From Housing Need to Housing Markets:

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• From Housing Need to Housing Markets
• Changing Institutions and Structures of
  Governance
• Martin McNally

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Presentation overview

• Research aims
• Approach to the research
• The factors influencing the analytical framework
• New institutionalism and rationale
• Key structures of governance in West Yorkshire
• Making sense of governance and territorial
  rescaling - key questions and themes
• Conclusions
• Did new institutionalism work?
• Questions / comments

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PhD Research Aims

• To examine and investigate the roles and
  responsibilities of (mainly public) institutions
  who have a stake in relation to understanding
  housing markets analysis
• To examine the utility of different analytical
  and methodological approaches to understanding
  housing markets
• To consider practical use that is being made of
  the data being generated and whether it
  translates into housing market intervention
• To look at role of new and emerging institutional
  structures of governance and the impact they are
  having on existing stakeholders charged with
  understanding housing markets
• Case study focus on West Yorkshire due to the
  significance of housing market interventions
  characterised varied markets and interpretations
  of housing markets
• Policy relevant funded as an ESRC Case
  Studentship and sponsored by the West Yorkshire
  Housing Partnership

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Approach to the research

• Approximately 50 interviews have been conducted
  with mainly with key stakeholders in West
  Yorkshire
• Focus group with managers of the Housing Market
  Renewal (HMR) Pathfinders
• Attendance at key stakeholder conferences and
  meetings
• Documentary analysis
• The identification of three case study areas East
  and South East Leeds (EASEL), Castleford and
  Pontefract (growth areas) and Ilkley (rural
  housing market).

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The factors which have influenced the research
and analytical framework

• The increased saliency of housing markets linked
  to a political shift in concern away from housing
  need, tenure and neighbourhood leading to the
  residualisation of social housing (Lambert and
  Malpass 1998, Mullins and Murie 2006).
• The growing academic and policy interest in and
  awareness of the need to understand and intervene
  in housing markets at various spatial scales
  (inter alia Maclennan and Tu 1996, Meen 2001,
  Cole et al 2003, Jones 2002)
• The shift to housing markets and strategic
  housing at an institutional level (Bramley et al
  2004)
• The existence of differentiated housing markets
  one size now does not fit all
• Variety of conceptualisations and interpretations
  of housing markets
• The link between the housing market and
  macroeconomic performance - The Barker Review of
  Housing Supply (HM Treasury 2004)
• And a recognition that housing markets do not
  respect administrative boundaries and the
  consequences for institutional working and
  emergence of complimentary structures of
  governance

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New institutionalism

• New institutionalism is presented as the central
  theme of the analytical and theoretical framework
• new institutional theory highlights the
  importance of the formal andinformal rules,
  norms and conventions through which social action
  is shaped. (Newman 200126)new
  institutionalists concern themselves with
  informal conventions, as well as formal rules and
  structures they pay attention to the way in
  which institutions embody values and power
  relations, and study not just the impact of
  institutions upon behaviour, but the interaction
  between individuals and institutions. (Lowndes
  2001 1953)

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Key Structures of Governance and Institutional
Relationships in West Yorkshire
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(No Transcript)
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Regional Governance post SNR
Source WYHP
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Regional arrangements being planned
Source WYHP
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West Yorkshire Sub-region

• West Yorkshire Housing Partnership
• Representing component local authority strategic
  housing interests
• Became designated as a Housing Market Renewal
  Area
• Developed a sub-regional housing strategy
• Managed a substantial investment programme
  addressing neighbourhood regeneration, private
  sector housing renewal, empty homes, and fuel
  poverty
• Collaborated on research, policy, and lobbying
  activity in a number of key areas

