Social housing and anti-social behaviour: two sides of the welfare coin - Essay Example

OF School of … Module … Social Housing and Anti-Social Behaviour: Two Sides of the Welfare Coin ID No The candi confirms that the work submitted is their own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. Signed: Dated: _______________ Contents Introduction 3 Research Questions 8 Rationale 8 Research aims and objectives 8 Research limitations 9 Literature Review 10 Research Methodology 13 Research focus 13 Research design 13 Plan of work 15 Research schedule 16 Implications 16 References 16 Bibliography 19 Introduction Social housing has a long history in Britain, which could be traced back to the philanthropic houses associations and societies in Victorian times, like the Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings of the Industrious Classes, set in 1841, and the Society for the Improvement of the Condition of the Labouring Classes, founded in 1844, with their early scheme – a block of model houses for families in Bloomsbury (Cherry, 1988). Similar work had been undertaken by a number of other bodies, the most prominent of which were Sir Sydney Waterlow’s Improved Industrial Dwellings Co. and the Peabody Trust. One of the largest ‘model dwellings’ associations had been the Artisans’, Labourers’, and General Dwelling Co. ltd, which delivered its first building in 1868, and by 1900, provided dwellings for over 40 000 (Cherry, 1988; Wohl, 1977). According to Lupton et al., social housing appeared more or less a scarce resource in the pre-Second World War period, as well as the better part of the 1950s, being built to relatively high standards and thus predominantly accessible to part of the working families (2009). It was the post-war campaign, however, launched in order to tackle the acute housing shortage by that time and to provide better housing conditions to a greater portion of the population, which brought in a large-scale expansion of social housing (Power, 1987, cited in Lupton et al., 2009). From the 1950s on, the high-volume housing building, mainly driven by slum clearance, replaced the emphasis on quality, which inevitably led to a lowering of standards and slipping status of social housing (Tucker, 1966, cited in Lupton et al., 2009). According to Stone, for instance, the UK public housing of the 1960s, especially the inner-city public housing, continued to expand, typically in large estates of monolithic blocks of flats and of quite dubious quality design and construction (2003). It is noteworthy that these apparently necessity-driven solutions per se had altered the manifestation of urban problems – from spatial to community-bound respectively – insofar as the massive slum clearance and the alternative accommodation in different location, style, and community setting ultimately brought about a considerable community disturbance (Young and Wilmott, 1957). On the other hand, as Stone points out, the substantial increase of low-income and non-white families in such public housing is thought to have set a pattern of marginalisation and stigmatisation due to the congruence of social and physical configuration (2003). In the 1980s, the social housing in Britain made up a large proportion of all housing and accommodated a significantly diverse population, whether being considered in geographical or socioeconomic terms (Stone, 2003). The public confidence in local authorities had already been damaged due to poor policies and management, including inability to carry out basic repairs, along with the fact that tenants had never participated in the decision-making process but had to live with the consequences; widespread crime and vandalism just made the things worse thus adding up to a long list of problems (Shapely, 2008). Additionally, according to Stone, after the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme, which was introduced in 1980 under Margaret Thatcher and offered council tenants considerable financial discounts if they decided to buy their homes, much of the most desirable housing stock was taken away from the sector; mainly due to the fact that the right to buy was exercised by those tenants who could afford mortgages and lived in the best quality housing in the most desirable locations (Forrest and Murie, 1988, cited in Stone, 2003). Thus, besides a major contribution to the owner-occupied housing growth, the right to buy scheme is thought to have yielded three noticeable results in regard to social housing, depicted by Stone as ‘residualisation’ – a substantial reduction in local council’s housing stock as a whole, leaving most of the remaining housing stock as large urban estates of low construction quality and worsened maintenance, and, most notably, a shift in social housing population towards considerably poorer one and by far more diverse in ethnic terms (Stone, 2003). As part of the Thatcherite reforms, there were other initiatives such as the Estates Action scheme – primarily targeted at upgrading areas of run-down council housing – along with the City Challenge scheme, which also contained an element of physical renewal in council housing areas (Jones and Evans, 2008). Being concerned with maintenance and regeneration of local councils’ housing estates, both schemes were funded through the Housing Improvement Programme (HIP), which gave