Mixed Communities: Do They Matter and Can We Create Them? Keith Kintrea Department of Urban Studies

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 2 “We should try to introduce in our modern villages and towns what was always the lovely feature of English and Welsh villages, where the doctor, the grocer, the butcher and the farm labourer all lived in the same street. I believe that it is essential for the full life of a citizen to see the living tapestry of a mixed community.” (Aneurin Bevan, Housing Minister, 1945)

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 3 ‘A key focus of our housing and regeneration policies is the creation of mixed communities- communities where among other things there is a mix of incomes and sufficient range, diversity, affordability and accessibility of housing within a balanced market’ (People and Place: Regeneration Policy Statement, 2006)

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 4 Unmixed Communities: Trends 1. Increasing inequalities in labour markets and income 2. A large group experiencing disadvantage 3. Deepening residential segregation and tenure polarisation 4. Social housing as a welfare ‘safety net’ 5. A tendency for disadvantaged groups to separate from the mainstream (the ‘socially excluded’; the ‘underclass’) 6. In poor areas- social disorganisation; poor socialisation and disorder

5 New and Transferred Tenants All Adults (up to 74) in Housing Association Houses All Adults (up to 74) in Scotland Working full time or part time Training0.4-- Unemployed Retired At home Student Long term sick Other Source: SCORE Digest ; Census 2001 Economic Status of Housing Association Residents

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 6

7

8

9 ‘’Neighbourhood Effects’’ Is it worse to be poor in a poor area or one which is more socially diverse? What is the effect of living in a poor area on an individual/household on their life- chances?

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 10 The natural experiment

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 11 How do area effects operate? Social isolation e.g. away from labour markets Social networks e.g. restricted to the neighbourhood, lack of information about opportunities Norms and expectations e.g. lack of diversity of role models The interaction of poverty concentration with services e.g. higher pressure/less political efficacy and therefore poorer quality services

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 12

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 13 Barriers to mixed communities? (Evening Times 14 th November 2006)

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 14 Can we create them? National policy Housing development Housing management Greater permeability Building new mixed communities Injecting mix into majority deprived neighbourhoods

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 15 National Policy Improve economic prospects through jobs growth and/ or tax and benefit changes Greater tenure neutrality/ ‘reinvention’ of social housing Presumption in favour of social mix for all new housing developments by strengthening planning gain measures in the planning system and creative use of public funding and leverage

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 16 Approaches to Housing Development Building or improving social housing in already deprived areas just maintains their poor status, so instead: Concentrate social housing ‘investment’ away from existing deprived areas De-link subsidy from place by offering ‘portable subsidies’ instead of carrying out in-situ housing redevelopment

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 17 Housing Management Key is to find ways to attract more people that have other choices: Allocations- the problem or the solution? Choice based lettings? Better estate management? ‘Wider role’?

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 18 Increase Permeability Increase the inward and outward permeability of deprived areas by: Putting transport into the regeneration agenda Giving people more reason and incentive to travel outwith their home neighbourhoods Providing services and attractions within deprived areas which make them attractive to visit for outsiders

Keith Kintrea, Dept of Urban Studies 19 So..