The decline and rise of neighbourhoods: the importance of neighbourhood governance

There is a substantial literature on the explanation of neighbourhood change. Most of this literature concentrates on identifying factors and developments behind processes of decline. This paper reviews the literature, focusing on the identification of patterns of neighbourhood change, and argues that the concept of neighbourhood governance is a missing link in attempts to explain these patterns. Including neighbourhood governance in the explanations of neighbourhood change and decline will produce better explanatory models and, finally, a better view about what is actually steering neighbourhood change

Design principles in housing for people with complex physical and cognitive disability: towards an integrated framework for practice

To develop a research-based environmental framework to guide the design and construction of suitable residential dwellings for individuals with complex disability. An environmental approach to housing design and development recognises that there are physical, psychological and social components relating to housing design, dwelling location and the neighbourhood context, and that these elements interact to affect the physical, psychological, and social wellness of individuals. Following theoretical review and synthesis, a comprehensive set of design features that are conducive to residents’ wellness and quality of life are described. It is clear that housing design and development for people with complex disability ought to consider the physical, social, natural, symbolic, and care environment in relation to housing design, dwelling location, and the neighbourhood context for improved housing outcomes. An integrated housing design and development framework is presented. It is hoped this practical matrix/evaluative tool will inform future inclusive housing design and development decisions in Australia and internationally. The application of this framework is especially relevant to political climates striving to achieve design innovation to increase housing choice for people with complex disability

The UK mortgage market: responding to volatility

The UK housing finance system is still recovering from the credit and financial crisis of 2007-2008. Some features of the system have made it particularly vulnerable to this crisis, notably the extent to which lenders have been reliant on the money markets and securitisation to enable them to lend and the generosity of loan conditions during the boom period, especially after 2005. Other features have helped the system to weather the crisis-notably the relatively low rate of transactions and the prevalence of variable rate and tracker mortgages, which meant that many existing borrowers saw their interest payments fall. At the same time the prime objective of the mortgage market-supporting sustainable owner-occupation-has been undermined as first-time buyers have found it more and more difficult to obtain mortgage funding. The objective of this paper is to assess the robustness of the UK housing finance system not only in the context of the current crisis but also in comparison with earlier crises. We discuss the fundamental issues of volatility and longer-term house price developments both before and after liberalisation. To address these issues the paper first looks at the history of housing market volatility, then at the details of the period since 2007 and finally at future prospects

Disparities in Prices and Income across German NUTS 3 Regions

In EU countries, knowledge on spatial disparities in overall price level is extremely scarce. When interregional price disparities are large, however, nominal income measures fail to assess prosperity and the catch-up processes of regions. Despite its importance for regional policy, no official regional price statistic is available as a standard. On account of this gap, this paper deals with the econometric estimation of regional price indices for German NUTS 3 regions. Econometric price models for the consumer price index (CPI) and the housing rent index (HRI) are developed on the ground of utility maximization in a two-goods model. The estimated price indices are used to analyse price disparities in the period 1995–2004 across German NUTS 3 regions. Real income comparisons show that the East /West gap is likely to be substantially larger than assessed from incomplete price data in previous studies

Employability, skills mismatch and spatial mismatch in metropolitan labour markets

The skills mismatch and spatial mismatch perspectives are often presented as competing explanations of the spatial distribution of unemployment within metropolitan areas. This paper argues that the spatial mismatch hypothesis addresses some of the shortcomings of the skills mismatch perspective, while not denying the importance of skills mismatch. The development of the spatial mismatch hypothesis in the US is traced, before considering its relevance in the British context. A framework in which to conceptualise and reconcile skills mismatch and spatial mismatch within metropolitan areas is developed, incorporating the operation of local housing and labour markets as well as the role of commuting. The paper concludes by arguing that skills and spatial mismatches reinforce each other and that the concept of employability offers some potential to help understand how job searchers and employers make decisions in situations of skills and/or spatial mismatch. The implications for future research are highlighted