local authorities the choice of where to spend the resources allocated within a block grant (Jones and Evans, 2008). Following the ‘New’ Labour victory in 1997 general election, the government of Tony Blair declared great resolution in dealing with many urban problems, including housing, by recourse to social inclusion, neighbourhood renewal and community involvement (Imrie and Raco, 2003). The first Barker report, ‘Delivering Stability: Securing Our Future Housing Needs’, drew attention to the pattern of housing land’s allocation, proposing that it should be related to the market price of land (Jones and Evans, 2008). The Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS 3) was consequently issued in 2006, being intended to address the need for high-quality design, biodiversity preservation/restoration, as well as the need to be secured mixed communities through the provision of socially affordable housing (Jones and Evans, 2008). According to UK DETR data, the needs of repairs and improvements in council housing amounted to 19 billion pounds (2000); having incorporated housing issues into its social inclusion agenda, the Blair government made a commitment of about 3.6 billion pounds for this purpose from 1997 to 2002 (Malpass and Murie, 1999, cited in Stone 2003), and, at the beginning of 2003, committed 2.8 billion over the next three years to upgrading council housing (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2003b), which, taken together, accounted for one third of the overall need. Apart from the physical, financial and ownership issues, there is an array of social issues, including tenant’s rights in social housing, affordability, demographic change, and social exclusion, etc. (Stone, 2003), that are thought to have contributed to, and currently influence, the emergence and spread of anti-social behaviour as spatially concentrated in certain social housing estates. Being a costly and increasingly key topic of public concern in the UK, anti-social behaviour became specifically targeted by UK government’s new policy initiatives, strategies and legal instruments, varying from anti-social behaviour orders to cognitive behavioural programmes and parenting skills training for families at risk (Rubin et al., 2006). The paucity of convincing evidence that these measures yield the expected results necessitates a research, which would, first, identify certain relationship between social housing and anti-social behaviour, and, second, suggest starting points for discussion on producing a strategy intended to improve the effectiveness of government-led measures concerned with anti-social behaviour. Three more sections are further presented within the current proposal, in order to set the framework for developing the project: Research Questions – explaining the goals and objectives of the research, as well as its rationale. This section provides a more detailed account of the points summarised in the introduction above, scrutinising the gaps in the present approach to manifestations of anti-social behaviour, along with the reasons why they exist. The section also specifies the way those gaps will be addressed by the current study. Literature review – providing a critical outlook on the existing literature that is significant for the project. The section situates the current study within a wider conversation on the anti-social behaviour issue and its interrelation with social housing, and provides the data and reference material needed; as well as justifies the choice of methodology adopted. Research Methodology – the section introduces and describes the overall methodological approach to the research aims and objectives; Implications – states the practical importance of the research aims and objectives and benefits of the project. Research Questions Rationale Numerous writings concerning social housing in the United Kingdom have indicated more or less a pronounced interrelation between social housing estates and manifestations of anti-social behaviour varying from animal nuisance, serious noise problems, vandalism and property damage, including graffiti, to intimidation, harassment, racial and domestic abuse, drug dealing or/and misuse, etc. Although the availability of new policy initiatives, strategies and legal instruments, including anti-social behaviour orders, cognitive behavioural programmes and parenting skills training for families at risk (Rubin et al., 2006), there is no clear indications whether these efforts bore fruit. Whereas the importance of tackling the issue of anti-social behaviour is long ago recognised by both government and the public, and sound, in-depth analyses of the reasons behind that phenomenon are rather scarce, yet available, what is really missing is a reasonable, well-focused and, more importantly, aggressive enough strategy for the issue to be dealt with. Therefore, a research is needed on the options open to the public and national leadership for dealing with the reasons for anti-social behaviour as interrelated with social housing. Research aims and objectives The overall aim of the research is to suggest starting points for further discussion that would explain the reasons behind certain manifestations of anti-social behaviour as connected with social housing, and would propose an adequate strategy for dealing with the issue as well. The