Transforming Scotland's public sector housing through community ownership: the reterritorialisation of housing governance?

McKee, K. (2008) Transforming Scotland's public sector housing through community ownership: the reterritorialisation of housing governance? Space and Polity, 12(2), pp. 183-196. (doi: 10.1080/13562570802173265)

Abstract

In recent decades, UK public-sector housing has increasingly been problematised, with government solutions focusing on modernising the sector by transferring ownership of the housing from the public to the voluntary sector through stock transfer. This promises to transform the organisation of social housing by devolving control from local government to housing organisations located within, and governed by, the communities in which they are based. The Scottish Executive's national housing policy of community ownership is the epitome of this governmental rationale par excellence. Drawing upon empirical research on the 2003 Glasgow housing stock transfer, this paper argues that, whilst community ownership is underpinned by governmental rationales that seek to establish community as the new territory of social housing governance, the realisation of these political ambitions has been marred by emergent central-local conflict. Paradoxically, the fragmentation of social housing through the break-up of municipal provision, co-exists with continued political centralisation within the state apparatus.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McKee, Dr Kimberly
• Authors: McKee, K.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races; H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor; H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Research Group: Human Geography
• Journal Name: Space and Polity
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1356-2576
• ISSN (Online): 1470-1235
• Published Online: 02 July 2008
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2008 Routledge
• First Published: First published in Space and Polity 12(2):183-196
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher