Poor Housing

"There is, in all of Canada, a severe shortage of decent quality housing that is affordable to those with low incomes, and a great deal of inadequate, and often appalling, housing. This has been the case for many decades. The poor condition of their housing adds to the weight of the complex poverty that poor people endure-their health is likely to worsen, their children's education may be adversely affected, their neighbourhoods may be prone to violence. However, the federal government has almost always been ideologically opposed to public investment in low-income housing, moreso now than earlier federal governments. The irony is that the social costs of poor housing and its attendant complex poverty with which it is typically associated are greater than the costs of investing in subsidized, social housing and associated anti-poverty measures. It is long past time that we set in motion the means by which this problem can finally be solved. Poor Housing examines some of the consequences of the dogged persistence of poor housing for low-income people using Winnipeg as a case study, and it looks at some innovative community-based strategies that have been and are being tried in an attempt to solve at least some aspects of the problem."--

"This book urges readers to reconsider the fate of public housing, arguing that urban poverty - what Silver calls spatially concentrated racialized poverty - is not solved by razing public housing. On the contrary, public housing projects rebuilt from within, based on communities' strengths and supported by meaningful public investment could create vibrant and healthy neighbourhoods while maintaining much-needed low-income housing."--Page 4 of cover.

Across Canada, there is a severe shortage of decent quality housing that is affordable to those with low incomes, and much of the housing that is available is inadequate, even appalling. The poor condition of housing for those below the poverty line adds to the weight of the complex poverty they already endure, which includes worsening health, adversely affected education and neighbourhoods that are more prone to crime and violence. Using Winnipeg, Manitoba, as an example, Poor Housing examines the real-life circumstances of low-income people who are forced to live in these conditions. Contributing authors examine some of the challenges faced by low-income people in poor housing, including difficulties with landlords who abuse their power, bedbugs, racism and discrimination and a wide range of other social and psychological effects. Other selections consider the particular housing problems faced by Aboriginal people and by newcomers to Winnipeg as well as the challenges faced by individuals living in rooming houses. A central theme in the collection is that the private, for-profit housing market cannot meet the housing needs of low-income Canadians, and, therefore, governments must intervene and provide subsidies. But all levels of government have shown a consistent unwillingness to invest in decent housing for low-income people. The irony is that the social costs of poor housing and the complex poverty of which it is a part are almost certainly greater than the costs of investing in subsidized social housing and related anti-poverty measures. Finally, the authors describe a number of creative and successful housing strategies for low-income people in Winnipeg, including Aboriginal housing co-ops, a revitalized 1960s-style public housing complex and a highly creative repurposing of an inner-city church into supported social housing. In these successful cases, communities and governments have worked cooperatively to good effect.

Households across Europe are struggling with a double crisis—the worst inflation shock since the World War II and a sudden correction in house prices. There is a rich literature on how housing price cycles affect consumer spending, finding mixed results with a wide range of consumption responses to changes in housing wealth. In this paper, using quarterly data on 20 countries in Europe over the period 1980–2023, we analyze the dynamic relationship between inflation-adjusted housing wealth and consumer spending and obtain statistically significant and economically intuitive results. Household consumption responds positively and swiftly to changes in real house prices and gross disposable income as expected. Using the estimated coefficients, we can deduce that the average quarter-on-quarter decline of -1.96 percent in real house prices in the first quarter of 2023 in Europe could dampen consumer spending by about -0.51 percentage points in real terms on a cumulative basis over a horizon of eight quarters.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, when Paris became a modern urban center, the problem of working-class housing emerged as a major issue. In this study Ann-Louise Shapiro examines the reform activites of philanthropists, economist, municipal authorities, politicians, and public hygienists as they, together and separately, responded to the quesitons of the worker's foyer. Shapiro shows that the hgousing cmapign touched all aspects of the "the social question." providing a rare perspective on the political, social, and institutional readjustments required by a changing urbgan environment in nineteenth century France. Shapiro's work will prove important reading for students and scholars of French history, urban society and government, and public health issues.

Improved housing conditions can save lives, prevent disease, increase quality of life, reduce poverty, and help mitigate climate change. Housing is becoming increasingly important to health in light of urban growth, ageing populations and climate change. The WHO Housing and health guidelines bring together the most recent evidence to provide practical recommendations to reduce the health burden due to unsafe and substandard housing. Based on newly commissioned systematic reviews, the guidelines provide recommendations relevant to inadequate living space (crowding), low and high indoor temperatures, injury hazards in the home, and accessibility of housing for people with functional impairments. In addition, the guidelines identify and summarize existing WHO guidelines and recommendations related to housing, with respect to water quality, air quality, neighbourhood noise, asbestos, lead, tobacco smoke and radon. The guidelines take a comprehensive, intersectoral perspective on the issue of housing and health and highlight co-benefits of interventions addressing several risk factors at the same time. The WHO Housing and health guidelines aim at informing housing policies and regulations at the national, regional and local level and are further relevant in the daily activities of implementing actors who are directly involved in the construction, maintenance and demolition of housing in ways that influence human health and safety. The guidelines therefore emphasize the importance of collaboration between the health and other sectors and joint efforts across all government levels to promote healthy housing. The guidelines' implementation at country-level will in particular contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG 3) and sustainable cities (SDG 11). WHO will support Member States in adapting the guidelines to national contexts and priorities to ensure safe and healthy housing for all.

This book explores the circumstances surrounding state-provided, low-cost housing for people at the lower end of the housing market in Africa. It deploys Ubuntu philosophy to unpack the provision of housing security to citizens, arguing that interpreting housing rights within Ubuntu philosophy recognises the spirit of reciprocity and collective solidarity as fundamental to meeting the housing needs of low-income groups. In essence, the volume reflects on the values of Ubuntu and informs both policy and practice by guiding policymakers, researchers, and practitioners with the episteme of basic human rights and the Ubuntu philosophy. It pointedly grapples with issues that resonate with efforts by African governments to protect vulnerable citizens from multidimensional poverty, homelessness, gender-neutral policies, and self-help housing schemes. The book’s insights raise red flags concerning the realisation of Ubuntu as a vehicle earmarked to deliver adequate and sustainable housing delivery outcomes. The volume is a must-read for academics, researchers, practitioners, government officials, and leaders from various sectors.