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Leeds City Region

• The Leeds City Region Partnership brings together
  the eleven local authorities to work together
  toward a common prosperous and sustainable city
  region in areas such as transport, skills,
  housing, spatial planning and innovation.
• The Leeds City Region is the real economy for 11
  local authorities across North, South and West
  Yorkshire. It is the area across which people
  travel to work, spend their leisure time, go to
  school, and live
• We work as a city region because the day-to-day
  lives of people do not start and stop at local
  authority boundaries. The LCR Partnership is
  about councils working across the boundaries in
  which people choose to live, work and spend their
  leisure time

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Institutional alliances below the sub-region
The spatial and institutional configurations
which can reflecting how housing markets are
understood and conceptualised
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• The Discourse of City Regions
• Recognised as a new scale of strategic and
  administrative government (Robson et al 2006, HM
  Treasury, DTI and ODPM 2006, DCLG 2006b, Core
  Cities Group )
• Cities increasingly seen as the locus of economic
  activity and development
• Performing a central role in lifting and
  accelerating regional and economic growth
• Existing local administrative boundaries less
  representative when compared to their real
  strategic and functional reach (Robson et al
  2006)
• The link between the geometry of labour markets
  and housing markets through journeys to work and
  commuting flows
• The alternative arguments
• The need for variable geometries in structures of
  governance (Robson et al 2006)
• Kooiman (2008) Interactive governance

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Making Sense of Rescaling and Changing Structure
of Governance

• The shift to housing markets and strategic
  housing brought about the need to work in a
  variety of institutional settings partnerships
  and policy networks
• Institutional structures attempt to reflect the
  changing perspectives regarding the
  configuration, conceptualisation and functioning
  of housing markets
• Therefore rescaling and changing structures of
  governance are important shapers in relation to
  how stakeholders respond to and instigate their
  strategic housing responsibilities and housing
  market analysis
• Stakeholders required to make sense of
  governance and rescaling
• Raised questions about the optimal scales of
  governance for understanding and responding to
  housing markets

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Changing governance and institutional structures
key questions and themes

• To what extent can higher level structures and
  strategies articulate local priorities?
• Is the city region a better, more optimal scale
  of governance for strategic housing than existing
  sub-regional governance e.g. the West Yorkshire
  Housing Partnership?
• Is sub-regional governance politically and
  institutionally possible?
• Collaboration versus competition
• Politics and democratic accountability
• The bigger picture
• The dominance of Leeds
• Increasing layers and complexity of governance
  and institutional relationships
• Local priorities, higher strategies and the
  increasing difficulties of translating policy
  into delivery

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Collaboration versus Competition

• The tensions between achieving collaboration
  versus competitionas soon as you start looking
  at how housing money is going to be divided up
  whos getting what? What are the programmes? Then
  the councils begin to act quite differently and
  people are then looking to get as much of a bite
  as they can. Senior Housing Manager
• The push towards strategic networks and
  partnerships versus local concerns and
  priorities
• The dominance of the larger metropolitan
  authorities
• Seeing the bigger pictureyou have to have a
  bigger voice than simply (the neighbourhood)
  advocating to government about whats needed.
  if we didnt have WYHP then everyone has to deal
  with government separately, then the more
  vociferous ones get the money. They have more
  clout ..and they have got people who are experts
  in the field. They (WYHP) are almost the honest
  broker to make sure that the voices at the lower
  level are heard Neighbourhood Manager

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Politics and Democracy

• The call for elected members to think outside the
  political box versus the democratic deficit of
  regional and sub-regional governance
• Criticism of the constitution of the Regional
  Assembly being politically controlled by
  council leaders pedalling their own political
  desires
• Not enough involvement of professional
  officersIf theres a housing requirement for a
  particular area, then its not something that
  there ought to be political intervention in and
  thats the difficulty because a large amount of
  the housing crisis is down to the fact that we
  dont release or control the release of housing
  as and when it is actually required. Private
  sector planner
• Recognising the democratic deficit of structures
  of governancepoliticians are elected on a local
  ticket and therefore have to deal with difficult
  and sensitive decisions back to their respective
  cabinet colleagues and ward constituents Senior
  Regional Assembly ManagerI find regional
  government very worrying actually because it is
  not democratic for starters and we are taking a
  great part in the city region. I am on the
  regional transport board and I am also on the
  regional planning board. The hat I wear tomorrow
  morning is Leeds city region and thats for
  planning. When I go to the transport board I am
  West Yorkshire authorities, and I am the one
  representative of all those authorities I think
  its absolutely appalling I suppose the argument
  is you have to be strategic and space yourself
  out, but that isnt really what politics is
  about. Thats not what people elect you for they
  have elected you as a representative for them and
  I cant possibly represent all those areas I
  just dont think its representative at all.
  Local councillor

