‘Housing as a Means, not an End?’ Reconceptualising ‘Housing Quality’

through Wellbeing Research

Adele Irving Research Fellow, Department of Social

Sciences, Northumbria University

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’?

The Concept of Wellbeing

• Multi-dimensional construct. • The state of people’s life conditions.• Subjective wellbeing Vs Objective

wellbeing • Advanced conceptualisations recognise

the importance of both informational spaces.

• Methodological pluralism.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thank you / Questions?

Adele2.irving@northumbria.ac.uk