Attitudes of Owners and Renters in a Deprived Neighbourhood

Abstract

Abstract Housing policies often promote homeownership in order to stabilise a given urban neighbourhood, assuming that investment in housing will result as well in investment in the neighbourhood. This reasoning has been guiding housing policies in many countries and is supported by many empirical studies. Does this thesis hold true for deprived areas as well? Is increasing ownership an appropriate strategy to ‘stabilize’ deprived neighbourhoods? To investigate these questions, we analysed data from a representative survey in a deprived neighbourhood in Cologne, Germany. We asked both owners and renters about their attitudes towards disorder, collective efficacy and social control. Results indicate significant differences between these groups: owners perceive more social control and more social capital in the neighbourhood and less disorder. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.