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Increasing Layers of Governance

• I think sometimes it just adds another layer of
  confusion to the challenges and the business
  that people are trying to get on with I just
  wonder if we really do need any more complexity
  in terms of political structures and how they
  work together and all the play offs and the stuff
  that it inevitably brings with it. I just dont
  know that its fully embedded itself in peoples
  way of thinking and peoples understanding and
  what its going to mean for Halifax or Dewsbury
  Im not clear on that. Senior Local Authority
  Housing Manager
• I think sometimes we get so wound up about
  whats the region, whats the sub-region, whats
  the city .and people just get switched off. Its
  just like well what are we actually delivering?
  What are you actually implementing? I know we
  have to have the overall coordinated approach and
  I know we have to have the ideas and priorities
  as youd get nothing done, but sometimes I think
  we debate things that, you know, you just feel
  like saying Lets just get on and do it! And see
  what its going to do ..I just think there
  seems to be a lot of layers, a lot of
  bureaucracy, a lot of strategies but what are we
  actually delivering on the ground? LSVTO
  Director
• the thing is with all of this sort of stuff,
  there is so much discussion about frameworks,
  strategic alliances bla bla bla bla bla that what
  gets forgotten is that there is a little old tax
  payer who wants a return for the money which is
  taken out of their back pocket. One of the
  messages for local government is that there is
  too much structure and architecture of change in
  the front of peoples heads and not enough work
  under the bonnet. Big Town Plan Project Director

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High Level Strategy versus Local Priority

• The remoteness of regional and larger
  sub-regional governanceThe regions are far too
  big theres nothing that happens in Hull that
  looks anything like what happens in Craven.
• The lack of synchronisation with top down
  strategy results in compliance at the local
  levelJust thinking about this now how many
  times will I look back and say this was the
  housing strategy from the local authority? Not
  really. The housing strategy might say you have
  to consider low cost home ownership that might
  be in the back of my mind somewhere but its not
  something Ill go through with a fine toothcomb
  Which ever strategy it needs to fit into get the
  bloody money nationally!! Come on Martin, you
  know youve been around you know what its about
  you have to make things fit dont you? Senior
  Housing Association Director
• I am sure it will do (connect to city regional
  strategy) but I am too ignorant of the detail of
  that agenda to really answer you accurately. If I
  am writing a funding bid I can bullshit about the
  city region and Northern Way and all those kinds
  of things. Programme Director Ayerton Case
  Study talking about the link to local Ayerton
  strategy.

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Setting the sub-regional boundary (I)

• The city region as a new scale of governance
• Doubts about whether a formal structure could be
  established
• There is evidence of political buy in as well
  as conflict and democratic accountability
• The most sensible scale of governance (e.g. for
  housing markets)
• The need for variable geometry and systems of
  governance that are fit for purpose (Kooiman 2008
  , Robson 2006)
• The view of the city regionalistsThey (city
  regions) are just a recognition of the reality
  arent they? If you map out how people move
  around the notion that its bounded by a district
  or an artificial boundary like West Yorkshire is
  a nonsense we create more problems for ourselves
  by sticking to these boundaries. Thats why we
  have to create things like a Golden Triangle
  partnership etc. Senior Manager City Region
  Secretariat
• Arguments against the remoteness of regional
  government could arguably apply to the city
  region

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Setting the sub-regional boundary (II)

