Social Housing Stock Research Articles

Knowledge sharing through scenario development: Experiences of an interdisciplinary and international research project

This paper discusses knowledge sharing through scenario development as applied in the interdisciplinary and international research project uVITAL. It focused on user-oriented upgrading of the social housing stock. The aim was to gain deeper insights into the specificities and commonalities of the four country case studies involved. Two online workshops, which included various steps for scenario development, were particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic when face-to-face exchanges were not possible. A Miro whiteboard was very useful as a technical communication and collaboration tool. This paper outlines the benefits and challenges of scenario development to facilitate communication and collaboration between researchers from different disciplines and national and cultural backgrounds, particularly in online and hybrid settings. The well-structured process of scenario development was an important step in the project, moving from passive to active knowledge sharing. This included issues of content, geographical and cultural diversity and methodological openness.

Housing Hardship Among Older Adults Living Alone: The Protective Roles of Aging and Housing Policies.

This study investigates the association between living arrangements and housing hardship among older adults across 21 high-income countries. Using data from the Gallup World Poll (2016-2020) and OECD databases, we employ multilevel regression models that can assess how individual- and country-level factors, including public spending on pensions and housing policies such as social housing stock and rent control, moderate these associations. Older adults living alone experience significantly higher rates of housing hardship compared to their counterparts, even after adjusting for demographic and economic factors. Public spending on old age pensions attenuates housing hardship for older adults living alone. While public spending on housing shows limited effectiveness, social housing availability and rent control emerge as protective measures, reducing housing hardship among older adults living alone by providing stable and affordable housing options. This study emphasizes the need for targeted interventions to support independent living.

Housing systems, housing insecurity, and life satisfaction: a multilevel analysis of 158,765 individuals in 32 countries

Across nations, housing insecurity has been shown to affect life satisfaction. However, it is unclear (a) for whom housing insecurity affects life satisfaction and (b) whether and how housing systems moderate the association between housing insecurity and satisfaction. This study aims to reduce such knowledge gaps. We used data from the Gallup Poll that collects socioeconomic status and living standards from 158,765 individuals in 32 countries between 2016 and 2022. Multi-level regression was conducted to estimate the association between housing insecurity and life satisfaction, and the moderating effects of individual level employment status and country level housing systems. Housing insecurity significantly predicts a decrease in one’s life satisfaction. However, the association between housing insecurity and life satisfaction is moderated by individual level employment status and country-level housing characteristics. In low homeownership countries compared to high homeownership countries, the impact of housing insecurity on life satisfaction is more attenuated for part-time workers than for full time workers. Similar results are found for countries with a larger social housing stock when compared to those with lower stock. Investing in social housing not only reduces housing insecurity, but it is also conducive to mitigating the impact on the life satisfaction of the socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Calculating the system-wide supply impacts of social housing estate renewal: new measures and methods

Estate renewal has come to be touted as a means of improving social housing supply both qualitatively and quantitatively, replacing ageing and under-maintained dwellings and increasing the total stock of social housing. In this paper, we examine the latter claim. We develop novel measures and methods for calculating the social housing supply impacts of estate renewal, taking account of the reduction in supply caused by tenant relocations and dwelling demolitions prior to the delivery of new social housing. Using administrative data on tenant relocations and dwelling completions for three projects in Sydney, we calculate the social housing accommodation deficit caused by the renewal process, subsequently, the time required for each project to deliver more nights of accommodation than this deficit. These measures illuminate the significant impacts of estate renewal on the social housing system and problematize its justification based on gross or net social housing supply. They constitute a valuable method for examining estate renewal, wherever it may occur.

Realizing NetZero in social housing: strategic public procurement and internal stakeholder engagement

ABSTRACT Energy costs and fuel poverty are major concerns for social housing tenants, many of whom are vulnerable citizens. To meet challenging NetZero targets, public organizations have used strategic public procurement (SPP) in decarbonizing social housing stock and to make it more energy efficient. Drawing on SPP and stakeholder engagement, we theoretically argue that public organizations’ diverse set of internal stakeholders are integral to SPP. Empirically, we provide evidence of a disconnect between organization-facing and customer-facing stakeholder groups which must be considered and addressed if NetZero targets, and organizational responsibility are to be achieved when implementing SPP.

