Collective action and habitability in residential contexts

Francesco MinoraBologna, 7/11/2015francesco.minora@cbs.tn.it

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 Edgbaston area of Birmingham in direct proximity of the new QE Hospital Birmingham which is also home to 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 which are 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 neighbourhood

CHARACTERS • 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

H’ Nord project in Bordeaux

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