An article examined the enforcement of European Union environmental law in light of the case law of the European Court of Justice.
Source: Koen Lenaerts and Jose Gutierrez-Fons, 'The general system of EU environmental law enforcement', Yearbook of European Law, Volume 30 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article sought to rebuild and strengthen the case for policy-related comparative housing research as an academic activity.
Source: Mark Stephens, 'Comparative housing research: a "system-embedded" approach', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 11 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the validity of the European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion (ETHOS), and proposed a modified approach to conceptualizing homelessness.
Source: Kate Amore, Michael Baker, and Philippa Howden-Chapman, 'The ETHOS definition and classification of homelessness: an analysis', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 5, Issue 2
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined household considerations about building and consuming housing equity in Germany, Hungary, and the United Kingdom. Thus far in the global financial crisis, housing assets had been consumed far less than other assets.
Source: Janneke Toussaint, 'Housing assets as a potential solution for financial hardship: households? mental accounts of housing wealth in three European countries', Housing, Theory and Society, Volume 28 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the usefulness of the concept of power structures in explaining the formation of distinct welfare states and housing systems, by reference to the different privatization paths and diverging power structures in three integrated housing systems in western Europe.
Source: Christian Lennartz, 'Power structures and privatization across integrated rental markets: exploring the cleavage between typologies of welfare regimes and housing systems', Housing, Theory and Society, Volume 28 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the evidence for the efficacy of the 'Pathways Housing First' model from a European perspective. It questioned whether the policy and research focus on Housing First was overemphasizing one aspect of the wider social problem of homelessness.
Source: Nicholas Pleace, 'The ambiguities, limits and risks of Housing First from a European perspective', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 5, Issue 2
Links: Article
Notes: The 'Pathways Housing First' model (mainly used in the United States) is designed to move homeless people with sustained experiences of living rough, with problematic drug and alcohol use, and with severe mental illness, straight into ordinary housing, and successfully sustain them in that housing.
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined household considerations about building and consuming housing equity in Germany, Hungary, and the United Kingdom. Based on empirical qualitative data, it presented an analysis of the potential role of housing assets as a solution for financial hardship.
Source: Janneke Toussaint, 'Housing assets as a potential solution for financial hardship: households? mental accounts of housing wealth in three European countries', Housing, Theory and Society, Volume 28 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A paper said that the increase in economic inequality in advanced welfare democracies could be understood better by taking account of the changes in the housing regimes of many countries.
Source: Caroline Dewilde, The Interplay Between Economic Inequality Trends and Housing Regime Changes in Advanced Welfare Democracies, Discussion Paper 18, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
An article examined whether the distributional consequences of contrasting welfare systems were enhanced, replicated, or countered by housing systems in England and the Netherlands.
Source: Mark Stephens and Guido van Steen, '"Housing poverty" and income poverty in England and the Netherlands', Housing Studies, Volume 26 Issue 7-8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Nov
A report said that housing-related expenditure had increased considerably in Europe over the previous decade, and now represented the highest share of consumer spending at European Union level.
Source: Peter Parlasca, The Housing Sector – Household Consumption from a European Perspective, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Links: Report | RICS press release
Date: 2011-Nov
A report presented an overview of the main trends and issues facing the social, co-operative, and public housing sectors in each country in the European Union, as well as providing national profiles and key housing-related data.
Source: Alice Pittini and Elsa Laino, Housing Europe Review 2012: The nuts and bolts of European social housing systems, CECODHAS Housing Europe
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Nov
An article examined the varying impacts on European housing systems of the international financial crisis.
Source: Harry van der Heijden, Kees Dol, and Michael Oxley, 'Western European housing systems and the impact of the international financial crisis', Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Volume 26 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Sep
A report examined examples of the impact of European Union structural funds on affordable housing projects.
Source: The Impact of Structural Funds on Affordable Housing: Success stories & recommendations for the future, CECODHAS Housing Europe
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jul
A report said that at least 1 million healthy life years were lost every year from traffic-related noise in the western part of Europe.
Source: Frank Theakston (ed.), Burden of Disease from Environmental Noise: Quantification of healthy life years lost in Europe, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Date: 2011-Jul
A new book examined research on sustainable development in Europe.
Source: Carlo Jaeger, David Tabara, and Julia Jaeger (eds.), European Research on Sustainable Development, Springer
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper presented the views of social, public, and co-operative housing providers in Europe on how to increase the affordability of housing, especially for low-income households, and to prevent future major economic imbalances leading to financial crisis.
Source: Affordable Housing, Housing Markets and Economic Stability, Policy Paper 1/2011, CECODHAS Housing Europe
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jun
A report examined the involvement of tenants in decision-making and delivery in the social housing sector in Europe.
Source: Alice Pittini, The Place of Inhabitants: Residents participation in creating sustainable housing & neighbourhoods, CECODHAS Housing Europe
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jun
A report examined best practice examples of social partner involvement in 'greening' the economy in different European Union member states.
