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Restrictive zoning and NIMBY attitudes have left nearly a third of neighborhoods across the United States with few options for renters. The concentration of rental housing in some neighborhoods and the exclusion of rental options from others reinforces enduring patterns of residential segregation by race and income. Neighborhoods with a lower share of rental housing are disproportionately suburban, higher-income, and white. We use the concept of rental deserts to highlight places with few rental opportunities for households and define these as neighborhoods where rental units make up less than 20% of the housing stock. We examine the characteristics of rental deserts, arguing that uneven geographies of rental opportunities bolster patterns of socioeconomic and racial segregation because renters are disproportionately lower-income and people of color. We investigate variations in the spatial distribution of rental deserts across and within metropolitan areas as well as resulting segregation by mapping divergence indices that measure the unevenness of rental housing within metropolitan areas. We find an association between rental deserts and a lack of neighborhood-level racial and economic diversity. We also find that restrictive zoning and land use regimes are associated with the presence of rental deserts, a finding that generally holds in cities and suburbs alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographic location of housing significantly affects social capital, which supports socioeconomic networks vital for sustainable community development. This study examines Addis Ababa’s government-led Integrated Housing Development Program (IHDP) in Ethiopia, which has built over 250,000 condominiums, primarily at the urban periphery. Using a survey of 1,018 households, the study examines the mediating role of residents’ perceptions of social capital on the relationship between location and overall satisfaction with their housing. Our findings reveal that residents residing at urban periphery locations perceive lower access to social capital compared to their counterparts at urban locations, contributing to reduced overall satisfaction residing at their condominiums. While the IHDP has had a notable impact in addressing the dire need for affordable housing in the city, these findings demonstrate that geographic location of IHDP development significantly affects social capital outcomes, potentially hindering the long-term sustainability of communities in urban peripheral areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, debates and contributions on urban commons have mushroomed. At the same time, the recent and unprecedented health and social crisis has revived the relevance of the collective (often in the form of public) response to cover basic needs. The research objective in this paper is twofold: firstly, we explore the potential and limits of the current scenario in the Barcelona region regarding political experimentation at the municipal level, analyzing different examples of commoning experiences in basic services. Secondly, we question and recast the classical commons theories applied to the urban infrastructures sector through three specific cases (water, energy, and housing). We build on a qualitative approach, using a comparative perspective, to study three experiences of commoning practices on basic urban infrastructures in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona. The core of our contribution navigates between the discussion on the urban commons and their particularities compared to classical commons theories, and the role of infrastructures as commons in this new urban field. Our research also highlights how the commons offer useful guidelines to reformulate and reconfigure the relationship between subjects, needs, and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal climate resiliency and re-naturing plans are promoting greening and green (re)development, such as the inclusion of new parks, greenways, or rehabilitated shorelines, frequently as a-political, win-win solutions for all residents. Greenwashing and (re)development of green amenities in vulnerable neighborhoods—those often most in need of support toward resilience and adaptation—expose residents to the impacts of green gentrification, such as the pricing-out and physical displacement from housing, socio-cultural displacement from public space, and associated personal and community traumas. This paper explores an under-researched avenue in the green gentrification literature: How do grassroots community activists organize to address housing and greening simultaneously and how do they operate to achieve justice in greening neighborhoods? We examined the strategies and tools used by community groups in 10 cities in the United States facing green gentrification. We find that justice-driven strategies and tools are supported by the formation of multi-sectoral coalitions which strengthen what we define as "community infrastructures"—social, economic, and political capacities—against exclusive green-washing. We argue that each of the three capacities must be built amongst residents in order to fortify the material and immaterial components of community infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Squatting has long been a crucial form of direct action in housing struggles across the globe, in which women have always played an important part. However, despite recent calls to inflect housing studies with feminist, decolonial, and queer praxis, scholarship on women's role in London's squatting story remains significantly underdeveloped. Their absence becomes even more apparent when we consider that squatting's second wave occurred simultaneously with that of feminism, during which time the home was articulated as a key site of feminist struggle. This paper therefore draws from materials authored by and about women during this period to trace broad contours of their involvement in London's squatting history, focusing in particular on two avenues which call for further critical inquiry, namely: (1) the mobilisation of the 'mother' figure in press and public narratives, contrasted against the demonisation of young, single women for whom squatting defied popular understandings of how femininity should be performed; and (2) the world-building capacities of squatted domestic violence refuges, which provided safe spaces for women escaping violent partners and shared with squatting an autonomous, self-help ethos. At stake here is an understanding of what it meant for women to take (up) and remake space in late twentieth century London, and how similar feminist actions continue to enrich contemporary understandings of squatting as a radical, intersectional, and vital practice in ongoing struggles for urban housing justice worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewed attention to social reproduction theory has generated fresh scholarly interest in socialist-feminist movements from the 1970s-80s such as Wages for Housework. While the critique of domestic labour mounted by the international Wages for Housework campaign is widely known, less attention has been paid to the spatial dimension of their politics. This paper therefore investigates the relations between social reproduction feminism and urban geography, with special reference to the Toronto Wages for Housework committee. On the basis of archival research, I examine how Wages for Housework Toronto collaborated with other urban social groups such as immigrant domestic workers, shelter operators, tenants, and welfare activists to challenge dominant views about property and