Government and Housing: Developments in Seven Countries

The governmental role in housing provision varies significantly from one country to another, from one system to another, and has been in a process of change due to economic, political, and institutional determinants. The resulting actions, in particular, privatization and decentralization, have typically revolved around new roles of national government. Government and Housing addresses issues of housing policy for welfare states (Britain, Sweden, Israel) and capitalist countries more strongly oriented to private profit making (USA, Australia), as well as socialist nations (Hungary, Yugoslavia). This volume originated from the conference on Housing, Policy, and Urban Innovation (Amsterdam, 1988) under the auspices of the Ad Hoc Committee on Housing and the Built Environment of the International Sociological Association. International in scope with expert policy analysis, the contributors address such issues as: o decentralization and privatization of housing o deregulation of rental and public housing o developments in housing finance o current innovations in housing rehabilitation and redevelopment This important volume provides provocative insights and future research objectives for students and professionals in urban studies, development studies, policy studies, organizational studies, political science, and public administration. “A valuable resource for urban scholars….It will enlighten current work and spark further interest in housing policy. A good overview of the major issues….The editors have provided a useful collection of empirical studies and historical reviews.” --Contemporary Sociology “van Vliet usefully provides a context of trends, and anaylses of those trends, as they have impacted on many industrialized countries.” --Local Government Studies “Overall, this book provides interesting insight, especially into the issue of privatization. International comparative research can easily degenerate into superficiality, as the editors recognize: that this volume works well, for the most part, is a reflection of their efforts to provide coherence to what could otherwise have been a more obviously recycled set of conference papers. Sensibly priced…should be on the shelf of the specialist's personal library, and a supporting text for relevant courses.” --Urban Geography