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Delivering healthy housing for all in a challenging economic climate

Dr Matt Egan asks ‘can housing and housing services be delivered in ways that help to reduce social inequalities in health?’. A half-day workshop hosted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine aims to give housing policy-makers and other stakeholders a chance to discuss what options are available in the current climate.  

The important contribution good quality housing makes to the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities has long been understood. Previous research – including research I have been involved in – has shown how housing initiatives can be delivered in ways that do help to reduce inequalities in health by delivering greatest benefits to those in greatest need.

In recent years, changes to the housing market, the economy and to resources available have meant that the task of ensuring good quality housing is available to all looks more challenging than ever.

A team of researchers from several universities are conducting a programme of work that seeks to identify the opportunities for delivering place-based public health strategies in these challenging times.

We are holding half-day workshops for people with an interest and involvement in the housing system. The first workshop will take place in London on 17 September. Its purpose is to bring together policy-makers and stakeholders from a range of sectors to:

  • Discuss recent national policies affecting housing provision and housing services – with a focus on less advantaged sections of the population.
  • Identify approaches to planning and implementing housing policies that maximise benefits across the population – with a practical focus on what can be done now?

The workshop will be participant-led and is intended to bring together people from different sectors involved in housing policy and the delivery of housing services. Attendees will have a chance to comment on current policies and their implications. Through discussions with experts and peers, we will gain insights into how the housing system is changing, what options/mechanisms are currently available to promote a healthy and more equitable housing system, and identify innovative practices and initiatives. There will be brief presentations summarising recent housing policy, and highlighting examples of good practice, to aid discussion.

The project is led by myself, Elizabeth McGill, Dalya Marks and Vanessa Er at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in collaboration with colleagues at the Universities of Cambridge, Lancaster, Liverpool, Sheffield, Northumbria and Newcastle. We won’t be audio recording the workshop but we will make notes for our research project – and will ask participants’ consent to this. We won’t name attendees in published outputs.

If you work in national or local government housing, or work in a relevant third sector or private organisations we would love to hear from you. Similarly, if you work in a public health-related field and have an interest in housing.

To register for this free workshop or for more information on the project, please get in touch.

Event details

Workshop title: Delivering Healthy Housing for All in a Challenging Economic Climate
Venue: Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street Campus, Room MAL B02. Birkbeck’s main entrance is on Torrington Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1E 7JL
Date & time: 17th September 2018, 12.30pm-4.00pm. A buffet lunch will be served from 12.30pm.

Dr Matt Egan is an Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Please note this event takes place at the same time as the next meeting of the CaCHE Social Housing Policy Working Group on Affordability and Subsidies and Financing.

 

Date: July 23, 2018 2:53 pm

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