Source: Katrin Vitols, Kim Lorraine Schutze, Alain Mestre, Sidoine Chavanet, Sabrina Marquant, Jean-Fran ois Poupard, and Andrzej Jakubowski, Industrial Relations and Sustainability: The role of social partners in the transition towards a green economy, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jun
A report examined the integration of different policy instruments to achieve improved performance of the transport system in the European Union.
Source: Andrew Winder, Integration and Policy Development: Thematic research summary, Transport Research Knowledge Centre (European Commission)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jun
A think-tank report said that Europe needed to rethink its approach to tackling climate change. Although the European Union should retain its existing 2020 emissions reduction target, and also its high level of ambition on longer-term decarbonization, there needed to be a stronger focus on lowering the costs of climate mitigation at a global level.
Source: Boaz Moselle, Climate Change Policy: Time for Plan B, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Policy Exchange press release
Date: 2011-Jun
A report said that inadequate housing accounted for over 100,000 deaths per year in Europe, and caused or contributed to many preventable diseases and injuries.
Source: Matthias Braubach, David Jacobs, and David Ormandy (eds.), Environmental Burden of Disease Associated with Inadequate Housing: A method guide to the quantification of health effects of selected housing risks in the WHO European Region, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Links: Report | WHO press release
Date: 2011-Jun
A report examined the potential for harmonizing the consumer protection regime in mortgage lending in the European Union.
Source: Hans-Joachim Dubel and Marc Rothemund, A New Mortgage Credit Regime for Europe: Setting the right priorities, Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jun
A paper examined the gender dimension of transport policy in developed countries.
Source: Chantal Duchene, Gender and Transport, Discussion Paper 2011-11, International Transport Forum (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-May
A think-tank report said that the European Union directive requiring the United Kingdom to supply 15 per cent of its total energy demand from renewable sources by 2020 was 'hugely and unnecessarily expensive'. The coalition government needed to either renegotiate the target or reduce the wasted costs of implementing it.
Source: Simon Moore, 2020 Hindsight: Does the renewable energy target help the UK decarbonise?, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | REA press release
Date: 2011-May
A study examined the institutional processes for drawing up climate adaptation policies in 5 European countries – Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Source: Gaspard Dumollard and Alexia Leseur, Drawing Up a National Climate Change Adaptation Policy: Feedback from five European case studies, CDC Climat Research
Links: Report
Date: 2011-May
An article examined how planning at the national level related to the planning of major infrastructure in three European states. There was a wide range of approaches to such national-level planning, with quite differing arrangements and recent trajectories.
Source: Tim Marshall, 'Planning at the national level in Europe in relation to major infrastructure', European Planning Studies, Volume 19 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
An article examined the determinants of housing and estate satisfaction in post-war housing estates in European cities.
Source: Karien Dekker, Sjoerd de Vos, Sako Musterd, and Ronald van Kempen, 'Residential satisfaction in housing estates in European cities: a multi-level research approach', Housing Studies, Volume 26 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
A new book examined how European Union-wide environmental tax reform could help Europe meet its targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: Paul Ekins and Stefan Speck (eds.), Environmental Tax Reform (ETR): A policy for green growth – Creating sustainable growth in Europe, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-May
A paper examined the impact of European Union competition policy on public transport policy and provision in the United Kingdom.
Source: Andy Morton, The Impact of European Union Competition Policy on Public Transport Policy and Provision in the UK, European Public Services Briefings 2, European Services Strategy Unit
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined rental housing 'tools' (such as housing benefit) in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States of America in order to determine the best strategy for enhancing rental housing accessibility.
Source: Abiy Agiro and Jonathan Matusitz, 'Housing vouchers, benefits and allowances (VBAs): comparing rental tools in the US, England and the Netherlands', International Journal of Housing Policy, Volume 11 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
The European Commission published a White Paper on transport. It set out a strategy to achieve a competitive transport system that would increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas, and promote growth and employment – as well as dramatically reducing dependence on imported oil, and cutting carbon emissions in transport by 60 per cent by 2050.
Source: Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area: Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system, European Commission
Links: White Paper | Working document | European Commission press release
Date: 2011-Mar
The European Commission published plans aimed at deepening energy savings and moving towards a low-carbon economy. It said that the European Union should be aiming to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 44 per cent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.
Source: A Roadmap for Moving to a Competitive Low Carbon Economy in 2050, European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release | EEB press release | Friends of the Earth press release
Date: 2011-Mar
The European Commission published a paper that examined the interactions between housing tax provisions and the 2008 financial crisis. In particular, it reviewed the existing evidence on the links between capital gains taxation of houses, interest mortgage deductibility, and characteristics of the crisis.