work. This historical-geographical study shows that a key lesson from Wages for Housework in Canada consists in considering urbanization as an essential element in the relationship between production and reproduction. I argue in conclusion that this critical spatial perspective on social reproduction holds vital political implications for making sense of contemporary crises of care in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decades of colonial and apartheid urban spatial planning have left South Africa’s cities socially segregated and physically fragmented, with poor households confined to the outskirts. These urban realities remain a challenge to most local authorities three decades after the demise of apartheid. Using project data and a set of 30 qualitative interviews, we examined Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality’s approach to megaprojects, also known as ‘catalytic’ projects, implemented through South Africa’s Integrated Residential Development Programme, whose vision is to restructure the city to ensure spatial integration and private sector involvement. We use evolutionary governance theory to show goal dependency, path dependency and interdependencies in South Africa’s housing policy, and we evaluate our findings against the literature on megaprojects. Our findings point to the shortcomings of this vision: the small scale of the projects, problems with the devolution of the housing function from provincial to local government and power play, difficulties in keeping to project plans, and problems with the implementation to ensure diverse housing options and increased densities, and reduced attention to informal settlement upgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anglophone countries are diversifying their responses to housing insecurity, decentring social housing and expanding use of market-oriented assistance that aims to promote "housing independence". Drawing on fieldwork in three Australian jurisdictions, this paper examines the impact of this shift for how housing assistance is allocated. We argue that allocations practices can no longer be understood as centred on the rationing of a single product – social housing. Rather, they nowadays perform a "social sorting" function that mimics those developed in consumer marketing, where personal information is collected to classify and segment consumers to match them to tailored "products". These practices sort households based on their "capacity for independence", aiming to maximize market engagement and reserving social housing for those with the most complex needs. We conclude that these sorting practices ignore both the realities of private renting in Australia (as elsewhere) and the self-defined housing needs of low-income households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue for use of the narrative concept of the "turning point" in homelessness research from a critical social psychology perspective. BackgroundTurning points are often understood as rifts in the life course followed by significant change in direction. However, within narrative theory they are not events but subjectively significant features of the person's life-story. The turning point as narrative toolThe analysis identified how turning points were deployed by participants in a study of homelessness experiences. Participants used the turning point in constructing themselves as agentic, reformed individuals who had gained insight. However, this did not necessarily bring positive life changes. Data extracts are used to illustrate the power of adopting a constructivist, narrative theoretical orientation in understanding turning points in accounts of homelessness. Implications for practiceViewing turning points in this way may help us understand how best to provide support for people without housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergenerational disparities in housing have emerged across countries, giving rise to narratives of "generation rent". Despite popularization of the term across academia and public discourse, it remains nebulous, divisive, and lacking nuance. Through seven propositions, this paper synthesizes recent evidence to more accurately capture the breadth of young adults' housing inequalities and advance debates surrounding "generation rent". It begins by addressing its drivers, describing shifts in the political economy of (rental) housing which disproportionately disadvantage young adults. It then identifies features of "generation rent", illuminating heterogeneity between socio-economic groups, housing situations, and rental types. Finally, it charts outcomes of housing market pressures which reshape lives and livelihoods across generations, albeit in different ways. To this end, this paper puts forward a new classification of four sub-categories conspicuous in the historically homogenized notion of "generation rent", namely "second generation owner", "delayed buyer", "tenant" and "precariat". It argues that, harnessed correctly, "generation rent" can be a useful lens to illustrate wider housing sector transformations and their effects for class-stratification and the reproduction of socio-economic inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. This study investigated the effects of different housing systems on oxidative defence mechanisms, heterophil functions, cellular immune response and cytokine production in laying hens. One hundred and twenty laying hens were allocated into one of four groups: conventional cages, furnished cages, deep litter, and free range. 2. Housing system did not affect malondialdehyde concentrations and enzymatic antioxidant status. Ascorbic acid values were higher in deep-litter hens than in those in conventional cages and free range. 3. Phagocytic and chemotactic activities tended to rise in the deep-litter system, and oxidative burst was higher than in furnished cages. Cytotoxic T cells were decreased in furnished cages, both cytotoxic and helper T cells decreased in deep litter compared to free range. 4. The IL-2 and IL-13 expression was higher in deep litter than in conventional cages, and IL-6 expression was higher in furnished cages than in free range. 5. Housing system had no significant effects on the oxidative defence system; however, they affected heterophil functions, cellular defence mechanisms and cytokine production. The results suggested that breeders need to consider the housing system's potential effects on immune defence responses while applying a breeding strategy appropriate for animal welfare and consumer demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing system transitions often involve successive but overlapping periods of reform with crucial implications for housing inequality dynamics. Building on welfare regime and market transition discussions, this paper considers how the shifting roles of the state, market, and family in housing provision in China have led to changing housing tenures and differentiated access to them between populations with varying socio-economic resources. Drawing on two national datasets, our analyses reveal that the four decades of reforms dramatically upended urban China's tenure structure with market homeownership becoming the dominant tenure. Nevertheless, we find a substantial and increasing role of the family in housing provision, especially for people with fewer socio-economic resources. The advantages associated with better institutional resources under the previous socialist housing system not only persist in accessing state-provided tenures but have also extended their influence into market housing. Meanwhile, homeownership outcomes have become increasingly polarized