.48
The ninth element of brand is as ‘Added value’. Community, as a brand, adds value. This can be cynical as a thrown in word or realistic as a livable concept. It is not the same as Social Capital which, despite its critics, has added dimension to the debates within urban sociology.49 The branding of community in this ninth sense is akin more to the concept of ‘profit upon alienation’. It’s assumption of buildingism – building estates, houses, homes and ‘adding in’ community does not go unchallenged, not least by adherents of sustainable placemaking50 but as simplistic attraction can lead to wholly deleterious results and it deserves treatment at length.
In this ninth element and in property terms branding can be seen as a much more recent concept and is associated with the long, slow rise in home ownership manifesting itself in Estate Agent’s descriptives and the widely used jargon in house buying and marketing.
Community in this case has a different history but is nowadays beginning to appear in property advertising, although it has a larger history in fact associated by pre-industrial and early industrial settlement patterns. More recently (ie in the 20th century) the term became closely associated with social housing and initiatives associated with Town Planning and ‘solutions’ to social problems.
Branding has always been around in terms of community accepted descriptors of property. Purchasers understand generally what is meant by ‘Detached’, ‘Terraced’, ‘Cottage’ etc, these being joined now by ‘flat’, ‘Apartment’, ‘Mews House’, ‘Town House’ etc and of course, the ‘Executive Home’. Older developments will not usually contain a descriptor of the locality but advertising developments is developing ‘community’ orientated. However, it is the exclusive element of community that is the subtle message to the purchaser.
The historical demand for labour attracted whole new communities and immigrant labour. The mutual support and inter-dependency of those in the community was still the main feature. Those with money lived in status fund ‘Society’ and only in some urban areas did they live in proximity to each other and then in areas that also demonstrated status. Thus the
228 foundations for the concept of community as a social element in housing was well progressed in the mid 19th Century.
The 1914-18 World War destroyed much of the class system, the ‘land fit for heroes’ policy of the 1920’s and the garden city movement all combined to bring about a growth in social housing alongside owner occupation in large suburban areas of single family homes. Improved transport networks and changes in industry started to erode the employer based communities of the industrial age.51
Post 1945 policy and the rise of Town Planning completed the change to a point where community in a housing sense became meaningless. Real communities in industrial centres, ports and railway towns were heavily bombed during the war. Instead of re-building these areas in the 1950’s the answer was to clear the land and move the residents wither to Tower Blocks or sprawling ‘estates’ of single family homes. Communities were broken up and in the parallel private sector huge estates of very similar (but less utilitarian appearance) single family homes were built. The link between employer, housing and community was almost gone. Car ownership, improved roads and new towns made for residential areas where there was no links to origin or employment. The age of the ‘Semi’ had occurred and such houses dominated housing growth in the immediate post war years.
Declining traditional industry, rising unemployment in the larger residential areas and social discontentment in the last part of the 20th Century brought about a re introduction of ‘community’ more as a political concept. People were identifying their value to society, their status and esteem by where they lived, particularly in areas of post 1945 social housing where people felt powerless to effect improvements.52
The 1981 legislation enabling tenants of social housing to buy their homes at a huge discount took many houses out of the social ownership and left residual areas even more deprived. New directly funded Housing Associations built new social housing units on much smaller scales than was common with those built by local government and it was the Housing Association with its inbuilt need for tenant consultation that perhaps led local government Housing Management to seek solutions to the attitudes of exclusion, isolation and helplessness now common in many post war social housing estates by trying to break them down in numbers of units, local offices being opened and attempted to introduce a sense of ‘community’.
By contrast in the private sector community was not seen as inclusive, but exclusive. New developments of ‘executive’ houses, flats became exclusive apartments and these were in newly fashionable areas, often in inner cities close to deprived areas. Part of the deal was security. These new ‘communities’ were behind walls, locked gates and security guards.53
229 These ideas were not uncommon, particularly in the USA where such communities had existed for many years. More recently the rise in golf or retirement communities being a feature imported to some areas of Europe where northern Europeans could live such lives, often in Spain and then ex-pat communities.