• The West Yorkshire sub-region has its roots in
  the political, historic former WYCC
• Cultural, geographical and demographic
  similarities compared to the city region
• Its post-industrial urban landscape
• The concentration of BME and other marginalised
  communities
• The characteristics of its housing stock, e.g.
  social housing and back to back terraces
• The partnerships track record and expertise
  managing an investment programme of 200m 2008-11
  and leverage of 300m
• The predominant paradigm of the city region is
  pro-growth with the city as the economic engine
  house.
• The city region Multi-Area Agreement prioritised
  transport and skills

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Conclusions

• The clarity of the boundaries of the sub-regional
  scale matters when it comes to identifying the
  frameworks for housing market intervention
• Rescaling at the sub-regional level is not a
  neutral exercise in relation to housing markets
• Are interventions about housing supply and the
  housing for economic growth (as in the case of
  the city region) or quality and decency in the
  context of renewal?
• Where the multi-layered nature of the housing
  markets meets increased differentiation in
  institutional roles and responsibilities
  resulting from rescaling policy management and
  policy implementation becomes more complex
• The further away governance takes place it
  becomes less representative of local need
• Compliance with new structures is instrumental
  Is it a way of getting our hands on the money?
  Housing Association Chief Executive
• Top down perspectives suggest the world has
  changed when it comes to understanding housing
  markets and that new ways of working have been
  driven by rescaled structures
• In practice local stakeholder are satisficing
  on the basis of dealing with more immediate
  constraints, local priorities and agendas

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Did new institutionalism work?

• Although in its purest form it does not pay
  attention to power and how it flows through
  policy networks and governance
• It can be viewed as a heuristic device an
  abstract concept or model useful for thinking
  about the social phenomena that exist in
  institutional settings
• Enabled the research to consider the gaps that
  exist between top down policy and everyday
  practice (Newman 2006)
• Using NI meant that I could look at more informal
  aspects of institutional and political behaviour
  of stakeholder institutions
• It does not assume ordered responses to top down
  policy and positivist approaches to understanding
  housing markets
• The research was able to add considerable
  empirical weight to theoretical contributions
  regarding the role of the state (Clarke 2004 and
  Jessop 2000) that it continues to dictate
  systems of understanding housing markets as well
  as continuing to reshape and remake institutions
  through rescaling.

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Some Key References

• Cole, I., Hickman, P. and Reeve, K. (2003) Leeds
  Housing Market Perceptions of Change, Sheffield
  CRESR, Sheffield Hallam University.
• Clarke, J. (2004) Changing welfare changing
  states new directions in social policy. London
  Sage.
• Kooiman, J (2004) Interactive Governance and
  Governability An Introduction. The Journal of
  Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies. 7(1), pp
  1-11
• Mullins, D and Murie, A. (2006) Housing Policy in
  the UK (Hampshire Palgrave Macmillan).
• ODPM (2003) Sustainable Communities Building for
  the Future. LondonODPM. Jessop, B. (2000)
  Governance Failure. In G. Stoker (ed) The New
  Politics of British Local Government.
  Basingstoke Macmillan.
• Lowndes, V. (2001) Rescuing Aunt Sally Taking
  Institutional Theory Seriously in Urban Politics,
  Urban Studies 38 (11) pp.1953-1971.
• Newman, J. (2001) Modernising Governance New
  Labour, Policy and Society. Sage London.
• Pierre, J. (1999) Models of Urban Governance The
  Institutional Dimension of Urban Politics. Urban
  Affairs Review. 34, pp. 372 396.
• Robson, B., Barr, R., Lymperopoulou, K and Rees,
  J. (2006) A framework for City Regions Working
  Paper 1, Mapping City-Regions. London ODPM.
• Sprigings. N (2007) National Evaluation of
  Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders Thematic
  Paper. Buy-to-let Housing Market in the HMR
  pathfinders. The experience of pathfinders in the
  early stages of the programme. Norwich Office
  of Public Sector Information.

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