among groups with different income and education levels. Our findings expose the reproduction and apparent amplification of tenure-related housing inequalities over the period of housing regime transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade the American single-family rental (SFR) market experienced consequential financialisation. The American SFR industry was once dominated by more local, smaller 'mom-and-pop' landlords. Despite this, little is known regarding the different types of SFR investors, what types of properties different investor types buy, and what types of neighbourhoods are targeted by different investor types. This article examines a majority-Black American city, Memphis, Tennessee. A city impacted significantly by the subprime mortgage crisis and this subsequent rise in SFR investors in the years that followed. Using multivariate statistics, we find institutional investors are less likely to buy a property in relatively poorer condition than categorically smaller investors. Moreover, institutional actors are more likely to purchase an SFR if it is newer, lower-valued, and located in a neighbourhood with relatively large Black or Hispanic populations and a lower-poverty rate. These findings challenge some of the existing SFR investor literature and have implications for urban planning, research, and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social housing is an asset-intensive business, and the value of these assets globally runs into trillions of dollars. Although knowledge about social housing asset management practices is limited the evidence suggests assets may not be effectively managed. In social housing research asset management at the strategic level has been conceptualized but how strategy relates to tactics and operations has not attracted attention although the need for this to occur has been identified. This article provides a guide for social housing asset management as a comprehensive, integrated system, drawn from the relatively new field of Asset Management, filling a significant knowledge gap. The work draws on a collaboration between academics and industry stakeholders to develop a specialist asset management manual for social housing organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulation of financial markets according to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria has become a priority for the European Union (EU). Recent legislation, such as the EU Green Taxonomy, aims to identify sustainable investments enhancing transparency and accountability while steering private finance toward environmental objectives. The introduction of ESG criteria poses specific questions for Social Housing Organisations (SHOs), particularly as the decarbonisation of the housing stock is also incorporated into national legislation. This article contributes to the social housing finance literature by breaking ground on ESG, an area of intensive legislative activity currently re-shaping financial markets. The study draws from interviews with SHOs' finance directors, banking officers, rating agencies and public officials to answer the question: How does the introduction of ESG legislation affect the financing of social housing decarbonisation? First, the results show that ESG legislation is broadening reporting responsibilities while producing only limited additional finance ultimately geared towards large and commercially oriented SHOs. Second, the expansion of energy-efficiency requirements is resulting in higher costs creating tensions with SHOs' social mission of building homes at affordable rents. Third, the adoption of ESG financing is producing inequalities in access to capital across national financing systems and individual providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People spend a substantial amount of time at home, so it is important that homes are safe, healthy environments. Damp and mould represent common housing problems but little is known about their potential psychological effects. This scoping review explores existing literature on the relationship between household damp/mould and psychological wellbeing. Systematic searches of six databases were conducted, supplemented by hand-searches. Thirty studies were included; 21/24 (87.5%) found significant univariate associations between damp/mould and psychological outcomes and 13/17 (76.5%) found that damp/mould remained significant independent predictors in multivariate analyses. Qualitative data from six studies revealed that participants feared potential physical health consequences of damp/mould and felt self-conscious about clothes/homes smelling damp. Our findings suggest that exposure to damp and mould accounts for a significant amount of variance in psychological outcomes. Improving housing quality, ensuring healthcare professionals are aware of the psychological health effects of damp/mould and campaigns to educate the public about how to remove damp and mould may be useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically examines why young adults characterize themselves as 'lucky' when describing their housing experiences, often when those experiences reflect considerable struggle. We explore this narrative as it emerges in conversation with 29 young adults living in Toronto, Canada. Results of the analysis indicate that some young adults employ the narrative of luck to describe structural forms of privilege they experience within the housing system, while others make use of this narrative in ways that reflect their sense of disentitlement to housing. A critical interpretation of these findings suggests that these two narratives, while used by different groups of individuals, both reflect and reinforce a broader discourse of neoliberalism within the housing system. Specifically, our analysis highlights how the narrative of luck obscures structural inequalities that condition access to safe, secure and suitable housing, while simultaneously reinforcing a neoliberal ideology of (dis)entitlement to housing. We conclude our analysis by considering the implications of this narrative for the immediate- and long-term housing struggles of young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impacts of dwelling-based and neighbourhood-based precariousness on mental wellbeing by applying panel data modelling approaches to the 2001–2020 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. We find that living in unaffordable housing has the largest adverse effects on mental wellbeing among all forms of dwelling-based precariousness modelled in the study. Neighbourhood hostility and neighbourhood crime are key forms of neighbourhood-based precariousness that depress mental wellbeing. On the other hand, some forms of housing precariousness have insignificant impacts on wellbeing, in particular overcrowding and vandalism. Notwithstanding the importance of neighbourhood aspects, overall dwelling-based precariousness has a larger detrimental impact on mental wellbeing than neighbourhood-based precariousness. We test the robustness of linear models by implementing Tobit models that take into account the bounded nature of wellbeing measures that are ignored in linear models. We find that both models produce similar findings. The analysis in this study leads to important policy implications in a world that is increasingly exposed to public health crises. Importantly, the findings point to an urgency for policies and programs to be embedded within housing systems that ensure vulnerable population groups have long-term rather than temporary access to secure housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have examined the role of residential conditions