In the UK there are now many developments of houses, apartments and some commercial units all using the brand name ‘community’ – usually linked to other descriptors like ‘Rural’, ‘Golf’, ‘Executive’ or ‘Marina’. The idea being that the element in common amongst the residents will bring about a feeling of belonging, therefore some form of added value. In real terms these schemes are a small part of the housing stock but do sell at prices higher than similar properties in the general housing market.54
In Town Planning terms the use of community has changed. Planning gain, benefit to the community being an important element in decision making. Often, however, a small and sometimes real community (in the more traditional sense) is adversely affected or even broken up by planning decisions made for the benefit of the (wider) community.
Development in Rural areas has seen the double influence of planning decisions and building economics combine to have substantial effects on the community. In the first instance these stem from the need to make such rural communities sustainable and land is released for housing development.55 Typical of these cases (and their effect) are the circumstances of two small villages close to small towns.
The first case is a small village in North Wales. Here, land was released for housing, medium cost and hence it attracted people from outside of mid income ranges, nevertheless these had higher incomes than the original farming community. Later new roads and dual carriageway trunk routes came close and made the area accessible to workers in large cities. House prices rose. A new development of ‘affordable homes’ to be built for relatives of the indigenous population was the object of a campaign by the articulate professional incomers who didn’t want ‘their village’ spoiling!
Consequently new, large executive homes (more profit and fewer bigger houses) were built. These were marketed as benefiting from a rural community! The high prices further alienated the original local community who generally had to drift to the towns for work and affordable houses. The village shops closed or changed to non food use (like antiques) and a car dependent village became another suburbia albeit separated from the urban area by open country.
This process has been repeated in other villages.56 The new homes being built in small (30- 40) groups with names like ‘Plovers Rise’, ‘Badgers Fold’, ‘Foxes Cave’ etc, to conjure the image of a rural lifestyle actually long gone. With new roads these developments are bought up by urban people, their image is one of fresh air, country life, entertainment on the village
230 green, mixing with jolly country people in the local inn etc. The newcomers understandably cause the community to diverge, never more so then when the original people speak a different language.57 Nevertheless this image of maybe longing for a life style idealized in film and television that really died out years ago is part of the sales messages that has effectively raised land and property prices in those such communities close to good transport links and new roads.58
A second example can be taken from the very different case of Gloucestershire where small groups of houses on a hillside overlook the town. The local industry was cloth dyeing. As this trade died out so did the village. Roads to and from it were steep, narrow and winding, shops closed and old buildings remained empty.
In the 1960’s permission was granted to develop a small number of new homes and following this several original buildings were restored with grant aid. The local inn became more fashionable and although no new shops opened, the new comers took up much of the rural custom, most of them now thrive. The difference here is that most of the incomers were of rural backgrounds. Some were descendants of villagers and now the village has become a desirable place to live because it is a community, it lives with a village school, post office, lovely church and local inn, all the traditional centres.
This is an exception of course, as many other villages in the locality were re-populated with wealthy retired Londoners and that of course killed off the local school. So the village died. Perhaps ‘community’ or a sense of it becomes a valuable asset to buildings in theory but only exists in reality where there is an attractive, young and employed element that enables it to thrive.
Other policy moves use ‘community’ as a label to make desirable those villages which otherwise may not be. This particularly occurs in the cases of the elderly, the disabled and the less capable people. Usually these groups lived in a close community , often a single building or group of buildings supported by care staff. Shifts in Public Policy in the last twenty years have brought about the modern concept of ‘living in the community’.
To many, this means being removed from a close society and being placed in a single house with very little company, a life of loneliness and isolation. Many do benefit living in modern adapted homes but then having little choice of care or co-habitee. The unlucky ones are kept in their own un-adapted homes and are virtually prisoners there. Community living means available funds are spread more widely, but employ more ? and less carers! It is a very mixed blessing and although many of the homes in which these groups lived were unsatisfactory and well below desired standards of care, the alternative seems little better for many, particularly those who lived in well managed communities.
