Angus Cunningham

September 19th, 2022

Planning for Justice Newsletter: Michaelmas term 2022

0 comments | 1 shares

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Angus Cunningham

September 19th, 2022

Planning for Justice Newsletter: Michaelmas term 2022

0 comments | 1 shares

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Some readings from our library on

Perspectives on Affordable Housing

Exploring our archives, we found some interesting readings on affordable housing

Non-fiction

James Meek, 2014. ‘Private Island: Why Britain Belongs to Someone Else’, London: Verso.

Perhaps better known for his fiction, James Meek brings to together a collection of essays, first published in the London Review of Books, on the Privatisation of Britain. With each chapter covering a different industry, Meek eloquently traces the logics and processes that have lead to the selling-off of public services in the UK. Having travelled to Russia during the final years of the USSR, Meek witnessed the privatisation of, what was, the largest state-owned planned economy, finding many commonalities between then and the state of Britain today. The final chapter of the book addresses the collapse of municipal housing in the UK, from the policy of Right to Buy, to the stock transfer of council housing to Housing Associations, noting the impact this has had on affordable housing provision in the UK.

Josh Ryan-Collins, 2019. ‘Why can’t you afford a home? (The future of capitalism)’, Cambridge: Polity.

Economist Josh Ryan-Collins takes a stab at the crisis of affordability facing those hoping to get on the housing ladder. Looking at why homeownership is becoming increasingly out of reach for many people around the world, Ryan-Collins points to a crucial paradox at the heart of contemporary capitalism. For Ryan-Collins this relates to the interaction between a scantly regulated banking system, the availability of credit and a finite supply of properties. The resulting effect is rising prices, declining homeownership, financial instability and rising inequality and debt. The final chapters address what can be done to make homeownership more affordable.

From Practice

The Baltimore Housing Roundtable, 2016. ‘Community + Land + Trust: Tools For Development’. 

As a coalition of homeowners, renters, people who are homeless, non-profit developers, community associations, policy experts and academics; The Baltimore Housing Roundtable was established in 2013 with the aim of making housing in Baltimore more accessible to all, through a focus on community development. This community resource traces the history of development in Baltimore and how this has interacted with racial segregation and deindustrialization. As a city Baltimore has followed a policy of ‘trickle down’ development, through which public subsidies are diverted to attract private investment. In reality this has produced a glut of uneven, speculative development; leading to issues of rising housing costs and homelessness. This handbook recommends a course of action on how to address these issues in Baltimore focusing on a new fair development approach, that is community centred.

Academic Books

Gregg Colburn & Clayton Page Aldern, 2022. ‘Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns’ (Berkeley: University of California Press 

In an attempt to better understand the regional variations in rates of homelessness across the US, housing scholar Gregg Colburn and data scientist Clayton Page Aldern, utilise accessible statistics to test a range of conventional beliefs about what drives homelessness. Covering mental illness, drug use, poverty, weather and other factors relating to the individual experience of homelessness, the authors come to the conclusion that none of them can provide a satisfactory answer as to why homelessness is more prevalent in certain places. Instead the others see structural factors relating to the housing market and its affordability as more convincing explanations.

Rajesh Bhattacharya & Annapurna Shaw, 2021. ‘Urban Housing, Livelihoods and Environmental Challenges in Emerging Economies’ (Himayatnagar: Orient Blackswan)

This book highlights how the rural-urban migration driving urbanisation in many developing countries has produced a particular set of urban policy challenges in relation to informality and housing. By utilising perspectives from Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and Thailand the authors advocate for more inclusive policies that involve low income citizens and ensure a sustainable future for modern cities. Key issues are addressed including the role of the state in low-come urban housing, the role of community and civil society and the impact of globalisation on housing policies in developing countries.

Journal Articles

Michael Edwards, 2016 ‘The Housing Crisis and London’ City, 20.2, 222-237.

Having lectured at UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning since 1969, there are perhaps few other people better placed to comment on the current housing crisis facing London. In this article academic and housing activist Michael Edwards traces the roots of the spiralling affordability crisis that has gripped the capital in recent years. Highlighting processes such as the financialization of housing and the increasing rentierization of contemporary practices of accumulation, Edward’s views the crisis as ultimately stemming from four decades of neoliberal policies. For Edwards it is a situation that has been made worse by the imposition of ‘austerity’ measures following the global financial crisis in 2008. Ending on a somewhat positive note, Edward’s identifies what may be the beginning of a unified social movement for change between all those negatively impacted by the housing crisis in London.

 

About the author

Angus Cunningham

Angus is currently a masters student at LSE, undertaking the Msc Regional and Urban Planning programme. He is mainly concerned with how the UK planning system has addressed the needs of marginalised groups, with a particular focus on the Gypsies and Travellers community. Prior to joining LSE Angus worked for the Home Office, working on policy delivery and implementation. He holds a Bachelors degree in Politics and Modern History from the University of Manchester.

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