during different phases of the pandemic on life satisfaction and spousal relationships. Using survey data on 440 married women collected before, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown in Singapore, this article tests the hypothesis that residential crowding, co-residence with children or parents/in-laws and lack of access to private open, green spaces during the lockdown are associated with worsened life satisfaction and spousal relationships. Multinomial logistic regression results suggest that married women in more spacious homes were significantly less likely to experience worsened life satisfaction at the peak of movement restrictions (RRR = 0.967, p =.037), and that having access to open spaces was associated with improved life satisfaction (RRR = 3.536, p =.018) and spousal relationships (RRR = 2.267, p =.032). Housing policy in dense urban settings can increase population well-being and resilience by increasing access to co-working spaces and open green spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not all approaches to collaborative housing deliver equally on affordability, accessibility, and autonomy. Some cases may become expensive or enclaved, while others that are accessible and affordable may have little collaboration. This paper compares eight cases of collaborative housing in Milan and Amsterdam to understand how collaboration projects deal with demands for affordability, accessibility, and autonomy. We identify four categories of collaborative housing—common, self-promoted, co-managed, and developer-led—along the two axes of tenure type and project initiator. Trade-offs in affordability, accessibility, and autonomy always persist; however, each can be fostered by three of the types (all but developer-led) when explicitly established as core values of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community Led Housing (CLH) is an umbrella term encompassing several non-profit models of housing delivery, which is used internationally. There has been little comprehensive assessment of the health impacts of housing arrangements where people intentionally live or work together in a community. This systematic review provides the first overview of the health, wellbeing and heath inequality impacts of all forms of CLH. 4,091 literature items were identified from a structured search of eight databases and manual searching for grey literature. Literature published between January 2009 and June 2022, in OECD countries, were eligible. 34 academic and 11 grey literature items were included. The review identifies far more literature reporting that CLH has positive rather than negative impacts, on primary health outcomes and on neighbourhood level factors which impact on health (social contact, employment, safety, environmental sustainability, and affordability). There is a lack of research on CLH impacts on the health of children and young people, and on health inequalities. These findings provide an indication of largely positive impacts of CLH arrangements on health and wellbeing. They indicate the importance of further longitudinal, objective research, and of policies and actions to support this form of housing delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pet ownership or animal companionship is increasingly found to be beneficial to mental and physical well-being. Despite this, housing situations and tenure, such as living in a private rental, can impact the ability to realise these benefits. Pet ownership is seldom the primary focus of discussion in housing research to date. This paper brings this issue to the forefront of housing research, recognising it as a crucial component of the overall experience within the private rented sector (PRS). We present findings from a rapid evidence assessment of the existing international evidence to provide a broad understanding of pet ownership in the PRS and, based on this review, set out a novel typology of the economic costs and benefits of renting to pet-owners. The review involved scrutiny of 51 sources published after 2000, representing the most comprehensive evidence review of the subject to date. We identified the benefits, costs, and management practices associated with allowing pets in rentals across three key stages of the tenancy. This paper highlights the need for a combination of policy measures to facilitate the acceptance of pets in rental properties and sets out a future research agenda to better understand the experience of renting with pets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In several European cities, the residential areas built during the record years of the 1960s and 70s are now associated with decline, unemployment, and social unrest. To remedy this situation, schools, social services, and housing companies are collaborating with initiatives aimed at children and youth in these areas. The purpose of this study is to describe the conditions for the social efforts being made. The study is based on 17 semi-structured interviews with employees in schools, social services, and housing companies. The results show how the initiatives that are implemented become conditioned by the housing companies' financial interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: This study aims to understand the reasons people avoid or delay HCV treatment and identify potential pathways that can increase the uptake of HCV treatment from a health systems perspective. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 15 participants who were HCV positive and had a history of active or recent injecting drug use were conducted. Thematic and framework analyses based on an integrated framework by Høj and colleagues were used to identify barriers and opportunities to HCV treatment. Results: The study identified barriers and enablers to HCV treatment at individual, socio-structural, and system levels. Competing priorities, unstable housing, and stigma were barriers, while engagement in opioid agonist therapy and peer support were enablers. Misinformation, limited OAT prescribers, and gaps in care coordination, especially within the prison system, were identified as missed opportunities at the system level, while organizational support and respectful relationships with service providers were key to engagement. Conclusions: Person-centered care addressing the specific needs of PWID, such as housing, and drug and alcohol treatment, should be enhanced, and HCV care embedded within these services. Strengthening care pathways, especially within and between prisons and other primary care services, is urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis paper analyzes the effects of digitalization on the inclusivity of right to housing in Southern Europe. We examine the impact of digital capitalism on the housing market, the use of social networks by social movements to give visibility to housing needs, and the promotion of digital platforms by public authorities to reduce the digital gap and consolidate the right to housing, especially for the most vulnerable people. Drawing on qualitative data collection in Madrid, Bologna, and Athens, key dimensions of discussion include: the impact of digital transformations on the public housing and real estate market, the importance of digital literacy and resources, the role of non-governmental actors in shaping public opinion through digital social networks, and the most impacted social groups by the recent digital acceleration. The impact of digitalization on the right to housing is found to depend on factors such as the population groups, the digital gap, the territorial context, and the type of digital platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the