231 Thus, community is also used to ‘sell’ ideas to bring about change, change that is desirable in theory but often detrimental in practice, only those genuinely within a community (often family and long term friends) really are better off.
Led by the public sector, legislation in the form of a series of Housing Acts from 1980 to 1996 have attempted to make managers of social housing more responsive to tenants needs and opinions. In some areas it seems to be successful but in larger areas of social housing there still remains many problems. Other initiatives by the Government to transfer local government housing to Housing Trusts have also had mixed results with community being low in the perceived benefits.
Those areas where there has been success in making such areas desirable have involved investment, greater democratic control by tenants and a real effort to engender a perception of ‘ownership’ by tenants of their housing management. It is the perception of their location, its ‘community’ that is reflected in the status of the occupier, (“I live in a desirable place, I’m a winner!”) highlighting the link between self esteem, place of residence and community.
Recent legislation (Leasehold Reform & Common Hold Act 2003) now provides much more widespread opportunities in the private sector for occupiers to manage their own multi occupancy units – originally blocks of apartments let on either short or long term leases. This concept of a new type of tenure (common hold) between outright ownership and occupancy by lease has coincided with an increase of new apartment developments in areas where these would not be considered desirable nor traditional.
It may be that these have evolved in urban areas where there is pressure to intensify land use and reduce urban sprawl but these have hither to been common only in larger urban areas. Often these are being advertised in ‘Town Centre Communities’ and are located in areas formerly not noted for housing. In essence they are very small scale copies of the large scale city centre, re-generation schemes that have taken place in many of our large city centres, often around docks, canal basins, warehouses and factories. These communities ?, are relatively exclusive as the costs of ownership or residence is relatively high compared to similar property outside the locality.
Other communities form, or are perceived to form, in a more traditional way. However, these are not communities based on family ties, work or religion as often they were in the 19th Century. They are more likely to be based on race, social standing or even sexual orientation.59 The association of self with there facets carries a premium in the market that produces positive effects on price for those who perceive that they belong to that community.
The market for residential property has never existed as one, it is a myriad of smaller and essentially local markets. They do affect each other but the ‘old’ rules of supply and demand still function. Income and borrowing power limits or enables more purchasing power and the
232 personal issue of perceived status only just comes in on a par with more practical elements like schools and transport/travel time to work etc.
The fabric of a building is always a cost factor but location has its own value that is perceived on the range of factors mentioned above, and they are neither exclusive nor exhaustive, however, it is generally true that people buy the best they can afford within these criteria for a desirable location.
Community or rather the perception of belonging to a group with a certain life style or status attributed to it is now becoming a more modern marketing tool re-enforced by new descriptions. Terraced houses are now mews properties, flats become apartments etc and an inner city life style development means a new block of flats!
Community then is one new criteria applied to purchasers’ decisions on what is desirable to them and a life style connection does appear to be the underlying message. An identity that you are of a status because of where you live! Of it can be said this is misusing the word but this is a semiotic discussion with reference to word use, change and meaning.60
In this instance it means exclusive or specialized localities and is perceived to confer status on residents. Where status conferred is a desirable status it produces an added value or premium to prices paid, although it can have a detrimental effect too.
Effectively only the words have changed, the property markets still operate on value perceived by the buyer based on their own desire for a certain locality. Perhaps we now are seeing a residual desire for older style living, an age gone, a remedy for isolation in a crowded city etc but where Sodamy has recently had its name changed to Rose Arbour View the house prices doubled in a month.
Community like all the other sales’ pitches relies on an individuals perception of ?, and the comment may be that everyone wants community but has forgotten what it really means.
However one spends on housing the effect on other properties is one of substitution. If a purchaser can’t afford what they really want they buy the next best thing so the effect of apartments in any one ‘community’ being raised will also have an effect on apartments close by.
The same knock on effect goes for all localities and prices will vary at different times. It’s a bit like throwing a mixture of stones in a lake, bigger stones representing higher priced
233 property, the ripples sent out cross each other, vary in size and travel various distances. Such is the effect of new ‘life style’ or ‘community’ branding in the property markets of UK.