two specific aims are: 1. To provide better understanding of the link between anti-social behaviour and social housing; 2. To outline comprehensive method/methods of approach to tackling the issue, which to contribute towards a tangible change in the frequency and severity of its manifestations. The following objectives cater for achieving the stated aims: To provide sufficient evidence, derived from the available literature, official statistics, governmental reports, strategies and other documents, that there is certain, unquestioned link between social housing and anti-social behaviour; To provide compelling evidence that the manifestations of anti-social behaviour in social housing estates are inextricably connected with people’s circumstances, like employment, education, deprivation, etc.; To review and discuss the most important governmental programmes, strategies and policies associated with anti-social behaviour; To review and discuss the pro- and anti-social housing arguments as presented within the relevant literature; To better explain why the present-day welfare approach and attitudes appear a double-edged sword in regard to spurring anti-social behaviour; To evaluate the current approach to dealing with the issue, with all its strengths and weaknesses, to determine its constraints and to suggest alternatives; Research limitations Given the available data in the specialised literature and the author’s level of competence, the research will not perform a specific in-depth analysis of anti-social behaviour and its manifestations, as well as the relevant programmes, initiatives and strategies for dealing with the issue; but will rather use the information from existing research in the field. The subject scope of the research will be limited to anti-social behaviour as related to social housing in both historical and nowadays contexts, the reasons behind them, and their implications for the future; as well as to the necessity of better approach and the way it could be achieved. The geographic scope of the research will be limited to the United Kingdom. Literature Review As mentioned above, the importance of tackling the issue of anti-social behaviour is long ago recognised by both government and the public. Alongside the debate on the public value of social housing, it has produced a fair amount of literature which expounds on various issues within the subject. In considering the subject matter of the project, the author has been advised on specific matters, like what manifestations of anti-social behaviour would account for, historical and statistical data on social housing, governmental policies and strategies dealing with social exclusion, deprivation, regeneration and other housing related issues, legal proceedings and issues concerning anti-social behaviour, etc., through the relevant literature – including books and book chapters, newspaper articles, online publications, study reports and case studies, legal documents and regulations, governmental reports and reviews, etc. – which generally form the thematic lines posited within the literature review. These texts are listed below in alphabetical order: Cherry, G. E., 1988, Cities and Plans: the Shaping of Urban Britain in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, London: Edward Arnold - the book provides a viewpoint for exploring the development of housing, including social housing, over the centuries. Feinstein, L. et al., 2008, The Public Value of Social Housing: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship between Housing and Life Chances, London: The Smith Institute – the analysis advise the current research on the relationship between social housing and people’s life chances. Imrie R. and Raco M., eds., 2003. Urban Renaissance? New Labour, community and urban policy, Bristol: The Policy Press - this textbook intended to shed light on the New Labour’s brand of urban policy since 1997, with its main strengths and weaknesses and the consequences for the process of urban regeneration, appears as another reference source for the current research. Jones P. and Evans J., 2008, Urban Regeneration in the UK, London: SAGE Publications ltd - the textbook covers policy, governance, competition, sustainability, design and cultural aspects of urban regeneration, introduces and contextualises the UK urban regeneration agenda; thus, the textbook presents important vantage point for developing the topic of the current research. Lupton, R. et al. June 2009, Growing up in Social Housing in Britain: A Profile of Four Generations, 1946 to the Present Day, London: Tenant Services – the report examines the role that social housing has played for generations of Britons, as well as explores the links between social housing and families’ lives. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2003b. Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future – a Labour government’s programme of action, intended to tackle pressing housing problems in English communities, appears as another reference source for the current research; Rubin, J., Rabinovich, L., Hallsworth, M., and Nason, E., 2006, Interventions to Reduce Anti-Social Behaviour and Crime: A Review of Effectiveness and Costs. Cambridge: RAND Corporation – the report is aimed at presenting the findings of a literature review on the effectiveness and cost-benefit of interventions to reduce anti-social behaviour and crime; thus, given the very limited data on the effectiveness and cost-benefit ratios of such interventions, the report appears an extremely useful source of information for the current research. Shapely, P., March 2008, Social Housing and Tenant Participation, History & Policy – presents a historical overview of social housing and related policies. Stone, M.E., May 2003, Social Housing in the UK and US: Evolution, Issues and Prospects – provides valuable advice on the development and evolution of social housing philosophy and policy in the UK from the pre-World War I period to 2003. In addition, there are other texts include in the literature review, as follows: UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), 2000. The Housing Green Paper: ‘Quality and Choice.’ London: HMSO; Wohl, A. S., 1977, The Eternal Slum: Housing and Social Policy in Victorian London, London: Edward Arnold; Young, M. and Wilmott, P., 1957, Family and kinship in east London, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962 edn. Pelican; Two observations become obvious from the literature review. On the one hand, while evidence of certain interconnection between social housing and anti-social behaviour, related concerns and associated policies are more or less available, the real reasons behind the current state of the affairs remain relatively unexplored and therefore insufficiently addressed. On the other hand, though some attempts to fill the gap (Rubin et al. 2006), the existent literature does not present adequate data concerning the effectiveness of the government and public efforts to reduce anti-social behaviour. The current research suggests a view of this side of the issue, as clear as possible, considering all the existing limitations and possible ambivalence of the result. Research Methodology Research focus The project is focused on the relationship between social housing and anti-social behaviour, evaluating the existent approaches, and considering new ways of approach to the issue, which would suggest adequate measures to tackle it. Research design The method of research adopted for this project consists in two key components. The first is an extensive study of relevant literature, including books and book chapters, newspaper articles, online publications, study reports and case studies, regulations, governmental reports and reviews, etc., which contain various data, including historical and statistical evidence, as well as differing views on the subject. The literature study is expected to yield the following results: firstly, to trace the history of social housing in Britain and related issues, like deprivation, social mobility, welfare dependency, etc., in order to identify existing interconnections between social housing and people’s circumstances that are deemed responsible for certain behavioural patterns; secondly, to examine the current approaches and attitudes to manifestations of anti-social behaviour, in order to evaluate the adequacy of the proposed solutions and their effectiveness; thirdly and finally, to draw upon, and consider theories, arguments and findings which relate to the project’s questions, and thus to help situate the project in the context of existing research in the field. The second line of research is in the form of a survey that will be conducted within a 100-strong random sample of UK respondents currently working for housing associations/local council housing units. The choice of respondents will be through ‘Survey Monkey’ on the Internet. The survey is intended to establish, first, what is their opinion on the link between social housing and anti-social behaviour, second, which are the most frequently observed manifestations of anti-social behaviour in their experience, third, do the respondents see the current legislation- and government-led measures to tackle anti-social behaviour as sufficient and adequately resourced. Thus, the survey will seek to understand the real reasons behind the interrelation between social housing and anti-social behaviour, as well as to evaluate – to the degree allowed by the author’s level of competence – the adequacy of the current approach. For the purpose of the survey, a questionnaire will be drawn up and tested. There are some practical limitations that could affect the data objectivity of the survey, namely the willingness of the respondents to answer all the questions, inconsistent opinions, etc. These limitations will be addressed via shorter, intelligible questions, and sample questions which to determine the degree of sincerity. Plan of work The research will proceed in three phases, as follows: during the first phase the data collection will be performed in order to lay the groundwork for the second and the third ones, and the information will be analysed with relevance to the research aims and objectives. The second phase will encompass the survey sample selection, preparation of the questionnaire and carrying out the survey itself; the survey results will be analysed and summarised in order to be incorporated into the research body in the form of a case study. The third phase will consist in preparing and producing the research manuscript. The research design, as proposed, has several strengths. First, the data collection provides the necessary level