Swedish social mix policy ­ without an ethnic focus

Emma Holmqvist and Zara Bergsten, IBF, have written the article "Swedish social mix policy: a general policy without an explicit ethnic focus" in Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. Neighbourhood social mix is a pressing issue for both researchers and policy makers in the Western world. In an international perspective, Sweden offers an interesting case as both the structure of the housing market and the focus of the social mix policy differs from other countries. This article is based on official housing policy documents and interviews with public actors. The overall aim is to analyse the Swedish policy in relation to similar policies in other countries, this to point at some of the existing differences, especially the different perspective on ethnic segregation. Even though Sweden has experienced increasing immigration, which has added an ethnic dimension to housing segregation, the Swedish social mix policy has remained a general policy for counteractiSng socioeconomic segregation, rather than ethnic segregation. This is an important difference compared to other mixing strategies in Europe and North America where ethnic mix has been, and still is, at the top of the agenda.

2010-02-01

Housing Wealth, Financial Wealth and Consumption in China

Jie Chen, IBF, together with Fung Guo, Northern Kentucky University, USA and Aiyoung Zhu, Fudan University, Shanghai has written the article, "Housing Wealth, Financial Wealth and Consumption in China" in China & World Economy. The paper investigates the relationship between changes in asset wealth and the trend movements of household consumption in urban China. The researchers demonstrate, by using a model, that there is a unique long-run cointegrating relationship between household consumption, disposable income, financial wealth and housing wealth in urban China.

2010-01-05

The ambivalence of public space today

Mats Franzén, IBF has written the article "Between pleasure and virtue. The ambivalences of public space today" in Yhdyskuntasuunnittelu 47(3): 6–23 (The Finnish Journal of Urban Studies). The author discusses public space, which has become a critical issue for several reasons. On the one hand, there are arguments in favour of its political uses, and against its privatization; on the other hand, there are arguments for its safety, proposing zero tolerance policing, its privatization and similar solutions as remedies for the future. These arguments are being repeated presently and can be termed 'peoples right to the city' and 'securing safety in the city', respectively. Together, they create public space as a most ambivalent phenomena – but that has to be recognised as that.

2009-12-29

New Professor at IBF

Anders Lindbom, Associate Professor of Political Science at IBF, has been appointed Professor of Political Science, esp. Housing and Urban Policy from December 1, 2009.

2009-12-16

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