Intergenerational Family Support for Marginalised Young People: The Role of Family Home for "Generation Rent" in Scotland

Wong, M. (2019) Intergenerational Family Support for Marginalised Young People: The Role of Family Home for "Generation Rent" in Scotland. Centre of Urban Studies and Urban Planning Research Seminar, Hong Kong, 01 Apr 2019.

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Abstract

This seminar critically evaluates the inequalities of housing and the importance of intergenerational support for young people in Scotland. Recent debates highlight growing difficulties and barriers that the younger generation faces in the UK and Scottish housing markets. Support from older family members is recognised as increasingly important to youth housing transitions, especially in access to homeownership. However, this seminar argues that the role and importance of the “family home” has been largely neglected in the current housing discourse, dominated by discussions of ‘generation rent’, across the UK and beyond. As housing in Scotland (and UK) becomes increasingly unaffordable, intergenerational support in the form of the family home can be crucial for young people. This seminar presents evidence from an original qualitative study and interviews with young people who are economically marginalised in Scotland. As will be illustrated through the lived experiences of young people, remaining in the family home is an important source of support in housing pathways, especially in the context of “generation rent” and for marginalised youth. The seminar will also examine varied expectations, emotions, and negotiations experienced by young people in receiving intergenerational support. The ways of mitigating complex challenges and precarity unique to this context, due to influences of neoliberalism in Scotland, will be discussed through the findings. This discussion importantly contributes to the wider debates and our understanding of housing opportunities of the younger generation. This seminar argues for the need to develop a more diverse conceptualisation of what intergenerational family support means in housing and understand how this relates to youth experiences and social change in the 21st century.

Item Type:Conference or Workshop Item
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Wong, Dr Mark
Authors: Wong, M.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
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