Housing and regeneration: the problem or the solution

Housing policy has traditionally been highly specific, concentrating on providing decent affordable homes. Now, however, housing is being seen more as a major factor in locating wider problems of deprivation and social exclu sion, as well as an important part in solutions, not only by increasing housing quality, but more widely through its impact on the neighbourhood, regeneration and even urban renaissance. The article reviews a range of research findings on the role that housing plays in concentrating problems of deprivation and decay, on the relationship between deprivation and housing conditions, on how the housing market operates in relation to successful area- based employment and regeneration policies, and the implications that these results have on how area-based poli cies should be evaluated.