The Greening Housing Contradiction: The UK Case

The tensions between social and ecological goals in housing are well documented (Cavicchia et al. 2023). Policy aspirations like ‘greening’ the housing stock do not necessarily align with affordability and accessibility. Interrogating the mechanics of this problematic nexus, we argue that the governance determining how environmental initiatives are rolled out in a specific policy context, will be underpinned by the same logic that governs the existing housing system. Green policy initiatives like retrofitting, urban greening, or densification are therefore likely to replicate and even exacerbate the residential inequalities that are already produced by that housing system. We investigate the UK case, drawing from findings of the ReHousIn project, an EU/UKRI funded project investigating the impact of green policy initiatives on housing inequalities across nine European countries.

We will show that in the UK, where the housing system is underpinned by a neoliberal welfare regime, housing is characterised by poor affordability, and the market-based system divides asset owners, private renters, and those who rely on a residualised social housing stock. If retrofitting, urban greening, and the densification of residential areas are applied with similar principles we predict that these initiatives will not only reproduce existing social and residential inequalities; they will also be ineffective in terms of genuine environmental sustainability. This work contributes to the broader eco-social debate in housing and planning, beyond the potential impacts of green initiatives on housing inequalities. By showing how ecological objectives can be undermined by these dynamics, this also helps reframe the ecological question in housing as a social one.

References:

Cavicchia, R, Freisenecker, M, Munson, L, Peverini, M, Susani, A, and Waneska De Jesus, K (2023) Greener housing, but affordable? A study of synergies and conflicts between environmental policy instruments and access to housing. Research Report: Sciences Po Urban School.