Source: Thomas Hemmelgarn, Gaetan Nicodeme, and Ernesto Zangari, The Role of Housing Tax Provisions in the 2008 Financial Crisis, Taxation Working Paper 27, European Commission
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Mar
A report set out the findings of an independent jury appointed to deliver their conclusions following the European Consensus Conference on Homelessness (December 2010). It made policy recommendations designed to provide a strong basis on which to make continued and enhanced progress on the issue of homelessness within the European Union.
Source: European Consensus Conference on Homelessness: Policy Recommendations of the Jury, European Union
Links: Report | EurActiv report
Date: 2011-Feb
A report examined the quality of life, and issues of environmental sustainability, in urban areas of Europe.
Source: The European Environment State and Outlook 2010: Urban Environment, European Environment Agency (European Union)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Feb
A paper examined the European Union's energy policy under the Treaty of Lisbon rules. It considered the extent to which energy policy constituted a new policy area, and whether the EU was a more coherent actor in this and other instances where competence was shared with the member states.
Source: Jan Frederik Braun, EU Energy Policy under the Treaty of Lisbon Rules: Between a new policy and business as usual, Working Paper 31, European Policy Institutes Network
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Feb
A report examined homelessness strategies in Europe. It set out five goals that strategies should work towards: no one should sleep rough; no one should live in emergency accommodation for longer than was an 'emergency'; no one should live in transitional accommodation longer than required for successful move-on; no one should leave an institution without housing options; and no young people should become homeless as a result of the transition to independent living.
Source: Ending Homelessness: A handbook for policy makers, FEANTSA (European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Feb
A report said that in 2009 6.0 per cent of the European Union population suffered from severe housing deprivation. The most frequent problems were noise from the neighbourhood (22.2 per cent); overcrowding (17.8 per cent); and pollution, grime, or other environmental problems (16.5 per cent). In addition, 12.2 per cent of people in the EU lived in households affected by high housing costs.
Source: Housing Conditions in Europe in 2009, Eurostat (European Union)
Links: Report | Eurostat press release
Date: 2011-Feb
A report by a committee of the European Commission examined the employment dimension of tackling climate change. It looked at how to define the scope of 'green' jobs, and how environmental policies would affect labour markets.
Source: Towards a Greener Labour Market: The employment dimension of tackling environmental challenges, Employment Committee, European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release
Date: 2011-Jan
An article examined two organizations, one in Poland and one in the United Kingdom, that worked with older homeless people. A holistic approach, with community and meaningful activity at its centre, might be the way forward for some homeless people. A responding article said that, in Poland at least, the approach in question was justified only for those individuals who had no chance of exiting homelessness. A second response said that the evidence base relating to the claimed outcomes is not sufficiently comprehensive.
Source: Catherine Boswell, 'Routes out of poverty and isolation for older homeless people: possible models from Poland and the UK', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 4 | Maciej Debski, 'The existence of communities of homeless persons in the process of vocational and social reintegration: controversial issues', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 4 | Sarah Johnsen, 'Residential communities for homeless people: how "inclusive", how "empowering"?', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 4
Links: Article | Response (1) | Response (2)
Date: 2011-Jan
A new book examined new towns in Europe. More than 30 years after their creation new towns were facing numerous challenges in terms of social cohesion, urban planning, regeneration, sustainable development, and identities.
Source: Pascaline Gaborit, European New Towns: Image, identities, future perspectives, Peter Lang
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jan
An article examined the political participation of people experiencing homelessness in European policy-making processes. From the perspective of deliberative democracy, there was little scope to oppose the political participation or mobilization of homeless people at the European level: although homeless people would face greater challenges in developing a European organization than service-provider organizations, these obstacles were neither fundamentally different nor insurmountable.
Source: Silke Paasche, 'Improving the democratic quality of EU policy making: what role for the participation of people experiencing homelessness?', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 4
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Jan
An article examined the issues of homelessness and housing exclusion within the European Union social inclusion process. Despite certain governance and analytical limitations of the process, important advances had been made: these included the development of enhanced statistical data and indicators, a strengthened political commitment by EU institutions and member states, and new regulations extending the availability of EU funding for housing interventions.
Source: Michele Calandrino, 'Homelessness and housing exclusion in the EU social inclusion process', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 4
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Jan
A report examined whether the European Union emissions trading scheme had lived up to its promise to 'promote reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective and economically efficient manner'; and if not, what the prospects were of it doing so in the future, and what additional changes would be required.
Source: Christian Egenhofer, Monica Alessi, Anton Georgiev, and Noriko Fujiwara, The EU Emissions Trading System and Climate Policy Towards 2050: Real incentives to reduce emissions and drive innovation?, Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jan
An article examined differential rates of lifetime homelessness in Europe and the United States of America. The USA and the United Kingdom had higher lifetime rates of homelessness, more income inequality, and – especially in the USA – less generous social welfare policies than most European countries.
Source: Marybeth Shinn, 'Homelessness, poverty and social exclusion in the United States and Europe', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 4
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Jan