Residents' views of new forms of high density affordable living Joanne Bretherton

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Can high density mixed-tenure housing built on brownfield sites offer a solution to a number of challenges we face? Among these are the social and economic imbalance in our cities, the unaffordability of housing for keyworkers like nurses and teachers, and issues such as the environmental costs of commuting. New, mixed-tenure high density housing using innovative design is often seen as the answer to many issues facing our cities.

However, there are also concerns that these new forms of housing are culturally at odds with a British society that often aspires to a suburban lifestyle and is repelled by the idea of high density living. This research focuses on the perspectives of the residents of eight newly developed schemes. It uses a mixture of innovative methods to explore peoples’ relationships with their homes, in order to determine whether the lifestyles offered by these new developments can provide an affordable, attractive city life to their residents.

Undertaken for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the study directly informs current policy development in the provision of affordable higher-density housing in a mixed community setting. Particular attention is given to the impact of housing design and the management of social cohesion and anti-social behaviour in higher density developments. These issues are currently core concerns within housing policy and housing management in all parts of the UK.

 ISBN 978 1 905018 54 3/ 978 1 905018 55 0     Order no: 245    Published: April 2008

Contents

Chapter One: About the research

• Introduction
• The research objectives
• Background to the research
• The research methods
• The report

Chapter Two: The case studies

• Introduction
• The criteria for selection as a case study
• The case studies
• Similarities and differences

Chapter Three: The decision to move

• Introduction
• An overview of the decision to move
• Affordability
• Location
• Design and architecture
• The design and layout of flats and houses
• Crime and safety
• Communal facilities
• Summary

Chapter Four: Living in the case study schemes

• Introduction
• An overview of life in the case study schemes
• Affordability
• Design and architecture
• The design and layout of flats and houses
• Crime and safety
• Housing management
• Social cohesion within the schemes
• Summary

Chapter Five: People and their homes

• Introduction
• Factors that 'delighted' respondents
• Factors associated with discontent
• Good and bad together
• Summary

Chapter Six: Residents' futures in the schemes

• Introduction
• To stay or not
• Reasons for wanting to move
• Respondents housing aspirations
• Summary

Chapter Seven: Policy recommendations and lessons for new developments

• Introduction
• The successes of the schemes
• Areas where the schemes were less successful

Further reading

• Creating and Sustaining Mixed Income Communities: a good practice guide
• Creating and Sustaining Mixed Income Communities in Scotland: a good practice guide
• Mixed Tenure Twenty Years on – nothing out of the ordinary
• More than Tenure Mix – developer and purchaser attitudes to new housing estates
• A Good Place for Children? Attracting and retaining families in inner urban mixed communities