The report outlines the basic characteristics of the twenty estates included in the study and highlights some of the key changes in the estates between 1980 and 1995, focusing in the main on the last ten years. Staff and resident assessments of progress on the twenty estates are looked at, as are the main changes in the estates behind these assessments.  The research covers: estate popularity; estate ownership; social housing management; regeneration and investment; crime and anti-social behaviour; residents groups; facilities and activities; estate-linked schools; residents satisfaction with their areas; and the characteristics of estate populations.

The research aimed to provide a long term assessment of the cumulative impact of housing policy, other policy and social and economic changes at national and neighbourhood level.

The estates had been tracked through visits and interviews in 1982, 1988, 1994 and 2005. In 2005, 41 visits were made to the estates and interviews were conducted with local housing managers and senior housing staff. Detailed discussions took place with residents’ groups and brief street interviews were also carried out. Secondary data such as regeneration strategy documents, inspection reports and newsletters were gathered and analysed.

Most of the twenty estates had received several different types of central government regeneration funding over the 25 year period. In that time performance in the estates has improved markedly. Tenure has become slightly more diverse during the period, with around nine per cent now being in owner occupation. Rates of crime have fallen in the estates, but levels of economic inactivity have increased as has anti-social behaviour. Although the gaps between the estates and national figures have reduced, this has taken sustained commitments of capital funding, revenue funding and attention from central and local government. Improvements in these estates are unlikely to be sustainable without ongoing support.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Phone: +44 1904 629241
info@jrf.org.uk

01/11/2006

Rebecca Tunstall, Alice Coulter

research

Urban Policy > Urban environment > Urban renewal

Housing estate redevelopment