‘Housing as a Means , not an End ?’ Reconceptualising ‘Housing Q uality ’ through Wellbeing R esearch

1. ‘Housing as a Means, not an End?’ Reconceptualising ‘Housing Quality’ through Wellbeing Research Adele Irving Research Fellow, Department of Social Sciences, Northumbria University

2. Key Research Questions • What is the relationship between residential environments and wellbeing? • What is ‘wellbeing’? • What do we mean by the term ‘residential environment’? • What are the qualities of a residential environment that promote wellbeing? • What are the implications of this for current conceptualisations of ‘housing quality’?

3. The Concept of Wellbeing • Multi-dimensional construct. • The state of people’s life conditions. • Subjective wellbeingVs Objective wellbeing • Advanced conceptualisations recognise the importance of both informational spaces. • Methodological pluralism.

4. Residential Environments • Two spatial scales • House, Neighbourhood • Three dimensions • Physical, Psychological,Social • Multiple attributes • Scales, dimensions and attributes exist interdependently. • Exist in dynamic relationship with the psycho-social qualities of the person.

5. Relationship between Housing and Wellbeing • Life Satisfaction Studies • Housing quality regarded as a key domain of global assessments of subjective wellbeing. • Residential Satisfaction Studies • Residential satisfaction considered a proxy indicator for wellbeing. • Over 100 objective and subjective attributes found to affect assessments of residential satisfaction. • Residential Quality Investigations • Physical, psychological and social conditions found to intersect with multiple domains of wellbeing in complex ways.

6. Housing Quality • Theoretically under-developed. • Definitions dominated by a focus on physical conditions. • Limited evidence of positive impact of physical improvements to wellbeing or user perspectives on quality. • Housing quality is individualistic and context-specific. • Ignore the lived experience of home and importance of psychological and social factors that affect wellbeing. • ’The field has been limited in advancing because it lacks a theoretical framework for a multi-faceted notion of residential quality that fully embraces the importance of the lived experience of housing for wellbeing’ (Harrison, 2004). • More advanced conceptualisation – Inequalities, Choice, Control, Identity, Social Support.

7. Empirical Research • HMOs in Tyne and Wear. • Qualitative interviews(20 stakeholders, 20-30 HMO residents). • Peer-led approach. • Auto-photography and solicited diaries? • Are HMOs residential environments that promote or diminish wellbeing? • Nature of the environment (Physical, Psychological and Social). • Intersection with experiences of wellbeing (Objective and Subjective). • Mediating factors (Duration, life histories, demographic variables). • Implications for housing quality.

8. Emerging Findings • Properties typically occupied by men, of all ages. • Word of mouth most common entry route. • Experiences of multiple exclusion are common. • Move on often voluntary. • Poor property conditions, insecurity, instability, unorthodox management practices, residents with typically high level needs. • Negative impacts on objective wellbeing – health, addictions, employment, social networks. • Negative impact on life satisfaction. • Psychological and social conditions most problematic for residents. • Mediating factors – duration, of residence, personal resilience.

9. Thank you / Questions? Adele2.irving@northumbria.ac.uk