of awareness of both relationship between social housing and anti-social behaviour, and the adequacy of current measures and policies concerning the latter. Second, the survey is considered essential for better understanding of what is at the bottom of the interrelation issue, as well as for critical evaluation of those government programmes and policy initiatives currently in operation. The analysis of the survey data in a case study will provide for identification of those neuralgic issues of paramount importance to be addressed. And finally, the combination of sufficient data, including literature evidence and statistics, and a better knowledge of the causes of anti-social behaviour, as spatially concentrated in social housing estates, would outline the elements of a successful strategy sought to improve the effectiveness of government-led measures dealing with anti-social behaviour. Research schedule Phase one Timing Data collection and analysis June 15th – July 30th, 2012 Phase two Timing Survey sample selection, preparation of the questionnaire and implementation of the survey August 1st – September 15th, 2012 Phase three Timing Preparation of the manuscript September 16th – October 30th, 2012 Implications With regard to the previous sections, the practical importance of the research aims and objectives is to outline the key elements of an adequate and aggressive enough strategy which, if adopted, would improve the effectiveness of government-led measures dealing with anti-social behaviour as related to social housing estates. References Cherry, G. E., 1988, Cities and Plans: the Shaping of Urban Britain in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, London: Edward Arnold Feinstein, L. et al., 2008, The Public Value of Social Housing: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship between Housing and Life Chances, London: The Smith Institute [online] Available at < http://www.smith-institute.org.uk/file/ThePublicValueofSocialHousing.pdf> [Accessed 2 February 2012] Imrie R. and Raco M., eds., 2003. Urban Renaissance? New Labour, community and urban policy, Bristol: The Policy Press. Print Jones P. and Evans J., 2008, Urban Regeneration in the UK, London: SAGE Publications ltd [online] Available at [Accessed 11 February 2012] Lupton, R. et al. June 2009, Growing up in Social Housing in Britain: A Profile of Four Generations, 1946 to the Present Day, London: Tenant Services Authority [online] Available at [Accessed 2 February 2012] Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2003b. Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future. February 2003. [online] Available at < http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/146289.pdf> [Accessed 12 February 2012] Rubin, J., Rabinovich, L., Hallsworth, M., and Nason, E., 2006, Interventions to Reduce Anti-Social Behaviour and Crime: A Review of Effectiveness and Costs. Cambridge: RAND Corporation [online] Available at < http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2006/RAND_TR448.pdf> [Accessed 14 February 2012] Shapely, P., March 2008, Social Housing and Tenant Participation, History & Policy [online] Available at < http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-71.html#S4> [Accessed 11 February 2012] Stone, M.E., May 2003, Social Housing in the UK and US: Evolution, Issues and Prospects, [online] Available at [Accessed 10 February 2012] UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), 2000. The Housing Green Paper: ‘Quality and Choice.’ London: HMSO. Print. Wohl, A. S., 1977, The Eternal Slum: Housing and Social Policy in Victorian London, London: Edward Arnold. Print. Young, M. and Wilmott, P., 1957, Family and kinship in east London, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962 edn. Pelican. Print. Bibliography Cherry, G. E., 1988, Cities and Plans: the Shaping of Urban Britain in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, London: Edward Arnold Feinstein, L. et al., 2008, The Public Value of Social Housing: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship between Housing and Life Chances, London: The Smith Institute Imrie R. and Raco M., eds., 2003. Urban Renaissance? New Labour, community and urban policy, Bristol: The Policy Press Jones P. and Evans J., 2008, Urban Regeneration in the UK, London: SAGE Publications ltd Lupton, R. et al. June 2009, Growing up in Social Housing in Britain: A Profile of Four Generations, 1946 to the Present Day, London: Tenant Services Authority Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2003b. Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future. February 2003. Rubin, J., Rabinovich, L., Hallsworth, M., and Nason, E., 2006, Interventions to Reduce Anti-Social Behaviour and Crime: A Review of Effectiveness and Costs. Cambridge: RAND Corporation Shapely, P., March 2008, Social Housing and Tenant Participation, History & Policy Stone, M.E., May 2003, Social Housing in the UK and US: Evolution, Issues and Prospects UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), 2000. The Housing Green Paper: ‘Quality and Choice.’ London: HMSO. Wohl, A. S., 1977, The Eternal Slum: Housing and Social Policy in Victorian London, London: Edward Arnold Young, M. and Wilmott, P., 1957, Family and kinship in east London, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962 edn. Pelican Read More