Patterns of Local Authority Housing Allocation in Greater London between 1966 and 1973: An Inter-Borough Analysis

Abstract

This paper develops the idea of 'territorial justice' to examine geographical variations in housing policy within Greater London between 1966 and 1973. Using the London boroughs as observation units, the approach involves the application of multivariate techniques to derive indices of housing need and the use of correlations to gauge the extent to which rates of housing provision are allocated on a level commensurate with these needs. The results indicate considerable variations in rates of rebuilding and renovation amongst authorities with similar estimated levels of need, and an attempt is made to explain these disparities by reference to the characteristics of the boroughs. Multiple regression equations derived with ridge estimates suggest that the political character of the boroughs has a particularly important effect upon housing outputs. The implications of the results for inner-city policies are considered. IN the last decade the desire to reform the English local government system has stimulated a considerable increase in the quantitative comparative analysis of policies administered by local authorities (e.g. Alt, 1971; Ashford, Bern and Schram, 1976; Boaden, 1971; Bristow, 1972; Davies, 1968, 1969; Davies et al., 1971, 1972; King, 1973; Nicholson and Topham, 1971, 1973, 1975; Oliver and Stanyer, 1969). Such studies typically use published statistical information concerning local authority expenditures and physical outputs and relate these with multivariate techniques to the social, political and economic characteristics of the authorities concerned. One of the principal factors leading to this increased scrutiny of local authority policies has been the growing awareness that local policies vary considerably from area to area and that individuals in similar circumstances may receive substantially different amounts and combinations of publicsector goods and services depending upon the administrative authority in which they are resident. This, in turn, has led to increased pressures for central policies designed to promote equality of treatment for individuals irrespective of their location. Much of the inspiration and impetus for this type of analysis has come from the pioneering work of Davies (1968), who developed the notion of 'territorial justice'. In essence, this concept is a geographical extension of the normative principle 'to each according to his needs'. Thus Davies (1968, p. i6) claims: In the services for which the most apparent distribution between individuals is 'to each according to his need' the most appropriate distribution between areas must be 'to each according to the needs of the particular area'. Since the former is synonymous with social justice we can call the latter term 'territorial justice'. Thus, if the units of observation are areas which are aggregates of individuals, 'territorial justice' is defined as: An area distribution of provision of services such that each area's standard is proportional to the total needs for services of its population (Davies, 1968, p. 39).