Inadequate Social Housing and Health: The Case of Oliver Bond House, The Liberties, Dublin

Background Inadequate housing is an important social justice issue that adversely affects health. Methods Drawing on an extended ethnography case study, this paper presents the results of a resident-led survey to highlight the health consequences of inadequate social housing, as residents wait for a ‘fair regeneration’ of their social housing ‘flats’ estate within a gentrifying inner-city Dublin neighbourhood. Results Four key concerns were identified by residents as part of this analysis: (1) substandard housing conditions which are physically harmful to health; (2) the emotional toll of an unsafe social environment; (3) lack of child friendly and community green spaces; and (4) constrained mobility due to inaccessible housing design. Conclusions The results highlight the urgent need to place greater priority on the maintenance of the existing social housing stock and demonstrate the need for public housing policies that recognize the quality and quantity of adequate housing provision, where care is at the heart of housing policies. The paper also presents a novel ‘City of Care’ framework, following the need to develop an ethics of care within cities where public health, community wellbeing, solidarity, residents’ empowerment, and social justice principles are at the forefront. Given that housing is an essential contributor to good health, it is now time for a joint public housing and public health agenda to create healthier homes by confronting the everyday impact of inadequate housing to tackle social inequalities more broadly.

Household energy vulnerability evaluation in southern Spain through parametric energy simulation models and socio-economic data

When proposing the most suitable strategies for retrofitting the residential stock it is essential to consider energy vulnerability, the current state of stock, users’ economic capacity and climate. This work analyses energy vulnerability on regional and neighbourhood scale, applied to the social housing stock in southern Spain. Three key vulnerability indicators are assessed through extensive public databases and validated parametric energy simulation models: 1) buildings energy performance, based on simulated indoor thermal comfort; 2) users’ socio-economic vulnerability, based on their income levels; and 3) climate influence, implementing future climate data into the simulations. The different energy vulnerability levels identified in the research are of great interest for retrofitting the existing stock as they help establish priority action guidelines. It is concluded that social housing in Andalusia currently exhibits a noticeable level of energy vulnerability in winter, with a greater severity of undercooling compared to overheating. In 2050, overheating in summer will significantly worsen, generally surpassing cooling. Despite of the Mediterranean climate, there are noticeable comfort differences between the cities analysed, with Cordoba and Granada being particularly relevant. Finally, a worse thermal performance in winter of the H-block typology was observed, which in summer occur for the linear block buildings.

Building parameter influence on overheating and undercooling risks in the Mediterranean social housing stock of southern Spain

Building parameter influence on overheating and undercooling risks in the Mediterranean social housing stock of southern Spain

To What Extent Could Alternative Economic Models Increase Investment in the Renovation of and Reduce Energy Poverty in Social Housing in Flanders?

An important share of the social housing stock in Flanders is outdated, resulting in a high energy demand for heating. Energetic renovation is hence urgently needed. The current economic model, however, does not stimulate this due to a split incentive. As energy prices have increased in the past few years, more tenants have suffered from energy poverty. This paper investigates three alternative economic models aiming at increasing the incentive for renovation, while financially protecting the tenants. In the first alternative model, tenants are protected by inducing a maximal cost of living based on their income. In the second alternative model, a fixed rent is applied, while the third alternative model proposes to share the cost benefits of the energetic renovation. The paper analyses the alternative models by assessing the costs and income for social housing companies and the costs for tenants for an unrenovated building, a renovation with a low investment cost and a deep energetic renovation. The results show that limiting the cost of living based on income seems most interesting as this is beneficial for the tenants and gives an incentive for the social housing companies to renovate. To reduce energy poverty, a deep renovation is necessary.

Inadequate Social Housing and Health: The Case of Oliver Bond House,The Liberties, Dublin.

