{"id":26123,"date":"2018-04-10T16:23:19","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T20:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/?p=26123"},"modified":"2018-04-03T02:45:21","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T06:45:21","slug":"study-suggests-neighbourhood-well-being-and-a-sense-of-community-is-at-the-heart-of-a-good-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/2018\/04\/study-suggests-neighbourhood-well-being-and-a-sense-of-community-is-at-the-heart-of-a-good-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Study suggests neighbourhood well-being and a sense of community is at the heart of a good home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From the University of Birmingham press release:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p id=\"first\" class=\"lead\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-10784\" src=\"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/happy-family-with-teens.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"290\" height=\"193\" \/>A <strong>sense of wellbeing<\/strong> and a <strong>thriving community<\/strong> is <strong>key to a happy neighbourhood<\/strong> according to housing researchers, who looked at the relationship between the experience of the home and wellbeing.<\/p>\n<div id=\"text\">\n<p>The study led by the Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management based at the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester and funded by VIVID homes, examined a mix of social renters compared to, shared owners and owner-occupiers.<\/p>\n<p>Building on initial findings published in winter 2017, the full research report \u2018Homes &amp; Wellbeing \u2013 breaking down housing stereotypes\u2019 suggests that <strong>social housing plays a positive role in protecting people from anxiety<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Interviewing different types of tenants, including owner occupiers and social renters, the researchers found that <strong>what really mattered was feeling secure and having a degree of control over their home<\/strong>. In comparison, other aspirations such as climbing onto the housing ladder featured as less of a priority.<\/p>\n<p>Dr James Gregory, Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management, University of Birmingham said: \u2018We have consistently found that, no matter what the tenure or ownership status of a person\u2019s home, one of the most significant features of a good home is a sense of security and confidence that you can \u2018get away from it all\u2019 at home. <strong>Good neighbours, good design and good management are all as important for wellbeing as a person\u2019s tenure or tenancy<\/strong>.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other factors<\/strong> found to affect well-being included <strong>financial pressures<\/strong> such as debt and the <strong>stress of raising children<\/strong>, with the view that housing was a vital part of the wellbeing story, but should be understood in a wider setting.<\/p>\n<p>Based on their findings the researchers made key recommendations:<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7\u00a0 Social housing should be seen as a policy tool for addressing the housing needs of more than just the most vulnerable;<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7\u00a0 A wider social housing offer may actually be better for their wellbeing, providing the emotional security and stability that is one of the key drivers of the apparent aspiration to own a home;<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7\u00a0 The report points to a need to look at how the social housing sector could deliver a step-change in the supply of social housing.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Andy Lymer, Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management, University of Birmingham, explained: \u00a0\u2018There\u2019s an affordability crisis in the housing system and financial challenges are driven by government policy (the loss of grant and changes to how developers can discharge their Section 106 obligations), as well as the cost of land in the ever-rising housing market.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But, it\u2019s more vital than ever that housing associations shape the future delivery for the wellbeing of its customers and society as a whole.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Mark Perry, Chief Executive of VIVID said: \u2018We\u2019re dedicated to building more homes, while looking after the wellbeing of our customers.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Our research shows that the most crucial part of the home, is the social fabric of the neighbourhood in which it\u2019s embedded. The social value of tenure mix and giving people the opportunities to interact with each other, all reduce neighbourhood tension. Build quality also comes hand in hand with this; ensuring we have well-built homes that help give security as well as allow for the development of a community is clearly very important.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We need to think harder about how we build new homes and neighbourhoods, and create the right environment for communities to thrive. It\u2019s important we get it right, to make sure everyone has the best chance in life.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the University of Birmingham press release: A sense of wellbeing and a thriving community is key to a happy neighbourhood according to housing researchers, who looked at the relationship&#8230; <a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/2018\/04\/study-suggests-neighbourhood-well-being-and-a-sense-of-community-is-at-the-heart-of-a-good-home\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[349],"tags":[123,108,12,98,39,109],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26123"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26184,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26123\/revisions\/26184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}