In times of greater population movements, better communications (entertainment at home) and travel times slashed, the stability of communities and some of the rationale for mixing has also changed. People are more independent or protected by law and often evidence of community is only seen when a sector of the population usually based in locality is threatened eg by planning decisions etc.
The policy of Governance in requiring more ‘brownfield’ development, the cost of land making only high density housing affordable means that such high density areas need to be seen as desirable and that generally will produce a lack of exclusivity ie if everyone lives in a community where is the added value? But then, community, in reality, has always been exclusive and maybe our ‘folk lore’ memories are based on ideals rather than fact.61 The new legislation empowering residents to manage their community, whether it be a few apartments or a large scale development, recognizes the need to develop a necessity for some form of inter-personal activity where there would be none.
Community developments whilst in fashion comes at a price beyond added value. Rarely do the residents own their property outright but have a lesser form of tenure and pay a service charge annually to their management service operator. Their resident association elects a committee to oversee the maintenance of common areas over the structure. This alone creates inter-personal activity and money/costs can act as much a motivator in these circumstances as any other common denominator amongst local residents.
To many people used to apartment living over shops in town centres who use public open space, eat out and seek local recreation the controversy in smaller UK towns must seem very odd. Most European towns, even small ones have ? ? developments in tower blocks or in town centre apartments.
A return to medium rise high density living may also be ? by wider travel, balconies and private external space are now appearing in many such UK developments and leisure was included at ground level. We still have a long way to go in terms of construction materials, use of adequate sound insulation and maintenance provision before the skeptics will find such community living desirable.
Self esteem income, home address, prestige etc are still linked by the common factors of wealth and affordability. Community is a re-invention to add value but it is just as exclusive a concept as ever despite the public policy of using it as a means of inclusion and even in the public sector, for many community still means exclusive by default. Like all brands, its great to own it, but it doesn’t always mean quality, and it comes at a price.
234 REFERENCES
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235 13. L.Rees op.cit 14. K.Gilliam & B.Hills, Special Needs Housing: Conflicts and Divergent Perspectives in A.Jaffe et al (Ed) Satisfactory Housing and Housing Satisfaction Tallinn (CIB) 1998 pp81-95 15. Heraclitus On Nature (Fragment 21) c500BC G.S.Kirk, Heraclitus. The Cosmic Fragments 1954 J.Heartfield, Branding Over the Cracks, Critique Vol 35 2004. pp31-64 16. L.Rees op,cit p77 17. S.Gibson. Working out the Human Cost of the New Urban Renaissance, Inside Housing 5-12-03 p10. 18. R.Branson. Foreward in T.Gad Branding: Cracking the Corporate Code of the Network Economy London (Peason) 2001. 19. K.Coyne. Why Careful Crises are Crucial in Creating Community Cohesion. Inside Housing 21-5-04 p15 20. Communities Scotland Action. Issue 15 Summer 2004 pp18-19 Plaid Cymru, Tai Fforddiadwy: Gynhadtedd 2004 Ceardydd 2004 pp37-38 R.Kemp (liberal Democrat Spokesman) Local Knowledge is Priceless Inside Housing 15-8-03 pp14-15 C.Kay (TPAS Cymru) Viva la Devolución! Inside Housing 23-4-04 p25 21. J.Heartfield op.cit p32 22. C.Marrs. Regeneration not Sole Cure to Exclusion Inside Housing 19-3-99 pp12-13 23. S.Lukes. Power: A Radical View Basingstoke (McMillan) 1974. 24. G.Curry. Wide Remit Inside Housing 20-2-04 pp16-17 25. D.Singleton, Prescott and Egan back National Training Centre. Inside Housing 23-4- 04 p10 CIH Spotlight on Regeneration Issue 3 July 2004 p3 26. S.Thorpe. Shared Goals Inside Housing 16-4-04 pp18-19 27. S.Thorp Enermy at the Gates. Housing March 2003 pp24-25 28. K.Cooper DWP to Fund Tenant Banc Access Inside Housing 23-7-04 p7 29. U.Eco Faith in Fakes London (Secker & Warbury) 1986 30. B.Hillier Space in the Machine Cambridge (CUP) 1996 31. S.Ismail. Is there an Islamic Conception of Politics in A.Leftwich (ed) What is Politics? Cambridge (Polity) 2004 pp147-165
