Mixed Communities and Their Efficacy - Essay Example

Mixed Communities: Reduced Housing Units in Higher Income Residential Areas Public Housing policy has developed through time. Originally, governments made improvements upon uninhabitable residential areas by full demolition and subsequent renovation of those slums.1 But as sociologists have concluded, in order to conquer socioeconomic disparities, all income brackets must be interconnected in order to attain a unified social fabric and develop attractive communities.2 Within mixed communities this cohesion is possible. The purpose of mixed communities is to improve the quality of life of low-income families and combat the disadvantages often incurred by them in concentrated low-income areas. Due to the trend of "growing economic segregation and economic deprivation"3 governments and urban planners have developed housing plans in order to prevent further marginalisation of the lower-income classes. The segregation of these people is a concern, as residents in low-income concentrations have higher levels of unemployment, their job networks are limited, and their neighbourhoods are plagued by poor healthcare and schools.4 Mixed communities are created in a variety of ways, through the evolution of older housing areas, as a by-production of mainstream housing development, by the overall masterplanning of new areas, and by intentionally altering existing areas whose origins were social renting'.5 THEMES: SATISFACTION, HEALTH, INTEGRATION OF NEIGHBOURHOOD SATISFACTION When discussing mixed communities and their efficacy in the improvement of living standards of low-income families, key issues that social scientists review are related to community satisfaction. Mixed neighbourhoods ideally will be agreeable to both subsidised low-income families and the higher income families that pay full market price. It has been shown throughout the literature that despite the labelling of 'mixed community', the prime factor in desirability of housing is the housing unit itself, including design, spaciousness, cleanliness, and location. HEALTH Low-income households are particularly benefited in relocation to mixed housing communities because of the improved cleanliness, safety, and general wellbeing of the neighbourhood. Oftentimes, residential areas of low-income concentrations do not have fully functional amenities, are neglected in service standards and resource allocation.67 In fact, in a study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NAHNES), Kumanyika and Grier (2006) linked childhood obesity prevalence to low-income housing.8 There is an absence of higher-end amenities and services, like hospitals and clinics. Lack of recreational opportunities for both children and adults, are characteristic of low-income areas. INTEGRATION Contrary to desired outcomes of mixed communities, little evidence has shown that low-income persons in better-off areas climb the social ladder in terms of job opportunities or increased salary.9 However, due to the disconnect from their previous residential areas, it can be said that poverty, unemployment, and drop-outs, are less likely to be perpetuated.1011 In a 2005 study conducted by the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. on England communities, researchers found a favourable ambience between neighbours of different income brackets in mixed communities. One tenant said, "I personally would not think that anybody was very different whether they are renting their house off the council or buying, and I really don't know why there is this great big emphasis."12 But before it be concluded that mixed communities interact so well as to improve social networks, it should be clarified that in two separate research studies,13 mixed communities interacted well and were civil, but "mostly co-existed as neighbours rather than friends"14. That is to say, they were polite to each other, but did not mix in the same social circles. DEBATES A certain difficulty for mixed communities and housing developments is the lack of flexibility of these areas during interaction with the larger municipal setting, which is to say the real estate market. Planned neighbourhoods should be cohesive with open-sector neighbourhoods dependent upon fluctuations of the housing market. The logic of this is that the more rigid the guidelines of mixed communities, the more susceptible they will be to failure. The obverse of a people's housing policy is one where the decisions are made unilaterally by public sector institutions. Essentially this is a monopoly approach in which the planning, design and execution of housing programs take place without reference to consumer demand. The result is that housing services are produced which do not satisfy the needs of the clients. (Frankenhoff)15 For this reason, the University of Westminster set research students and Development faculty to the task of reviewing their own and others' case studies, in order to define key factors in the success of mixed neighbourhoods.16 After all, attractiveness is key to residents' satisfaction. One of the areas the Westminster students defined for the creation of successful communities was the existence of 'a full range of housing types and sizes.' Other researchers have alluded to this as well, like Berube (2005), and Desmond17 (2001). An issue concerning public housing developments is their 'non-place' in the real estate market. In 1998, the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust attempted a creative solution to one of their neighbourhood's increasingly un-mixed population. The problem was that more and more houses within the 'mixed community' were being inhabited by low-income families, thereby making in less attractive to other future buyers. In order to prevent this housing community to turn into a ghetto, the trust opened up a number of homes to the open market for sale or shared ownership.18 A related debate is whether mixed communities harm the wellbeing and hinder the progress of more affluent households in those areas. Contrary to fears, it has been proven that housing developers may maintain as much confidence in mixed communities as in others: "There was no evidence that mixed communities lowered the prices of houses or put off potential purchasers."19 PERSPECTIVES One perspective of mixed-community opponents is that residents from low-income areas 'do not care' about the standards of their environment. They will not provide the necessary up-keep on their houses and the neighbourhood will be injured by the inclusion of low-income families as their homes become the block's eyesores. In fact, in a set of interviews conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, it was found that the perceived 'lack of up-keep' of low-income people was a product of living and working in problem environments.20 The following is an illustration of how "Sometimes even the most motivated and responsible residents" are worn down: I used to be out cleaning I used to go out and lift up (rubbish) and I thought 'What the hell am I doing I'm far too old for this'. I don't touch it now.21 The same study found that low-income families regarded their homes in much the same way as others, and there was no perceivable difference between the two types of dwellers. OMISSIONS In survey of the literature, I was unable to find any research related to ratio of housing types within mixed communities. Among other motivations, mixed communities are designed for the social integration of all income levels, meaning that low-incomes and high-incomes will equally reside within neighbourhoods. However, I wonder if there is a limit on the number of low-income families that may be placed within a mixed community before it hinders the community. Also, it was difficult to impossible to find statistics on the allocation of government funds for these neighbourhoods, and who these resources are controlled by. Secondly, the research projects and case studies conducted within mixed communities have excluded one very important investigation. To support this statement, let us recall that low-income residents in new neighbourhoods find satisfaction with their new housing mainly because of improved cleanliness, facilities, and services. In higher income areas, there are more clinics, stores, pharmacies, etc. In lower income areas, there is no foreseeable profit for investors, and they do not want to invest there. What would happen in this scenario: What if service sites, particularly concerning healthcare and recreation, like parks, were implanted in areas of low-income concentration Then, would the findings like those of Kumanyika and Grier be different Thirdly, what happens with the problem environments that still exist Mixed communities are better-off communities with the sporadic inclusion of subsidized families. What happens with the areas of concentrated worse-off families Although urban planners have gone away from the 'demolish' then construct slap-dash 'brick and mortar' approach,22 opting for social inclusion of families, there still exist those areas of unhealthy, uninhabitable housing complexes that cause people to give up hope, saying "It will stay a dump no matter what we do" and "There's that much rubbish we just tend to walk past it"23. Research has been conducted on the inefficacy of municipalities to deal with slum areas. But more experimental work should be conducted in order to improve the situation for those yet excluded. As Berube (2005) pointed out in his study funded by the Brookings Institution, "It may be more important-and more realistic-for policy to prevent detrimental non-mix than to pursue some idealised mix across the whole of the country."24 A related issue is income. Families are subsidised in order to meet the standards of better living neighbourhoods. To solve the problem at its cause would be to increase the minimum wage earned by workers so that they would fiscally afford better housing. In time, slums, or areas of concentrated low-income families -- areas subject to adverse health and school environments, not to mention social exclusion - would be abandoned as all residents attained a better quality of life by that increased annual income. Notes Read More