Competition between social and private rental housing

In the context of shifting regulatory approaches and changing provision structures in many Western rental housing systems, the notion of competition between social and private rental housing has received increasing attention from practitioners and academic researchers. This thesis explores and theorises the concept of inter-tenure competition in order to advance understanding of what it means in local and national market realities, as well as in business and political practices. Results indicate that competition in mixed markets is a complex matter, much of which is explained by the distinctive properties of social and private rental services. Inter-tenure competition is shown to be the interplay of structural and political conditions, individual and organisational business goals, and the perceptions and strategic decisions of both providers and consumers. The results suggest that the degree of competition relates to specific points in time and is mainly a question of which rental market segment one is looking at. &nbsp

Book review: Nick Gallent: Whose Housing Crisis? Assets and Homes in a Changing Economy

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Chapter 9 The housing careers of younger adults and intergenerational support in Germany’s ‘society of renters’

Through narrative interviews with younger adults and their parents , this paper explores how the housing transitions of younger adults, both within the rental sector and into homeownership, are shaped through intergenerational intra-family support in Germany’s society of renters. Our fi ndings highlight the profound qualitative diff erences between regular transfers for establishing and retaining residential independence in the rental sector and inter vivos gifts for house purchase. Where the former support type is given and taken unconditionally, transfers for house purchase follow a diff erent logic and carry diff erent meanings. Being a necessary condition for property acquisition at young age, they have the power to completely rebalance family relations and undermine younger adults’ autonomy accordingly. In an aggregate perspective, our study further suggests increasing socio-spatial inequalities within the younger generation which run along both class and spatial origin, sharply dividing the housing market opportunities of ‘original Berliners’ and those who have moved to the city from more affl uent regions in Germany

Chapter 1 Housing careers, intergenerational support and family relations

The home and family have always been mutually embedded, with the former central to the realization and reproduction of the latter. More recently, this mutuality has taken on a more critical salience as realignments in housing markets, employment and welfare states in many countries have worked together to undermine housing access for new households. In this context, families have become increasingly involved in smoothening the routes of young adults members up the ‘housing ladder’ into home ownership. Intergenerational support appears to have become much more widespread and not just confi ned to familialistic welfare regimes. The role of intergenerational support for housing remains, however, highly diff erentiated across countries, cities and regions, as well as uneven between social and income classes. This introduction to the Special Issue explores how the role of housing wealth transfers has impacted the renegotiation of the generational contract. In doing so, it sets the scene for the articles that follow, each of which contribute signifi cantly to advancing understanding of housing as a key driver of contemporary social relations and inequalities

Nick Gallent: Whose Housing Crisis? Assets and Homes in a Changing Economy

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Confronting hidden COVID-19 burden: a telemedical solution for elective urological outpatient clinics

Maintaining high-quality care for urological patients is a challenge during and after the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We observe an increasing volume of postponed elective visits at our tertiary care hospital, holding the risk for deterioration of non-emergency disease conditions. As it is unclear for how long the pandemic will last, we propose to implement telehealth as a solution to provide regular symptom monitoring compatible with social distancing guidelines during the pandemic and beyond. Telemedical assessment and prioritizing of high-risk patients for individual consults at outpatient services will have to be aligned with available outpatient capacity and local outbreak severity