236 32. E.Bennett, Property and Social Housing Property Week 6-8-04 pp28-31 33. J.Merritt. Still on the Market? Property People 16-9-04 p8-9 34. Inside Housing 20-8-04 pp2-3 Inside Housing 27-8-04 pp13-15 35. D.Massey Space Place and Gender Cambridge (Polity) 1994 pp155-6 36. J.DeFilippis & P.North op.cit 37. A.Orum & x.Chen. From a Critical Sociology to a Reconstructive Sociology of Cities. Orum & Chen The World of Cities Oxford (Blackwell) pp140-155 S.Ghosh. Vision for the Future Inside Housing 8-8-03 p24 38. D.King. Counting Heads Inside Housing 18-6-04 pp 22-24 39. J.Bhattacharya, Solidarity and Agency: Rethinking Community Development Human Organisation Vol 54 No1 1995 pp60-69 See also K.Miranne & A.Young Gendering the City Oxford (rowman & Littlefield) 2000. 40. G.Ritzer. The Globalisation of Nothing London (Sage) 2004. 41. D.Singleton. MPs back Tenants who Reject Options Inside Housing 25-6-04 D.Singleton MPs till Calling for Fourth Option Inside Housing 18-6-04 p15 42. Inside Housing 5-12-03 p3, 30-7-04 p5, 30-1-04 p3. For similar examples in different fields see Regeneration and Renewal 24-9-03 p3 43. Inside Housing 30-1-04 p1, 6-2-04 p11, 6-8-04 p13 44. R.Evans. The Ultimate Taboo Inside Housing 30-1-04 p13 C.Williams. Rewarding Community Involvement. Town & Country Planning Vol 73 No9 2004 pp264-265 45. J.Drew. Follow the Leader Housing February 2003 pp28-30 46. Y.Sefydliad Tai Siartredig. Gwybodaeth Allweddol Rhif 2 2004 p11 47. ODPM. Housing Signpost Issue 19 June 2004 p2 48. A.Oram & X.Chen op.cit 49. See W.Walters, Social Capital and Political Sociology Sociology Vol 36 No2 May 2002 pp 377-397 C.Wiles, Solid bond Inside Housing 16-1-04 pp20-21 50. B.Derbyshire. A Place Like Home. Scottish executive Community Scotland Autumn 2003 pp6-7 51. G.Edington. Property Management London (McMillan) 1997 52. A.Power Hovels and High Rise London (Rowledge) 1993
237 D.Myers Economy and Property West Midlands (Estates Gazette)1994 53. R.Connell The Deceptive Environment in G.Backhaus & J.Murungi Transformations of Urban and Suburban Landscapes Oxford (Lexington Books) 2002 pp55-80 54. D.Myers op.cit 55. D.Elliot Energy, Society and Environment London (Routledge) 1997 56. J.Harvey Urban Land Economics London (McMillan) 1996 57. R.Fevre et al National Community and Conflict in R.Fevre & A.Thompson Nation, Identity and Social Theory Cardiff (University of Wales) 1999 pp129-148 B.Parry-Jones. A study of Llanewrgain, unpublished paper, held at Urban & Regional Studies Department, Plas Coch, 2000 See also C.Bloom, Attitudes and Second Homes in Rural Wales Cardiff (University of Wales) 1978 58. Not confined to Europe. See M.Sheppard Cubins in the Laurel, NC (University of NC) 1991 59. L.Rees op.cit 60. See C.Morris Foundations of the Theory of Signs Chicago (University of Chicago) 1930 also P.Postal. Underlying and Superficial Linguistic Structure in R.Oldfield (Ed) Language Harmondsworth (Penguin) 1970 pp179-201 61. F.Conroy Intrinsic World, Utility and Sense of Place in g.Backhaus op.cit pp81-95
238 International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction
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CIB Annual Membership Fee 2007 – 2010
Fee Category 2007 2008 2009 2010