Inadequate housing is an important social justice issue that adversely affects health. Drawing on an extended ethnography case study, this paper presents the results of a resident-led survey to highlight the health consequences of inadequate social housing, as residents wait for a 'fair regeneration' of their social housing 'flats' estate within a gentrifying inner-city Dublin neighbourhood. Four key concerns were identified by residents as part of this analysis: (1) substandard housing conditions which are physically harmful to health; (2) the emotional toll of an unsafe social environment; (3) lack of child friendly and community green spaces; and (4) constrained mobility due to inaccessible housing design. The results highlight the urgent need to place greater priority on the maintenance of the existing social housing stock and demonstrate the need for public housing policies that recognize the quality and quantity of adequate housing provision, where care is at the heart of housing policies. The paper also presents a novel 'City of Care' framework, following the need to develop an ethics of care within cities where public health, community wellbeing, solidarity, residents' empowerment, and social justice principles are at the forefront. Given that housing is an essential contributor to good health, it is now time for a joint public housing and public health agenda to create healthier homes by confronting the everyday impact of inadequate housing to tackle social inequalities more broadly.

Analyzing the Impact of Public Housing Privatization on Immigrant Micro-Segregation in Milan

In several Western European countries, a significant share of social rental housing stock has been sold since the 1980s as part of government policies aimed at promoting homeownership societies. Research has shown that tenure conversion has contributed to increasing socio-spatial segregation of lower-income groups, with diverging spatial patterns of homeownership among immigrants. This paper examines the impact of recent public housing privatization schemes in Milan in relation to micro-segregation and peripheralization processes of foreign populations, which represent distinctive features of immigrant residential distribution in this city. By employing name analysis, an unconventional approach in segregation studies, I inferred the geographical origins of homebuyers and mapped their distribution across the city. The findings reveal divergent purchasing behaviors, whereby Italians predominantly acquire properties in semi-central areas currently undergoing urban regeneration. In contrast, immigrants tend to concentrate their acquisitions in peripheral post-war public housing neighborhoods or in areas predominantly inhabited by residents with similar geographical origins. This paper contributes to the existing literature on ethnic residential segregation in Southern European cities by shedding light on the underexplored role of public housing privatization policies in shaping specific residential patterns and housing outcomes among different groups.

Energy efficiency and energy performance gap in centralized social housing buildings of the Basque Country

The energy consumption of households is under scrutiny since 27% of the final energy consumption in Europe is due to this sector. The scientific community is making great efforts to analyse the energy consumption of residential buildings; however, in the case of social housing buildings, there is still a significant lack of knowledge regarding their actual energy consumption. Thus, in this research, we have analysed the monthly energy consumption over the last three years of 481 dwellings distributed in 6 buildings of the social housing stock of the Basque Country. We have normalised the heating and DHW consumption so as to have a sample of observations only dependent on the user behaviour. The results of the statistical analysis performed show that there is a significant variability of consumption in dwellings within the same building. The user behaviour strongly affects the efficiency of the centralized systems of the buildings, whose average value has turned out to be 65%. The overall energy consumption in these social housing buildings has been found to be considerably lower than the regional, national and European average indicators. Furthermore, the Energy Performance Gap differs from the average values found in the literature. This means that the measured final energy consumption of these buildings is 0.70 to 2.28 times the predicted calculated consumption.

СИСТЕМНИЙ АНАЛІЗ СПРИЯТЛИВОСТІ ЗОВНІШНЬОГО СЕРЕДОВИЩА ДЛЯ ФОРМУВАННЯ ЖИТЛОВОГО ФОНДУ СОЦІАЛЬНОГО ПРИЗНАЧЕННЯ

The study focuses on analyzing the impact of the full-scale war in Ukraine on the economy, demographics, and housing policy, with an emphasis on housing accessibility for vulnerable population groups. Utilizing the Delphi method and involving experts in housing policy, the research identified key aspects and factors influencing the formation of the social housing stock. The obtained results allow for grading the factors of the favorable external environment and de

