Problems Associated to Urban Housing

Presented by J. B. Nangpuhan II (MPA Student) for the class (Urban Policy) of Dr. J. K. Seo at Chonnam National University, South Korea. 2011

 

Gentrification, Housing Redifferentiation and Urban Regeneration: ‘Going for Growth’ in Newcastle upon Tyne (Stuart Cameron)

 

INTRODUCTION

This report aims to present important urban housing policies and the problems associated to it. The article of Stuart Cameron on “Gentrification, Housing Redifferentiation and Urban Regeneration: ‘Going for Growth’ in Newcastle upon Tyne” outlined some key urban housing policies in the United Kingdom. Going for Growth policy is the central topic in this report. This policy is later expounded to present its relationship to gentrification, housing redifferentiation, urban regeneration, urban renaissance, and neighbourhood renewal. Although the article above specified Newcastle in UK, it is an ideal city for research about issues of low housing demand. The overall reason within which low housing demand develops is regional economic weakness. This leads to population loss through migration. Newcastle city is a regional capital city shifting its economy from manufacturing to service employment.

The problem of low housing demand is a two-tier process. First, low housing demand emerges more in neighborhoods, not city-wide. It is those in neighborhoods who are most severely affected by deindustrialization and economic polarization.  The social problems of crime and anti-social behavior which accompany economic exclusion and the resultant stigmatising of neighborhoods are key elements. Second is the desire of those who want to distance themselves from the stigmatised areas of the city. People crowd into safer and higher-status areas. This will result in imbalances with extreme polarization of house prices. It is these key elements in Newcastle which Going for Growth seeks to address.

 

A.      The ‘Going for Growth’ Policy

Going for Growth was adopted as a policy by Newcastle City Council in July 1999. It proposed a city-wide regeneration strategy to the year 2020. The strategy linked economic development, urban renaissance and the retention and growth of population within the city to the future of deprived and stigmatised neighbourhoods characterized by population loss and low housing demand. The policy was set out in Going for Growth: A Green Paper published in January 2000.

In the Green Paper, it was found that the concentration of weak neighborhoods was identified in the belt of riverside wards, especially to the west and to a lesser extent to the east of the city centre. The core strategy for these areas was large-scale housing redevelopment. It was proposed in the Green Paper that some 6,600 houses would be demolished – 5,000 in the West End and 1,600 in the East End. In these areas, new housing would be constructed by private developers and Registered Social Landlords. This will introduce a new and more middle-class population to these areas (gentrification). It seeks to introduce new population with existing communities and create the size and diversity of population to support the development of new schools and other essential community infrastructure.

 

B.      The Protests/Problems on Urban Housing

The crucial element of the Going for Growth policy was the proposed large-scale housing redevelopment. However, it is considered by many as a radical change in achieving critical mass. Critical mass is the creation of new neighbourhoods and populations large enough to challenge the stigmatised image, to create a sense of security and to transform the demand for services and the cathment populations of neighbourhood schools. Some residents in Newcastle initiated protests about the policy. Reasons for the protests are the following:

1.       Period of Consultation Process – the 3 months period for the consultation process was too short, thus, there should be a longer period of consultation.

2.       Style of Consultation – A Council Select Committee noted that there is no genuine consultation process that took place in Going for Growth. This policy was presented to the people as the only alternative. Hence, it is marked as a necessity, not a choice.

 

C.      Going for Growth as Gentrification

Gentrification is the process of renewal and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighbourhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses. This definition of gentrification is often viewed to be a form of large-scale housing redelopment concept of Going for Growth policy. Below are issues of gentrification:

1.       Rehabilitation vs. Redevelopment – Gentrification actually involves both context of rehabilitation and redevelopment. A traditional gentrification means more on rehabilitation of existing housing. It is the physical renovation or rehabilitation of what was frequently a highly deteriorated housing stock. Recent periods saw the existence of redevelopment in housing which is meant as housing construction.