FM1 Fee level 10526 11052 11605 11837 FM2 Fee level 7018 7369 7738 7892 FM3 Fee level 2413 2534 2661 2715 AM1 Fee level 1213 1274 1338 1364 AM2 Fee level 851 936 1030 1133 Recent CIB publications include: IM Fee level 241 253 266 271 • Guide and Bibliography to Service Life and Durability All amounts in EURO Research for Buildings and Components (CIB 295) • Performance Based Methods for Service Life Prediction (CIB 294) The lowest Fee Category an organisation can be in depends on • Performance Criteria of Buildings for Health and Comfort the organisation’s profile: (CIB 292) • Performance Based Building 1st International State-of-the- FM1 Full Member Fee Category 1 | Multi disciplinary building Art Report (CIB 291) research institutes of national standing having a broad • Proceedings of the CIB-CTBUH Conference on Tall Buildings: field of research Strategies for Performance in the Aftermath of the World FM2 Full Member Fee Category 2 | Medium size research Trade Centre (CIB 290) Institutes; Public agencies with major research inter- • Condition Assessment of Roofs (CIB 289) est; Companies with major research interest • Proceedings from the 3rd International Postgraduate FM3 Full Member Fee Category 3 | Information centres of Research Conference in the Built and Human Environment national standing; Organisations normally in Category • Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on 4 or 5 which prefer to be a Full Member Performance-Based Codes and Fire Safety Design Methods AM1 Associate Member Fee Category 4 | Sectoral research & • Proceedings of the 29th International Symposium on Water documentation institutes; Institutes for standardisation; Supply and Drainage for Buildings Companies, consultants, contractors etc.; Professional • Agenda 21 for Sustainable Development in Developing associations Countries AM2 Associate Member Fee Category 5 | Departments, fac- ulties, schools or colleges of universities or technical R&D Collaboration: The CIB provides an active platform Institutes of higher education (Universities only) for international collaborative R&D between academia, R&D IM Individual Member Fee Category 6 | Individuals having organisations and industry. an interest in the activities of CIB (not representing an organisation) Publications arising from recent collaborative R&D ac- tivities include: Fee Reduction: • Agenda 21 for Sustainable Construction A reduction is offered to all fee levels in the magnitude of 50% • Agenda 21 for Sustainable Construction in Developing for Members in countries with a GNIpc less than USD 1000 and Countries a reduction to all fee levels in the magnitude of 25% for Mem- • The Construction Sector System Approach: An International bers in countries with a GNIpc between USD 1000 – 7000, as Framework (CIB 293) defined by the Worldbank. (see http://siteresources.worldbank. • Red Man, Green Man: A Review of the Use of Performance org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GNIPC.pdf) Indicators for Urban Sustainability (CIB 286a) • Benchmarking of Labour-Intensive Construction Activities: Reward for Prompt Payment: Lean Construction and Fundamental Principles of Working All above indicated fee amounts will be increased by 10%. Management (CIB 276) Members will subsequently be rewarded a 10% reduction in • Guide and Bibliography to Service Life and Durability case of actual payment received within 3 months after the Research for Buildings and Components (CIB 295) invoice date. • Performance-Based Building Regulatory Systems (CIB 299) • Design for Deconstruction and Materials Reuse (CIB 272) • Value Through Design (CIB 280) For more information contact CIB General Secretariat: An example of a recent major CIB col- e-mail: [email protected] laborative activity is the Thematic Net- work PeBBu Performance Based Building: PO Box 1837, 3000 BV Rotterdam, a four-year programme that included 50 The Netherlands member organisations, that was co- Phone +31-10-4110240; ordinated by CIB and that was funded Fax +31-10-4334372 through the European Commission Fifth Http://www.cibworld.nl Framework Programme. PAGE 2 DISCLAIMER
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