Housing policy as a tool for social mix in Paris

Abstract

Growing social polarisation is one of the key features of global cities (e.g. Friedmann, 1986; Sassen, 1991; Soja, 2000; Abrahamson, 2004) and metropolitan areas (in Poland, studies on metropolitan classes by B. Jałowiecki et al. 2003, 2005, 2007). In the latter, a dualisation of social structure is often the result (Marcuse, 1989; and in Polish scientifi c literature this concept was presented by A. Lisowski, 2000). Although in the case of Paris, classifi ed as a global city, the social structure did not undergo dualisation (Préteceille, 1995, 2006, 2012; Rhein, 1998), the social division of space into: ‘beautiful districts’ traditionally inhabited by the bourgeoisie and those inhabited by lower social classes continues to be maintained (Pinçon and Pinçon-Charlot, 2004). The increasing social polarisation in the metropolitan space of Paris, achieved by way of a concentration of worse-off households, contributed to increased interest in operations that might alleviate this phenomenon through achievement of quantitative and qualitative objectives set for housing policy and policy on the so-called social mix. The former policy foresees an increase in the number of dwellings falling within the social-housing category and with regulated rents to the fi gure of 20% provided for in the SRU law (25% since 2014) – the percentage relating to the overall housing stock in each commune of Paris, with the result that a more even distribution might also be achieved at the levels of the departament and even the region. The qualitative policy goals are in turn linked to a differentiation of rents where social housing is concerned, as well as of levels of income of households entitled to claim for social-housing, all with the aim of a more diverse socioeconomic mix of tenants being achieved. In regard to these main goals of French housing policy, this article has attempted to provide evidence concerning the relationship between the socio-professional status of tenants in social housing in Paris and the share of all dwellings these account for in the different statistical units into which Paris is divided, in 1990 and in 2010. Referring to the general relationship between these variables, the hypothesis was that, with a greater share of all housing that is social housing in the given statistical units, there will also be an increase in the share of blue-collar and white-collar workers. Using data from the National Population Censuses (Recensements de Population, RP) conducted in 1990 and 2010, we calculated the shares of heads of households in dwellings falling within the social-housing category with a breakdown by occupation, as well as the share of dwellings in different statistical units (Ilots Regroupés pour l’Information Statistique, IRIS) that fell within the social-housing category. The description of the distribution of social-housing dwellings was enriched through analysis using the ‘delta’ concentration index commonly used to assess the level of social segregation (Massey and Denton, 1988). Analysis of values for the Spearman correlation coeffi cient (for variables without a normal distribution) allowed for an evaluation of the level of relationship between the variables in question at the level of statistical units. Subsequently, the socio-professional profi les of tenants in areas with different proportions of dwellings falling within the social-housing category in 1990 and in 2010 were presented. To this end, the statistical units were aggregated with regard to these shares of social dwellings. In addition, on the basis of data collected by the municipality of Paris, the segment of new social-housing dwellings in Paris was characterized (in relation to both those constructed and acquired between 2001 and 2012), with special attention being paid to the distribution of each type. French housing policy concentrates on assuring a supply of dwellings for citizens and on ensuring the achievement of a more diverse social mix through an appropriate distribution across urban space of dwellings falling within the social-housing category, as well as the different types thereof. The changes in the structure of the economy and on the labour market that have been occurring in Paris have contributed to dynamic growth in the number of upper socio-professional categories and to a considerable decrease in the share of the population accounted for by the lower classes and people performing simple tasks. The concentration of the latter in the statistical units possessing a higher share of dwellings that are social housing had started to be perceived negatively, and it was supposed that a change might be brought about by operations seeking the construction or acquisition of new dwellings in the social-housing category, as well as a differentiation ofrents in this stock and an increase in the role of social housing in other parts of the city. Although the number of social-housing dwellings increased between 1990 and 2010, their distribution in Paris remains highly uneven. Furthermore, the adding of further dwellings in this category was found to be more marked in peripheral districts already characterised by a greater share of this kind of housing. The relationship between an increased share of social-housing dwellings and a greater share of blue-collar and white-collar workers was confi rmed in 1990 and in 2010. Moreover, in 1990, in all cases other than that of farmers, coeffi cients for the correlation between the share of socio-professional categories and the share of socialhousing dwellings assumed positive values. In 2010, the statistical relationship mainly concerned blue-collar workers, artisans and retired persons. Furthermore, a negative value for the same correlation was to be observed in the case of the upper socio-professional categories, albeit with the value assumed by the coeffi cient being too low to confi rm the negative relationship between the variables. The conducted statistical analyses confi rmed the process of ageing of tenants in the statistical units characterised by the highest shares of social-housing dwellings. A situation of a high share of retired persons in social-housing dwellings sometimes proves diffi cult to manage, particularly if those involved are the solitary occupiers of the large dwellings considered scarce goods on the social-housing market in Paris. Concluding, the socio-professional profi les of tenants in social-housing dwellings in Paris and their evolution are seen to refl ect the changes in the socio-spatial structure of Paris as a whole. On the one hand, statistical units with the lowest share of dwellings falling within the social-housing category are located in the bourgeois districts of the capital city’s central and western part. Within this stock, a considerable share of heads of households hold upper professional and executive positions or posts connected with science and culture. On the other hand, the statistical units with the greatest share of social-housing dwellings are located in peripheral districts, mainly in the northern and eastern parts of the city, characterised by a concentration of lower-income households. The tenants of this social housing represent a similar socio-professional profi le. This study sheds light on specifi c features of the social-housing situation in Paris, with the role not simply being reduced to accommodating the poorest population and the otherwise-homeless. The growing share of tenants of social housing accounted for by people ascribable to the upper and middle classes may be interpreted in two ways, depending on whether the fall in the representation of lower socio-professional groups is explained as the outcome of changing patterns on the labour market or an inappropriate housing policy. In the fi rst case, as the labour market changes, the number of job opportunities for those with lower qualifi cations diminishes. Simultaneously, there is an increase in the prices of dwellings and rents that restrains other households in this category from settling down in the area. These places are taken by the tenants from the middle and upper classes, for whom the dwelling is not social housing, but rather a dwelling assigned by their employer. In the second case, the housing policy and urban renewal programs under the umbrella of the improvement of the social mix, in reality has the effect of forcing poorer households to move from the centre of the Paris agglomeration (Clerval, 2013) and then (often on the fringes where the housing offer is more adequate to their incomes), allowing them to purchase a fl at or a single-family house. Due to the strategy pursued by the institutions managing social housing, the selection of tenants in new social housing is strongly oriented, even though the existence of such an approach is denied by offi cialdom. This analysis falls within current French research underscoring the diffi culties with the ambitious goals of French housing policy being achieved, not least because implementation is often infl uenced by political preconditions and a game being played among different actors within the housing sector (e.g. Houard, 2009). This leaves it hard to assess the effects of housing policy in Paris. Undoubtedly, the growing number of dwellings within the social-housing category, and the diversifi cation of them being achieved, should be seen in a positive light, in particular where this situation is set against the experiences of Poland’s largest cities (wherein the number of municipal dwellings is declining, with simultaneous strong stigmatisation of the stock remaining). This ensures the status as noteworthy of ideas regarding the differentiation of rents in social housing, together with the levels of income of households attempting to acquire a dwelling in the social-housing category. Unfortunately, without an increase in expenditure on the housing sector in Poland (and in this way an increase in the number of dwellings in the social-housing category, including those of the Social Housing Associations), the possibilities of this same idea being adopted in this country remain the mere pipedream.