2.       The issue of Displacement – Some areas identified by the Going for Growth policy in Newcastle will surely displace low-income residents. The policy is now considered a form of gentrification. However, some alternatives came into place such as relocation policies for the displaced population. The City Council noted that some residents will stay in the area while others will choose to relocate. The selection of who will stay and who will leave depends on the ‘well-documented antisocial behaviour’ of the displaced residents.

3.       Gentrification: Negative or Positive? – The impacts of gentrification have negative and positive effects. Gentrification is viewed to be negative because of the displacement of low-income residents and the elderly. At worst, there is a strong possibility of ‘ghetto formation’ in cities which involves the concentration of the poorest and of minority ethnic group. However, its positive effect can be associated to the development of the area in economic terms. We can see a positive gentrification on the policy of housing redifferentiation in Netherlands.

 

D.      Going for Growth as Housing Redifferentiation

In the Netherlands, housing redifferentiation policies were developed in response to changes in housing and planning policies in the 1990s. Redifferentiation policies proposed adding more expensive dwellings in low-income neighbourhoods by removing some inexpensive dwellings through demolition. It also involves upgrading and sale of existing dwellings. Priemus (2001) argued that the trajectories of social housing in the UK and Holand have diverged since 1980, with a much greater decline and residualisation of social housing in the UK. In the Netherlands, “social renting is not stigmatized as a housing segregation for the have-nots” (van Kempen and Priemus, 1999). It is then argued that social housing in the Netherlands still has a bright future serving both low- and middle-income-groups.

 

E.       Going for Growth and Urban Renaissance

Under the Labour government since 1997, two separate strands of urban regeneration policy have emerged – urban renaissance and neighbourhood renewal. Urban renaissance is concerned with making the environment of cities more attractive to counter movement from cities. The Going for Growth policy is similar to urban renaissance in terms of objectives, values, and methods. Both of them are trying to make the city more attractive and a liveable place. The only difference is that Going for Growth in Newcastle seems to be addressing social issues such as improving social mix of social housing estates. Urban renaissance however, puts emphasis on addressing physical issues such as urban land availability, urban design and environmental quality. 

 

F.       Going for Growth and Neighbourhood Renewal

Neigbourhood renewal focuses on the populations of disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and, especially of areas of social housing. Tony Blair, the former prime minister of UK, better explained nieghbourhood renewal as to be ‘people-focused’ emphasizing education, child development, employment training and health. This concept of neighbourhood renewal is opposite to the large-scale housing demolition and redevelopment of Going for Growth. Another difference of Going for Growth and neighbourhood renewal is on community engagement and empowerment. The importance of consulting and empowering local communities underlies the whole philosophy of Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy. However, both of them have a desirability of achieving socially mixed neighbourhoods – a mixture of low- and middle-income groups.

 

CONCLUSION

Perhaps the complex problems on urban housing will be very difficult to achieve ‘positive gentrification’. A number of possible positive and negative scenarios might be considered. First, on the positive, a ‘win-win’ outcome would see a successful transformation of the areas. It brings them new people and life; and helps the original population by improving local schools and services and removing the stigma so long attached to their neighbourhoods.

Second, on the negative, there is a possibility that the policy might not work at all because development, investment and incoming residents may not be attracted – the barriers may be too high to overcome. Third, on the negative, the policy will be implemented but bring no benefits to existing residents. This might be as a result of substantial displacement, perhaps in particular of what are deemed anti-social tenants. Or it might be that the middle-class neighbourhoods may simply be irrelevant to the lives of residents in the surrounding areas.

Real alternatives to solve problems on urban housing in particular and urban regeneration in general lie beyond a single city. In this case, Newcastle City Council cannot solve its problems alone, there has to be a globalize outlook to address urban housing problems. Perhaps it is best to consider US models, but that it might be more effective to follow the example of countries like Denmark, Sweden, and Netherlands.

 

References:

Cameron, Stuart (2003). Urban Studies, Vol. 40, No. 12. Carfax Publishing. United Kingdom

Newcastle City Council, United Kingdom. Housing. www.newcastle.gov.uk

National Housing Federation, United Kingdom. www.housing.org.uk