There are gaps in our understanding of social housing and its problematic reputation. Campaigns that draw attention to the problems with social housing can inadvertently reinforce prejudice and stigma.
Investigating stigma
Theory
Practice
Context
Research has also shown that many tenants in these locations internalize the negative assumptions of others and incorporate a sense of disruption about their status (Palmer et al. The stigmatization of social housing is deeply embedded and can even act as a brake on policy interventions that aims to improve the lot of tenants living in these locations (Arthurson 2004b; Warr Atkinson & Jacobs 2010).
Understanding contemporary policy-making
Prescriptions
He argues that the raison d'être of a mixed community strategy is that the tenure of social housing generates harmful social consequences. Social housing neighborhoods are discursively constructed in ways that provide support for policy interventions to rearrange social composition.
The contribution of social science
Social identities: the virtual and the actual
Stigma and power dynamics
The important point about understanding the concept of stigma, as Link and Phelan (2001, p.367) make explicit, is that its effects 'depend on access to social, economic and political power that facilitates the identification of makes difference possible, the . In short, the impact of stigmatization depends on the balance of power within social relationships. Of course, it is entirely possible that people who are perceived as powerless stigmatize those who are powerful.
What's really interesting is that the stigmatization of vulnerable groups, such as social housing tenants, is seen as largely unproblematic in the wider society. At the risk of generalization here, we tend to make judgments or assumptions about the personal characteristics that we think are characteristic of social housing tenants, and not about the inequality of power relations within society. When framing discussions about stigma, we must pay close attention to the dynamics of power relations and the cultural narratives that shape our understanding.
Conceptual challenges
Political factors
Socio-economic factors
Our understanding of socio-economic disadvantage as a symptom of the broader political system and the ability of powerful interest groups to resist change encouraged us in the course of our discussions to turn our attention to policy-related issues and the role of the media . The panellists agreed that the media has a significant and even crucial influence on the way social housing estates are perceived by the wider public and for this reason we were keen to explore its role further. As we noted at our first panel meeting, the negative associations of social housing tenants are undoubtedly fueled by unsympathetic portrayals, both on television and in the popular print media.
Academic scholarship has made an important contribution to understanding the role that the media play in the construction of particular narrative frames (Silverstone 1999; . Croteau & Hoynes 2000). In our opinion, the media's role in reproducing negative narratives of social housing must be understood in the context of the competitive environment in which the media operates. In the field of media research, authors such as Entman (1993) and Van Dijk (1997) use the term 'framing' to explain how media interpret social reality.
The media are not neutral, but embedded in the political/social nexus and as such reflect the dominant power relations that exist in society.
Social housing and the media
Housing policy strategies to challenge current media practice
We have previously discussed the process of responding to and forming images of social housing estates, and the malign effects of negative representations on residents. From the examination of the evidence presented by Dean and Hastings (2000) and Hastings (2004), community media were among a group expressly involved in challenging the images of the social housing estates. Firstly, community media generally have a significantly narrower readership than mainstream media publications, but it is widely believed that it is from these populist media sources that many of the negative stories about social housing estates originate.
Second, due to the narrow readership of community media, concerns were raised that they were positive stories about social housing properties. Evidence presented by Dean and Hastings (2000) involving regeneration programs in social housing estates suggests that the most successful attempts to reframe negative images occur when nurturing strategies are used in relation to the formation of effective relationships between regeneration stakeholders and community and mainstream media. Dean and Hastings (2000) emphasize the importance of monitoring media coverage to assess the degree of balanced reporting regarding positive and negative stories about social housing properties.
The panel's view was that the social housing backlog and its portrayal in the media combine to accentuate negative perceptions.
Housing and welfare agencies
Low demand and devaluing of assets
Opposition to social mix
In the previous sections we have discussed the ways in which social housing has developed a significant link with stigmatization. In this section, we summarize our discussions of how these negative perceptions have important consequences at a number of levels that affect individual tenants, neighborhoods, housing agencies, and other organizations that provide services to low-income households and the public at large. In our view, it is important for social housing organizations to take a proactive role in trying to challenge the stigma around social housing and create a more positive understanding of the contribution it makes to the well-being of society, otherwise efforts to improve 'social mixing' will continue. to be hindered by disagreements with private homeowners.