challenges faced by, and resilience of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women living with HIV in Manitoba and Saskatchewan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a decolonizing, community-based research approach, guided by a Community Guiding Circle (CGC), interviews were conducted with 45 Indigenous women living with HIV. Participants were recruited via community outreach, peer networks, and social media. Data collection and analysis utilized Indigenous storywork and inductive thematic analysis. The study revealed significant barriers related to housing instability, childcare, and access to healthcare, all exacerbated by systemic inequities rooted in colonialism, patriarchy, and capitalism. Despite these challenges, Indigenous cultural practices, ceremonies, community support, and family ties emerged as crucial sources of resilience, though often disrupted during the pandemic. The findings underscore the urgent need for culturally safe, women-centered care models that integrate Indigenous knowledge and practices. For health and social care practitioners, this research emphasizes the importance of advocating for systemic change to address the unique needs of Indigenous women living with HIV and calls for the development and implementation of culturally safe health and social care tailored to their unique needs and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shared housing is a popular housing choice among low- and middle-income individuals in cities worldwide. In Ghana, the compound house, a traditional West African housing typology, presents the most common form of shared housing. While the compound house has been the subject of several past studies, little attention has been given to the sharing practices of utility costs (electricity and water). This article investigates the typologies, experiences and responses of renters to utility cost sharing in urban Ghana. Based on interviews with 35 respondents in compound houses in Asafo, Kumasi, we found that electricity and water costs are primarily shared through gadget-based and point-based systems, respectively. The adoption of these sharing practices is characterized, among others, by renters’ hesitation to declare all their gadgets due to security concerns, restriction on the usage of personal gadgets and instances of delayed or nonpayment of utility costs by certain renters. In response, some renters acquire personal meters to avoid the challenges associated with sharing. Drawing on the concept of social capital, we discuss these findings within the framing of trust, solidarity and power relations in shared housing practices and offer relevant recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 restrictions affected people differently, depending on their housing conditions. This paper explores the relationship between the size of available living space and the emotion of “feeling depressed because of COVID-19.” For our survey participants in Berlin, Germany, the urban strategies of living small before COVID-19—everyday routines to cope with limited space, such as going to cafés, libraries, bars, and playgrounds—shaped this emotion. People with different housing conditions used these spaces differently, mitigating negative effects of limited living space. The lockdown of urban amenities removed this buffer. Younger people living alone were particularly affected. We conclude that understanding housing conditions requires including the broader residential context—the availability of amenities—as crucial for emotional well-being. This highlights the role of urban infrastructure beyond the narrow understanding of “consuming” amenities, which is often undertheorized in housing satisfaction research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the case of the Brussels housing project “Care and Living in Community”, this paper aims to contribute to debates on care and justice in the context of alternative housing initiatives and compassionate communities. Drawing on an ethnographic research in the project and using the analytical lens on the ethics of care developed by Joan Tronto, we analyse how different associations conceived a caring community and how various steps of care unfold in the project. The analysis will highlight the potential of an alternative housing initiative in developing a caring community, but also foreground some ethical dilemmas and questions that come along with mobilizing both redistributive and recognitive dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sense of community is a necessary ingredient for existing and future communities in developed and developing countries to thrive. However, there are socioeconomic factors that have the potential to influence the sense of community in developing countries. This is an aspect that is underreported in literature in developing countries like Nigeria. This study examines the influence of socioeconomic factors on the sense of community in selected public housing estates in Akure, Southwest, Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the research. Single-factor descriptive Analysis, Mean Scoring and Categorical Regression Analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings showed that the sense of community in the study area was above average and that socioeconomic characteristics jointly predicted of sense of community. However, of the nine socioeconomic variables, four were significant predictors of sense of community in this context. The four significant variables were employment status, level of education, tenure status and age. The paper concludes by providing implications, considering the significant factors especially in developing strategies to enhance the sense of community in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst growing concerns about climate risks to the U.S. housing markets, strategies to physically retrofit homes are gaining attention—including within debates over how to resolve intersecting crises of housing re/insurability and affordability in highly exposed sites like Florida. We consider an important but under-studied example of this "climate-proofing" strategy unfolding today: Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) finance. While PACE has historically financed decarbonization retrofits, it is increasingly being deployed to facilitate hurricane risk reduction in Florida. In this paper, we introduce PACE: its basic characteristics, evolving uses, and controversies. Exploring the Florida case, we examine two deeper but as yet under-examined financial tensions: PACE's intersections with other forms of property-linked finance (and potential systemic breakdowns) and rising affordability breakpoints as homeowners encounter its new debt amidst other growing and intersecting climate/climate response costs. These issues call for more transformative imaginaries of urban retrofitting and its resourcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As intensifying climate-related disasters strike cities across the United States, they are provoking rising concern for the stability of the U.S. housing market and broader financial system. How homeowners, mortgage lenders, federal institutions/regulators, and investors will variously encounter and manage climate risk is an urgent question for urban scholars, as is who might bear the costs of restabilizing mortgage finance under new breakdowns. This paper's multi-scalar intervention draws on financial "following" methods to explore how climate risks are being experienced and governed at multiple illustrative moments of U.S. mortgage finance: (1) working households at the front line of urban climate impacts, (2) mortgage professionals brokering loans to them, (3) government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) negotiating incoming federal climate risk disclosure requirements, and (4) capital markets off-taking GSE risks through financial derivatives like credit risk transfers. Emerging concerns include ruptures between household risks and financial system-preserving responses and new dangers of "climate redlining." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local governments make important public service decisions based on a critical assumption from urban political economy scholarship that development activities lead to economic growth, while redistributive activities do not. Using the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, we test this local expenditure assumption by exploring the differential effectiveness of CDBG activities on individual and neighboring residential and commercial property values. To this end, we challenge the notion that development policies frequently improve economic returns while redistributive policies do not. We analyze the economic impact of 16 different CDBG activities on more than seven million properties between 2004 and 2017 in Dallas County, Texas. We find strong evidence that, contrary to conventional wisdom, redistributive policies can yield positive economic returns while development expenditures have mixed results. These findings have important implications for local governments seeking to grow their economy equitably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research pairs point-in-time counts of adult homelessness prepared between 2015 and 2019 by 315 local housing assistance providers with data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources to quantify the impacts of regulatory and physical housing supply constraints on adult homelessness rates. The results from several random effects regression models suggest that a one standard deviation increase in the restrictiveness of local land use regulations directly increases the adult homelessness rate by between 9 and 12%, depending on the type of constraint. These estimated effects are uniformly smaller in magnitude than those which assume that constraints on housing supply influence homelessness indirectly through increased rents. These findings point to a need for greater coordination between land use planners and homeless assistance providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antisocial behaviour and vulnerability have become tied together in policy since the death of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter following sustained ASB, however, whilst there is acknowledgement that perpetrators of ASB may be vulnerable, they are still generally seen as at least partially responsible for their actions. Whilst women and girls are traditionally more likely to be viewed as vulnerable, when their behaviour is seen as challenging, the status of vulnerability may be removed by services in order to justify more punitive sanctions. This paper proposes a more nuanced understanding of vulnerability to explore women's experiences of ASB intervention. Drawing on longitudinal, qualitative research with women living in social housing who are alleged to be engaged in ASB, this research finds women feel particularly judged and intimidated by their housing officers, are routinely punished for being victim of abuse and disability may be ignored and/or mental health exacerbated as a result of ASB interventions that do not appear to take into account vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although tens of thousands of households are on the waiting-list for social housing in Australia, little is known about how they experience waiting for social housing. Drawing on 75 interviews conducted with people on the waiting-list (waitees) in three Australian states, we examine the impact of waiting on waitees utilising the concept of triple precarity. Double precarity refers to the insecure employment and housing that a substantial proportion of low-income households are experiencing in the contemporary period. We argue that waitees experience triple precarity. Not only are waitees unemployed or intermittently employed and suffer from housing stress and insecurity, but they also have to endure endless waiting. This adds another challenging dimension to their already difficult lives. We show that besides the impacts of insecure housing and employment, waiting for social housing contributes to waitees' dire living circumstances and quality of life, difficulty finding employment and poor health. Waiting for social housing has emotional and material costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an approach to understanding high-density living in precarious housing. Developing a conception of housing density based on 'density expressions' and 'density modalities', we argue for a focus on how domestic density is experienced and intervened in by residents and other groups. This approach builds in existing work in Housing Studies and Urban Studies on domestic overcrowding by demonstrating the value of attending to its sensorial experiences, and practices that seek to alleviate those experiences. Drawing on fieldwork in Hong Kong, one of the densest and more unequal housing markets in the world, we identify 'infiltration' as a key form of density expression. We go on explore two density modalities through which residents and other groups, including civil society organisations and the state, practice modest forms of intervention in the struggles of precarious housing: 'improvisation' and 'transition'. We conclude by considering the implications both on housing in Hong Kong and for future research on precarious housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If literature has stressed the role of marginal gentrifiers in bringing resources to the areas where they move, apart for relevant exceptions, the potentialities and limits of their contribution to urban struggles has not been systematically addressed. This article assesses the role of these newcomers in the defence of the right to housing in post-austerity Lisbon focusing on their interaction with established activist networks. Resorting to a multi-method approach and an interactionist social movement framework, our study is supported by event analysis, 22 interviews, ethnographic observation and a questionnaire-survey. Our findings show that interactions between marginal gentrifiers and previous housing players helped to consolidate the local activist arena and contributed to the emergence of new urban collective contentious identities. Nevertheless, this contribution seems partially affected by further displacement waves in the context of growing gentrification and touristification, which have threatened the survival of resistance networks. The case of Lisbon can help illuminate similar processes in contexts highly impacted by gentrification and touristification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the main way that the federal government subsidizes place-based housing for low-income individuals including those with experiences of homelessness. Although these communities are at risk of criminal justice involvement (CJI), the relationship between living in LIHTC housing and CJI remains underexplored. This study analyzed data on a retrospective cohort of LIHTC supportive housing residents to examine changes in CJI after move-in and how residents with CJI and without CJI after move-in differed. Compared to the time period before move-in, arrests, convictions, and time sentenced to confinement decreased significantly after move-in. Age, sex, and more extensive