Корпоративный подход к решению государственных задач: отраслевой аспект

The article provides a critical analysis of the content of corporate governance, which is a system of management actions fixed by the internal documents of the corporation and aimed at achieving its goals, and the corporate approach to business process management, the main difference of which is the interest of all participants in business projects, regardless of the form of ownership of capital. The role of the corporate approach in solving state tasks is defined, the basis of which is determined by the state’s presence in the implementation of individual projects, performing the functions of a co-owner of resources, coordinating the activities of all participants, and controlling the results of the project, including intermediate ones. Monitoring of the condition of life-support facilities in the cities of the Donetsk People’s Republic was carried out, the results of which indicate large-scale destruction of social and industrial infrastructure and housing stock. The results of the study of the state and dynamics of the restoration work allowed us to draw conclusions about the heterogeneity of damaged objects in terms of the degree of damage, the period of destruction, and the prospects for restoration. The study of the dynamics of certain types of construction work indicates the need for the active participation of the state in the restoration of both infrastructure facilities and apartment buildings. The problems of carrying out restoration work are formulated, which consist of the need for the state to participate in the engineering and project support of restoration work, especially at certain significant facilities, the provision of complex special equipment, and the high resource intensity of the projects being implemented.

Getting to net zero: Islington’s social housing stock

This paper describes the development of a detailed plan to get the social housing stock of the Borough of Islington in London, UK, to net zero carbon emissions. This stock is very diverse in form, age and construction, and includes houses, flats and maisonettes. A total of 4500 buildings containing some 33,300 dwellings were modelled using the 3DStock method. Six packages of measures combining fabric improvements, heat pumps and photovoltaic installations were evaluated for each dwelling individually, in terms of costs, the impacts on gas and electricity use, and predicted cuts in carbon emissions. The rollout of measures between 2020 and 2030 was modelled with a specially developed scenario tool, allowing the user to set different criteria and priorities. Fabric measures on their own were shown to achieve only a 13% cut in gas use on average. Heat pumps are the key to displacing gas use. With all measures combined and taking account of the predicted decarbonisation of the electricity supply, it is only possible to achieve an overall 70% cut in emissions by 2030. Policy relevance The development of a detailed practical plan of action is described: an applied case study with the close engagement of the local authority—not a theoretical desk exercise. Each dwelling in Islington’s housing stock was examined and measured separately. The modelling did not rely on ‘archetypes’ as in many such studies. Realistic retrofit options were analysed in each case, using current cost data from practitioners. The same approach could be applied directly to other London boroughs, and for local authorities outside the capital, although different costs and other local factors would apply. For readers outside the UK, the methodology and tools could serve as exemplars. The findings about the respective contributions of heat pumps, solar photovoltaics and fabric measures, and the effects of different priorities in the rollout of retrofits, have relevance for policymaking more generally at local and national levels.

Physical Environment Study on Social Housing Stock in Italian Western Alps for Healthy and Sustainable Communities

Climate change has reduced the comfort of community environments, and there is an urgent need to improve the health and well-being of low-income residents through design and technical measures. Therefore, this paper conducts research in the context of an ongoing social housing renovation project in Aosta, Italy, in a cold winter and hot summer Alpine environment. The study combined interviews, field measurements, and multiple software simulations to analyze the home of an older adult experiencing energy deprivation. The study found that the indoor acoustic environment quality meets the requirements of various sound-related standards. Still, the lighting and thermal environment must be designed to reduce glare and western sun exposure, and the air quality could improve. Residents’ demand for renovation is low technology, low cost, and high comfort. Therefore, suggestions for combining active and passive transformation measures and maximizing the use of climate and resources are proposed. The lighting and thermal environment are optimized based on the green wisdom of the Haylofts building of the Walser family in the Alps: increase ventilation and reduce indoor air age to improve air quality. Overall, a comprehensive assessment of extreme climatic conditions facilitates the quantitative and qualitative study and control of social housing environments, improves occupant comfort, and decarbonizes such social building stock.

Sustainable strategies to preserve tangible and intangible values in social housing rehabilitation: an Italian case study.


