Prof Christine Whitehead gave one of the keynote speeches at The American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association (AREUEA) 2016 annual international conference held in Alicante, Spain. Christine’s presentation, titled ‘Is Social and Affordable Housing in Jeopardy?’ dealt with the questions of why social and affordable housing matter, the different definitions and practices across Europe over time, and a historical overview of financing models in Europe and in the UK. She also discussed the current trends in social provision taking into consideration the changing demographics which include the more vulnerable, more ethnic minorities, and more migrants, as well as the logics driving the regeneration of post-war estates, namely that they are now of poor quality and expensive to maintain and improve. Christine went on to provide an overview of different European countries and their experiences with social housing. She concluded with some of the factors that need to be considered in determining the continuing role of social and affordable housing.

More information about theAREUEA and the conference program can be accessed here.

Christine’s PPT presentation can be accessed here.