criminal history were significantly associated with CJI after move-in. Using negative binomial regression, increasing time in housing was associated with decreasing arrests, convictions, and time sentenced to confinement after move-in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to housing is enshrined in Canadian law, however, access to housing can be limited by administrative requirements. This is particularly true for people experiencing homelessness and/or insecure housing, as they may not have access to documentation, such as identification or notice of assessments (i.e. income tax verification). The current research examines program eligibility and documentation requirements for access to social housing across Canada. Sixty-seven communities that receive funding from Canada's federal government were examined via Internet-based searches. Eligibility requirements were grouped into five main categories: (1) Citizenship; (2) Finances; (3) Support needs; (4) Housing history; and (5) Legal history. Similarly, documentation requirements were grouped into four main categories: (1) Identification and Citizenship; (2) Finances; (3) Housing history; and (4) Personal circumstances. The results demonstrate the complexities in applying and being approved for social housing in Canada. The potentially onerous eligibility and documentation requirements may limit access to social housing for those who are most in need. Policy and program recommendations are discussed to improve access to social housing in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surge in second-home ownership, particularly in China, has garnered significant interest. This study delves into the motivations and satisfaction levels of Chinese second-home owners, with a focus on Confucian cultural influences and 'face' consciousness. Surveying 327 s-home owners in Wentang Town, China, we employ a Structural Equation Model to unravel the intricate relationships. Our findings spotlight the importance of nostalgia in fostering place attachment, influencing both individual and family 'face.' Place attachment, in turn, positively impacts satisfaction, primarily mediated through family 'face,' underscoring the cultural significance of filial piety. Additionally, we identify a moderating effect of the distance between primary and second homes, emphasizing the role of Confucianism in shaping family-centric decisions. This study offers insights into the motivations and satisfaction of Chinese second-home owners, illuminating cultural nuances. It also provides practical recommendations for policymakers and the real estate industry, advocating for family-centric second-home experiences and improved transportation accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing insecurity is associated with myriad negative outcomes for individuals and communities. Less understood is the indirect and direct relationships between specific types of housing insecurity and health. Using Swope and Hernández's (2019) 4C's of housing insecurity, data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), structural equation modelling, and binary logistic regression, we examine the relationship between different types of housing insecurity and mental and general health. We find housing cost independently decreases health outcomes while consistency insecurity indirectly affects health by increasing cost burdens. Most forms of housing cost, consistency, and context insecurity have independent and significant negative associations with short-term (12 month) and medium-term (seven to eight years) mental health. This suggests policymakers and advocates should place greater emphasis on housing assistance as an entitlement and cash assistance that vulnerable populations can use to address the cause of their specific type of housing insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The suburbanization of poverty has been noted in many advanced industrial nations including the UK. Theory focuses on economic and labour market restructuring combined with processes of market- and/or state-led housing change. This paper examines the contributions of housing and welfare reforms. In the UK, housing policy has driven low-income households increasingly to find accommodation in the private rental sector at the same time that welfare reforms have constrained the rents these households can afford. This paper traces the spatial consequence of these reforms, drawing on a novel combination of Government data and a database of private rental adverts. Up to 2011, the shift from social to private renting for low-income households was relatively neutral in its impacts on suburbanization. Since then, low-income households in private renting have been increasingly pushed to less central locations as rents in more central areas have risen faster. The role played by housing and welfare policy in the suburbanization of poverty needs wider consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home is not only a concrete place and a complex system of relations, but also an end-in-view that connects perceived shortcomings in the current versions of home with the desired goals and the means to achieve them. Our case study centres on a dining improvement project which strives to create home in residential institutions for people identified as disabled by serving a 'home-like meal'. We describe three versions of home that are enacted in residential institutions – home as a commune, home as a private space and home as an intimate sphere – and document how they influence the serving of meals. We combine pragmatic theory of valuation with ethnographic research of home-making practices to assess the feasibility of these ends-in-view in relation to the housing options available to the disabled-identified. We show that when the realization of the chosen goals proves unfeasible under present circumstances, the discrepancies between the desired and actual versions of home can be effaced through various re-contextualization strategies. Of the three versions of home encountered during our intervention/research, the home enacted as an intimate sphere is the one most firmly grounded in clients' real wishes and needs, and therefore the one most favourable to positive change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper problematises the perception that enhanced competition within the Swedish residential construction sector offers a panacea to rising building costs and deteriorating housing affordability. The paper investigates the relationships between housing production, exchange, and consumption from three perspectives: (i) an historical analysis of the residential construction industry; (ii) elite semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and (iii) an exploration of state crisis management. Instead of viewing competition within the construction sector as an isolated sphere, we argue that the inherent unevenness within this sector needs to be grasped in combination with broader political-economic developments. We claim that rising productions costs (particularly in the tenant-owner sector) have been fuelled by soaring land prices, and that this situation has provided fertile terrain for rent-seeking throughout the housing supply chain. We conclude that calls for more competition, both in Sweden and further afield, tend to oversimplify the complex issue of housing provision and shroud more fundamental housing system imbalances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: One promising policy approach to addressing housing needs is liberalizing accessory dwelling unit (ADU) development. Yet, understanding the impact of such policy efforts is fundamentally