 
 
 The European social housing stock, built since the early post-war period, now needs major energy, structural and functional upgrading. The owners, almost always public bodies, are therefore called upon to adapt these buildings to the new regulations issued by the European Community. To reduce the costs of intervention, the preferred solution is that of a complete demolition and a subsequent reconstruction by using newly supplied materials, without considering the non-sustainability and social fallout of this choice. The contribution, starting from the hypothesis that more sustainable building rehabilitation interventions are possible, analyses which social and material supply aspects must be considered, and which design strategies can be applied to achieve the objective. First, the characteristics of social buildings in their historical evolution are summarized to understand their value in a broader non-economic sense. Subsequently, the requirements for a sustainable renovation of the existing social dwellings are analysed, and three, out of many other, design strategies are proposed. A case study is then presented and the application of the three strategies done through three Master thesis works is described. In conclusion, the results of the application of the strategies to the case study is analysed to assess whether it is possible to intervene on existing social housing complexes to achieve better results with a more sustainability-oriented perspective.
 
 

Public housing and the PINQuA in Italy

ABSTRACT After decades of disinvestment in public housing in Italy, the European Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) opens a window of opportunity for the regeneration of a housing segment displaying multidimensional (structural, spatial, economic, and social) criticalities. The PINQuA (Programma Innovativo Nazionale per la Qualità dell’Abitare), endowed with € 2,8 billion from the RRF, is a national programme, promoted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility (MIMS), aimed at enhancing the quality of housing and urban spaces, with a particular focus on the requalification and increase of the social housing stock and the adoption of innovative models of management and social inclusion. After the identification of 159 projects eligible for funding, it has recently entered the implementation phase, to be concluded until 31 March 2026. As the PINQuA is currently considered the main tool for addressing severe deficiencies in the residential landscape of Italy, high hopes are associated with the programme. The objective of this paper is to understand whether these hopes are justified with respect to the regeneration needs of the Italian public housing stock, analysing (i) to which degree public housing is the object of regeneration activities in PINQuA projects; (ii) which types of regeneration activities have been admitted for funding; (iii) innovative elements that can be identified in projects; and (iv) shortcomings of the programme and related procedures. The research has been developed through document analysis and a series of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from the public housing sector, public administrations, Federcasa (the Italian Federation of Public and Social Housing Providers) and academics.

Rehabilitating a mass housing neighborhood in Barcelona, a successful transformation?

Mass housing neighborhoods emerged in the second half of the twentieth century as an important part of the affordable social housing stock in Southern Europe, but now these are suffering from social problems and physical degradation. This article, which focuses on a case study of an archetypical transformation of a housing estate in Barcelona (Canyelles), aims at identifying the conditions needed to reduce social inequalities in this type of neighborhood and implement urban rehabilitation programs. The mixed methodology applied consisted of a combination of semi-structured interviews with the main actors involved, a focus group with the neighborhood council, and a multivariate statistical analysis of intra-urban fine-scale social indicators. Based on these methods, the urban transformation projects and their social consequences, which can be observed in the evolution of the social composition of the neighborhood, are analyzed. A significant improvement in the quality of life of the neighbors is seen as a result of the housing rehabilitation and renovation of public spaces programs. Ultimately, these changes are contributing to increasing social integration, as well as initiating a gentrification process.

Assessment of vulnerability to overheating at a regional scale through parametric simulation models and cooling degree-days analysis: The case of southern Spanish social housing stock

The urgent need to adapt urban environments to extreme weather conditions due to global warming has become a priority when allocating European funds. Current regional retrofitting plans focus on improving the well-being of the most vulnerable families by upgrading their homes. However, as there is no adequate characterization of the environmental behaviour of housing stock, local agents in charge of the management of social housing lack a procedure to identify the urban areas most urgently in need of retrofitting.This research aims to present a protocol for evaluating the vulnerability to overheating of social housing stock at a regional scale, as a prioritization decision support system. Parametric techniques for Building Stock Modelling were used in the development of 3000 models located in four climatic zones of southern Spain to assess their thermal behaviour considering adaptive comfort equations. Moreover, an index of vulnerability to overheating has been defined by normalizing comfort assessment through cooling degree-days. The comfort assessment outcome corresponds more closely with the analysis of cooling degree-days than with the Spanish regulations’ climatic zoning. According to the results, in the hottest climatic zone, occupants frequently endure discomfort up to 40% of the summertime, with hourly deviations of up to 7 °C above the indoor temperature comfort range.