How does the welfare state and its institutions respond to impairment, ethnicity and gender? This book provides an overview of issues set in the context of housing. From ethnic minority housing needs to the housing implications of domestic violence, it shows how difference is regulated in housing.

Philosophy is not usually seen as a guidance for modern housing policy, but in this new book, Dr Helen Taylor argues that there is something innovative, unusual, and worth discussing about the application of philosophy to housing. The philosophical framework used within this book is John Rawls’ conception of justice as fairness. The UK has gone through several shifts in housing policy over the past decade, most recently by introducing the controversial ‘Bedroom Tax’, in an effort to make more cuts to benefits and social welfare. Social Justice in Contemporary Housing: Applying Rawls’ Difference Principle suggests that by using ideas of agency we can understand the impact that social policy has on individuals and wider society. The work outlines the liberal principle of legitimacy and argues that Rawls’ concept of reasonableness can, and should, be used to justify the intervention of policy in individuals’ lives. This book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of housing as well as philosophy and social policy, and also those working around the creation and implementation of social housing in the UK.

All countries aim to improve housing conditions for their citizens but many have been forced by the financial crisis to reduce government expenditure. Social housing is at the crux of this tension. Policy-makers, practitioners and academics want to know how other systems work and are looking for something written in clear English, where there is a depth of understanding of the literature in other languages and direct contributions from country experts across the continent. Social Housing in Europe combines a comparative overview of European social housing written by scholars with in-depth chapters written by international housing experts. The countries covered include Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands and Sweden, with a further chapter devoted to CEE countries other than Hungary. The book provides an up-to-date international comparison of social housing policy and practice. It offers an analysis of how the social housing system currently works in each country, supported by relevant statistics. It identifies European trends in the sector, and opportunities for innovation and improvement. These country-specific chapters are accompanied by topical thematic chapters dealing with subjects such as the role of social housing in urban regeneration, the privatisation of social housing, financing models, and the impact of European Union state aid regulations on the definitions and financing of social housing.

Available online via SciVerse ScienceDirect, or in print for a limited time only, The International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Seven Volume Set is the first international reference work for housing scholars and professionals, that uses studies in economics and finance, psychology, social policy, sociology, anthropology, geography, architecture, law, and other disciplines to create an international portrait of housing in all its facets: from meanings of home at the microscale, to impacts on macro-economy. This comprehensive work is edited by distinguished housing expert Susan J. Smith, together with Marja Elsinga, Ong Seow Eng, Lorna Fox O'Mahony and Susan Wachter, and a multi-disciplinary editorial team of 20 world-class scholars in all. Working at the cutting edge of their subject, liaising with an expert editorial advisory board, and engaging with policy-makers and professionals, the editors have worked for almost five years to secure the quality, reach, relevance and coherence of this work. A broad and inclusive table of contents signals (or tesitifes to) detailed investigation of historical and theoretical material as well as in-depth analysis of current issues. This seven-volume set contains over 500 entries, listed alphabetically, but grouped into seven thematic sections including methods and approaches; economics and finance; environments; home and homelessness; institutions; policy; and welfare and well-being. Housing professionals, both academics and practitioners, will find The International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home useful for teaching, discovery, and research needs. International in scope, engaging with trends in every world region The editorial board and contributors are drawn from a wide constituency, collating expertise from academics, policy makers, professionals and practitioners, and from every key center for housing research Every entry stands alone on its merits and is accessed alphabetically, yet each is fully cross-referenced, and attached to one of seven thematic categories whose ‘wholes' far exceed the sum of their parts

In the context of contemporary economic, political, social and cultural transformations, this book brings together contributions from developed and emerging societies in Europe, the USA and East Asia in order to highlight the nature, extent and impact of these changes on the housing opportunities of women. The collection seeks to contribute to comparative housing debates by highlighting the gendered nature of housing processes, locating these processes within wider structured and institutionalized relations of power, and to show how these socially constructed relationships are culturally contingent, and manifest and transform over time and space. The international contributors draw on a wide range of empirical evidence relating to labour market participation, wealth distribution, family formation and education to demonstrate the complexity and gendered nature of the interlocking arenas of production, reproduction and consumption and the implications for the housing opportunities of women in different social contexts. Worldwide examples are drawn from Australia, China, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and the USA.

In the 21st century, new ethnic groups are forming faster than ever before and the role of race and ethnicity studies has evolved in response to this. From policy issues around housing and crime, through to debates about asylum and media representations, sociologists must encounter and explore a vast range of issues in this ever changing field. This book gives an overview of the most important topics that affect the making of race and ethnic relations in contemporary societies. It goes beyond general definitions to explain exactly how and what these issues and debates can tell us about modern society. Using research and statistics to shed light on the most cutting-edge issues, the book takes each major topic in turn and helps readers to think through race and ethnicity on the basis of the most recent thinking in the field. Each chapter explains a range of theoretical and conceptual perspectives, whilst approaching complex ideas in an accessible and insightful way. Written and edited by recognized experts in the field, Race and Ethnicity in the 21st Century will be an essential point of reference for researchers and practitioners and key reading for all students of race and ethnicity.

"Smart homes are domestic spaces outfitted with networked technology made by brands like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple. However, Silicon Valley purveyors are not the only important actors in smart home development. Appliance makers, logistics companies, health and wellness conglomerates, insurance companies, and security franchises are all betting on the smart home in an economy that puts a premium on data. Together, major players in the smart home space have successfully attracted the attention and pocketbooks of millions of households by touting the virtues of ambient, networked technologies as an upgrade to modern domestic life. If industry predictions hold, nearly half of American houses will be "smart" by 2024. Yet, what it means to be "smart" is still unsettled. Threshold asks and answers the question: How do smart homes communicate cultural values about the role of technology in the 21st century? Answering this question is time-sensitive, as the coming years will determine how smart homes are configured, who has access to them, and what they mean to their owners, policy makers, technology companies, and others invested in these domestic digital platforms. The consequences of these decisions are significant because they impact both smart home residents and society at large. At present, much of the research on smart homes caters either to industry experts or scientists and engineers. This literature often describes or evaluates the technical capacities of the smart home or focuses on user interface and design. Instead, Heather Woods argues, we need a sustained cultural analysis of smart homes that considers the socio-technical variables-gender, class, income disparity, race, criminal justice, the housing market, and the future of both labor and domesticity-that give the smart home meaning. Threshold takes up this challenge from a rhetorical perspective, arguing that smart homes are lived, material embodiments of the digital cultures in which they are imagined, built, and used. Those considerations, more often than not, are relegated to secondary considerations, when in truth they are the most pervasive and consequential factors affecting anyone participating in a smart home ecosystem. Woods argues that smart homes are spatial manifestations of a phenomenon called living in digitality, a cultural condition whereby users engage with technology at every moment of every day. Using extensive fieldwork at smart homes throughout the USA, Woods traces how smart homes urge ubiquitous computing as a normalized, daily practice, readying domestic spaces and their occupants for an increasingly transactional digital future that is largely controlled by corporate interests. Threshold advances knowledge in three ways, by: (1) Offering definitional tools for identifying and evaluating immersive technologies, including but not limited to the smart home (2) Identifying three distinct configurations of the smart home according to their domestic and technological functions (3) Demonstrating the productive capacity of smart homes (and smart devices) to influence social life The book highlights the rhetorical force of smart domesticity for rhetorical scholars, digital humanists, political scientists, critical theorists, policy makers, and residents or prospective residents of smart homes. Ultimately, Threshold serves as a toolkit for recognizing and responding to the persistent encroachment of digital technologies in all parts of our lives"--