constrained by the inability to quantify and characterize unpermitted ADUs, which may expose homeowners and tenants to legal, financial, and safety risks and confound policy evaluations. We addressed this gap by leveraging computer vision and human annotations to estimate the population of detached ADU constructions in San José (CA). Our contributions are threefold: 1) We estimated the proportion of unpermitted ADU constructions from 2016 to 2020; 2) we describe the demographic, housing market, and parcel characteristics associated with these informal ADUs; and 3) we provide a data set of labeled small buildings, excluding unpermitted detections, for further research. We found that informal ADU construction was substantial—approximately three to four informal units for every formal unit—and more likely in more diverse, dense, and overcrowded neighborhoods. Though our study was limited to analyzing detached ADUs during one time period, we set the stage for further investigations of informal housing across different typologies and over time. Takeaway for practice: Our approach demonstrates the promise of computer vision and human annotations to enable more robust, comprehensive, and reliable understanding of actual—not just permitted—housing units. We urge planners and other policymakers to consider the growth patterns of unpermitted ADUs to more optimally and equitably address housing needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: By examining the Residential Infill Project (RIP) in Portland (OR), this study addressed the ongoing debate on single-family zoning reform, focusing on the effectiveness of legalizing middle housing in expanding housing options in single-family neighborhoods. The analysis revealed a substantial increase in the proportion of middle housing in residential developments in single-family zones, from 13.4% before the RIP implementation to 44.7% in the 2 years after RIP's adoption. Almost 40% of these post-RIP middle housing permit units were replacements for existing homes. Compared with single-family housing developments, middle housing projects were more likely to be in neighborhoods with greater density, better walkability, and lower income. The RIP broadened middle housing accessibility by allowing their development on non-corner lots, at greater distances to the city center, and in medium-density single-family zones. The RIP's approach to regulating development density and building size significantly reduced the average size of middle housing units in single-family zones to less than half that of single-family homes. Given the strong correlation between home sizes and prices, it seems reasonable to infer that middle housing units have become considerably more affordable since the enactment of the RIP. Takeaway for practice: Eliminating single-family zoning represents an initial step in expanding housing options in single-family neighborhoods. More comprehensive zoning reforms are essential for meaningful improvements in housing affordability and diversity. Cities must reassess and amend zoning codes, particularly development standards, to foster innovation in middle housing development and encourage developers to build smaller homes to lower housing costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: On-demand transit is attracting the attention of transportation researchers and transit agencies for its potential to solve the first-mile/last-mile problem. Although on-demand transit has been proved to increase transit accessibility significantly, its impact on transit equity and equality has not been addressed. In this study we examined the potential impact of the On-Demand Multimodal Transit System (ODMTS) in Atlanta (GA), on both transit equity and equality compared with the existing transit system. The results showed that ODMTS could have a positive impact on transit equality by reducing the disparity in transit service between neighborhoods close to and far from the existing transit network; however, it may not improve transit equity. Takeaway for practice: This study highlights the fact that improving transit service alone is not enough to create an equitable transportation environment, as accessibility is determined by both transportation and land use. Planners should consider interventions that address both factors, such as transit-oriented developments with affordable housing, to meaningfully tackle the inequities in transit accessibility. An interactive online portal for further exploration of various scenarios of accessibility changes in Atlanta and their impact on equity and equality is available at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: The housing affordability crisis is exacerbating displacement and exclusion in built-up urban neighborhoods. Although new housing development might help, it faces local opposition. Researchers have struggled to inform this debate because of data challenges, so we constructed a unique database on construction and household-level mobility to determine how development affects displacement and exclusion in the subsequent 5 years in Los Angeles (a typical coastal "hot market" in California) and San Francisco (the extreme "superstar city" case in California). We found that developing new market-rate housing generally helped slightly to alleviate both displacement and exclusion pressures for low-income households in Los Angeles and helped increase in-migration into weaker market neighborhoods in San Francisco. But particularly in the hottest markets, the new market-rate units could fail to spur low- and moderate-income households' in-migration and exacerbate their out-migration. Likewise, the positive impacts of the new market-rate units may fade over time. Subsidized housing generally mitigated both exclusion and displacement slightly in most markets. Future research should examine long-term effects in a variety of contexts, controlling for the role of housing policies such as rent stabilization. Takeaway for practice: Market-rate housing development may help alleviate rent pressures locally and regionally, but it is not sufficient to address displacement and exclusion at the neighborhood level. Because new production helps to mitigate displacement and exclusion in some contexts but exacerbates it in others, planners need to understand the market and neighborhood context for development. In addition to supporting more market-rate and subsidized housing development through zoning and fiscal tools, planners should implement complementary policies such as housing preservation and tenant protections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIn jurisdictions with security of tenure regimes that limit no-fault evictions, renovictions emerge as a strategy to increase rents and the profitability and market value of rental units. Within the context of the current housing crisis in Canada, renovictions receive increased attention from media. Through a media analysis of news articles from five prominent Canadian print news sources, this paper investigates the ways in which the popular print media in Canada present renovictions. The results indicate that the media captures common justifications for the practice, presents the vulnerabilities of renovicted tenants, the consequences of renovictions, and tenants’ attempts to halt renovictions. This paper contributes an improved understanding of the presentation of renoviction and vulnerability as consequences of housing commodification. Further, it summarizes the discourse on renovations which is consumed by the public and policymakers who can advocate for and make changes to residential tenancy acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]