francesco minora, collective action and habitability in residential contexts
TRANSCRIPT
Collective action and habitability in residential contexts
Francesco MinoraBologna, 7/11/[email protected]
Produzione di abitabilità e condizioni di efficacia di interventi di Social Housing
Post doc 2010 incoming (call 1)The “Trentino - PCOFUND-GA-2008-226070”
programme
The project
• 3 research lines :– Deepening a theory on self-
production of habitability (using IAD framework of analysis)
– Comparing practices and policies of Social Housing (9 cases in England, Italy and France)
– Geo-referencing habitability in Trento (quantitative analysis)
• Aims:– To extend the theory of the
commons to urban contexts; – To study social housing with
an international perspective– To understand the
effectiveness of self-organisation in producing habitability;
– to apply this theory to the Trentino local context.
Main objectsProcesses of production of habitability
• Habitability = a public good co-produced at many different scales; it’s the outcome of the interaction between a territory and the uses made of it by its inhabitants, based on housing choices, conditioned by community characters, biophysical conditions of the context, rules and organisational system
Collective institutions
• Institutional arrangements defined by groups of people aimed at overcoming some common problems along a certain period of time, defining the rules for accessing the group, the usage of resources managed by the group and the management system used by the group
Which actors for which housing policy?• 1 theory
– Self produced housing solutions can be a housing policy option if:
• 3 hypothesis:– They produce social inclusion– They maintain good housing condition over the
time– They develop robust institutional settings able to
last over the time• 3 institutional settings, 9 compared cases
(Italy, France e England)
1. Housing ourselvesCHARACTERS • Aim: to satisfy housing needs of a
specific group of people• Property regime: co-ownership • Time: long lasting and stable
communities• Institutional role: playmaker• Social interaction: commonification• Inhabitant: entrepreneur
ELEMENTS AFFECTING HABITABILITY • Accessibility : high homogeneity
(language, age, economic etc.)• Congruence: high congruence since the
beginning• Participation: one head = one vote• Control: informal in monitoring and
sanctioning• Conflict resolution mechanisms: proximity
prevent conflicts• legitimisation from over-ordered
institutions: through property• Internal coordination: through the group• Level of infrastructure within the context :
not required
Strengths
•They can produce affordable homes and mantein over the time this affordability•High level of congruence before inhabiting = less conflitcs•this model can be used even for renting
Weaknesses
• It is for very homogeneous and targeted groups
• High risky process• No guarantee for
environmental attention
Conditions
•Some incentives are needed for low income groups•Over ordered funds in order to give guarantee the enterprise doesn’t fail•Some incentives for environmental improvements
2. Self-producing housing servicesCHARACTERS • Aim: to improve housing conditions
through the delivery of services • Property regime: a community of
renters with a single owner• Time: short –medium period• Institutional role: pooling• Social interaction: service deliverer• Inhabitant: user
ELEMENTS AFFECTING HABITABILITY • Accessibility: level of homogeneity
defined from external players• Congruence: services are required by
the group• Participation: inhabitants are voted
and elected• Control: informal in monitoring and
formal for sanctioning• Conflict resolution mechanisms:
through information exchange and filtering
• Legitimisation from over-ordered institutions: contract
• Internal coordination: between contract signatories
• Level of infrastructure within the context: within the neighbourhood
About UsRoman Way Estate is situated in the Edgbastonarea of Birmingham in direct proximity of thenew QE Hospital Birmingham which is also hometo the RCDM and also Birmingham University.The area is considered a desirable place to live.
We have 272 properties on the estate:•2 High rise tower blocks (each with 42 flats)•26 Low rise blocks each with 4 flats•96 Houses
With a variety of tenure:•158 are council properties•46 are council leaseholders•68 are freehold properties a number of whichare rented to students of the University
Strengths
•Collecting information on the context•Delivering services timely preventing big damages•Help in defining much better the public expenditure
Weaknesses
•They have specific aims based on very narrow focused activities;•They hardly have strategic aims;
Conditions
•They have to be credible to the inhabitants they work for;•they don’t he to burden public expenditure;
3. Self-regenerating a neighbourhoodCHARACTERS • Aim: to concentrate investments over
specific areas• Property regime: a community of
homeowners (public and private)
• Time: long term projects• Institutional role: sharing • Social interaction: partnership • Inhabitant: promoter
ELEMENTS AFFECTING HABITABILITY • Accessibility: low homogeneity • Congruence: through the definition
of opportunities for the development• Participation: inhabitants are voted
and elected + local external key players
• Control: informal and formal in monitoring and formal for sanctioning
• Conflict resolution mechanisms: listening and problem solving
• Legitimisation from over-ordered institutions: plans and projects
• Internal coordination: through the network activated
• Level of infrastructure within the context: high level and required
Stregths
•They activate marginal resources•They reinvest profits over the area•if rooted, they grant long time improvements•The work for social mix
Weaknesses
•Inhabitants professionalise their knowledge •A risk of total delegation from public authorities •No financial standard solutions to be replicated•They cannot realise expensive infrastructure
Conditions
•Regeneration opportunities are needed (waste land, derelict areas etc.)•They have to work within their specific mission, otherwise they go bankrupt •An umbrella organisation is needed for high skills knowledge
Three conditions– Self organising communties are an option of
housing policy if:– They produce social inclusion:
• They produce sociable housing (reciprocity and sociability)
– They maintain good housing and physical conditions of the area:– Autonomous housing: inhabitants learn skills and instruments for how
to solving housing problems by themselves
– They develop robust and long lasting institutional settings:– Aimed housing: they can be used to single and targeted initiatives that
need entrepreneurial capacities