Twenty-five years on 20 estates

Research by LSE Housing into 20 housing estates in England over the past 25 years suggests most have improved by a range of criteria. These were places described as 'unpopular' and typical of estates that attracted a succession of regeneration programmes and initiatives. They were tracked through visits and interviews in 1982, 1988, 1994 and 2005.

The researchers found that the estates 'have reduced gaps with their local authorities and the nation as a whole on two neighbourhood renewal target areas: employment and education. Estate-based information on crime cannot be compared with wider areas as it is qualitative, but estate trends were moving in the same direction as local and national ones.'

The report authors remind us that neighbourhood improvement does not necessarily equate to improvements for individuals:

'While the overall circumstances for those living in the estates in 2005 appear better on many measures than they were in 1994 and better still than in 1980, it is possible that the personal situation of at least some members of earlier generations of residents has not improved or has even got worse.'

Two things strike me. First, the sheer amount of resources that it has taken over the years to remedy the problems and to minimise the mix of social, economic and structural disintegration that seems to gather pace if such neighbourhoods are not managed. And secondly, this report justifies the sense that policy attention has begun to shift focus from physical regeneration to behaviour and relationships.

When estate residents were asked what improvements they'd most like to see, like other residents nationwide, they were most concerned about dealing with crime and vandalism, and the provision of facilities for young people (ooh, wonder if there is thought to be a link between these two?)

The report is published by JRF and is available here.