Second, it reinforces a sense of social homogeneity among social service recipients targeting deprivation and social problems, which, research shows, can have further and negative feedback effects on these groups. Finally, as we discuss below, stigma can impact the quality of services that public housing locations receive in addition to housing. For example, there is strong evidence from Britain that substandard environmental services are being delivered to neighborhoods deemed 'undeserving' (Hastings 2009b). The inadequacy of schools in relation to the needs of highly deprived areas has also received considerable attention (Hastings 2009b). Lupton 2001).
The feedback effects arising from other service agencies' failure to meet the needs of social housing areas will undoubtedly undermine the ability of social housing agencies to deliver their own services to an appropriate standard.
Tenants
Employment and educational opportunities
This type of community resistance has been common in the past and is likely to increase if the stigma is not addressed or worsens as tailings impacts increase (Marsden 1986; Trioli 2010). First, it makes it difficult to present their services as efforts that encompass regular or “normal” responses caused by life-course situations that we are all at risk of entering (such as unemployment, homelessness, and physical or mental illness).
Social networks
Second, the stigma deters outsiders from visiting the neighborhood or wanting to know the people who live there. This increases the social homogeneity within the neighborhood and undermines the ability to develop more heterogeneous outside networks (Warr 2005).
Health and wellbeing
Neighbourhoods
This increases the social homogeneity of the neighborhood and undermines the capacity to develop more heterogeneous external networks (Warra a). A central argument is that poor quality services are not only an effect of stigma but a cause of further disadvantage and stigma. As mentioned earlier, criteria for government aid can also affect neighborhood reputation, with poor areas often being problematized to secure funding for regeneration and local services, with the potential to contribute to further stigmatization (Hastings & Dean 2003).
Wider society
There is also evidence that employers are discriminating against local residents and that private sector services such as quality shops may be withdrawing. In terms of policy interventions, the panel recognized that the stigma associated with social housing is difficult to address. The perception that this is a last resort has been reinforced by allocation policies that limit entitlements to households with acute needs.
As we noted earlier, research by Hastings and Dean (2003) and our own panel discussions provide examples of some of the measures that can be taken. In terms of theory, the stigmatization of social housing has been conceptualized within a wider discursive environment that includes the way policies are made and the role of the media. We have explicated the impact of stigmatization, noting its societal effects and its implications for government behavior.
Issues relating to practice
Housing agencies and organisations
We must therefore be careful not to make grand claims about the effectiveness of any intervention in the current political context. In our view, it is essential that social housing providers remove barriers that could act as a deterrent, for example by offering fair compensation or incentives for residents (compensation for time, transport, childcare costs, etc.).
Media practitioners
Lobbyists: tenants’ organisations, non-government organisations and
Conclusion: gaps in knowledge and issues for future research
Æ Are the problems occurring in social housing locations typical of the effects of policies, including underinvestment and targeted allocation rules, which have lumped together households with high levels of need. 2004, "A critique of the concept of social exclusion and its applicability to Australian social housing policy", Australian Journal of Social Issues. 2004, "Creating the disabled social tenant in Flanders, Belgium: a preliminary assessment", Journal of Housing and the Built Environment.
2004, “Stigma and social housing: beyond pathological explanations”, Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. Troy (ed.), Proceedings of the 2nd Semi-Annual National Conference on the State of Australian Cities, Brisbane. In this respect, panel meetings differed from the more traditional forms of social policy hearings, where expert witnesses are called to give advice on specific aspects of a research topic.
The panel discussions provided the research team with valuable qualitative data to address the topic of stigma in considerable detail. The role of moderator was therefore crucial in ensuring that we remained focused on the key issues. We have decided not to digitally record our meetings due to the obvious risk of this stifling discussion.
