Search Results (85)

This paper examines social and economic disparities between immigrants and natives in the UK using the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study. The analysis compares foreign-born and UK-born respondents across multiple indicators of integration rather than relying on a single labour market or social measure. Social integration is captured through social networks within the UK, community involvement and a composite measure of neighbourhood embeddedness based on respondents’ sense of belonging, trust, reciprocity and local attachment. Economic integration is examined through unemployment, homeownership, job security and work autonomy. Using correlated random-effect models, the paper shows that immigrants report lower neighbourhood embeddedness, weaker UK-based social networks and lower levels of community involvement than natives. Immigrants also have a higher likelihood of unemployment and lower homeownership, job security and work autonomy. Additional subgroup analysis indicates that several disparities are larger for non-white immigrants, although non-white immigrants appear more similar to natives in neighbourhood embeddedness. The findings underline the importance of treating integration as a multidimensional process in which relative advantage in one domain may coexist with disadvantage in another. Full article

Housing financialization has transformed residential property from a basic social necessity into a speculative asset, intensifying socio-spatial inequalities in the Global South. In Iran, a bank-dominated financial regime and high spatial inequality severely restrict access to housing finance, particularly for low-income households and climate-induced migrants in mid-sized cities. While the spatial consequences of financialization have been extensively studied in major metropolises, neighborhood-scale exclusion mechanisms in secondary cities remain significantly understudied. This study addresses this gap by employing a hybrid methodology that integrates the Bayesian Best–Worst Method (BWM) with Geographic Information Systems (GISs) and Fuzzy Overlay analysis to quantify and spatially visualize barriers to housing finance in Birjand, Iran. Eleven indicators were weighted through probabilistic expert elicitation (n = 10) using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling, with excellent convergence confirmed by Gelman–Rubin diagnostics (R-hat ≈ 1.00). Results identify land use as the dominant barrier (posterior mean = 0.256; 95% CrI [0.244, 0.270]), followed by homeownership rate and education level (≈0.132 each). Spatial modeling reveals a pronounced north–south monetary–spatial divide: southern districts concentrate financial services and formal tenure, while northern peripheries, predominantly inhabited by low-income and climate-migrant populations, constitute financial deserts. These findings demonstrate that spatial barriers to housing finance are structurally embedded in land-use classification and asset-based gatekeeping. The study offers a replicable probabilistic–spatial framework for diagnosing financial exclusion in Global South mid-sized cities and provides evidence-based guidance for spatially targeted policy interventions aligned with SDGs 1, 10, and 11. Full article

Achieving climate neutrality by 2050 requires strategic shifts in national energy portfolios tailored to specific geographical and socio-political conditions. This study examines the divergent low-carbon trajectories of Portugal, characterized by variable renewable integration, and Slovakia, defined by a robust nuclear baseload, through the perspectives of STEM students who will lead the energy transition. The rationale for comparing these two countries lies in their contrasting low-carbon strategies, which provide a natural setting for examining how divergent national energy systems shape the attitudes of a technically educated cohort largely overlooked in previous research yet responsible for implementing the transition. Data were collected through an online survey (n = 133) at technical universities in Bratislava and Porto. Results indicate regional disparities in household energy mixes, notably higher wood burning in Slovakia (12%) than Portugal (<1%). Slovak respondents reported higher residential solar adoption (63.6% of solar users), possibly associated with higher homeownership (93%) and energy-crisis pressures, despite Portugal’s superior solar irradiance. Although limited by sample size, this pilot assessment shows that future engineers navigate trade-offs between sustainability and economic viability and view transition costs largely as a governmental responsibility. These findings inform the alignment of urban energy policies with the next generation’s readiness. Full article

Homeownership is considered an important indicator of financial stability, but the economic security it provides varies substantially across households. In this paper, I examine housing fragility among U.S. homeowners and ask how vulnerability to housing- and credit-market disruptions is organized across wealth position, portfolio composition, and educational attainment. Drawing on perspectives emphasizing financialization and action under uncertainty, I conceptualize housing fragility as a multidimensional condition rooted in the organization of household balance sheets and in unequal capacities to navigate financial institutions and market risk. Using pooled cross-sectional data from the 1989–2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, I analyze six indicators capturing leverage, repayment strain, portfolio concentration, and housing cost burdens among homeowners. Findings show that housing fragility is systematically stratified across the wealth distribution, with lower-wealth homeowners consistently exhibiting higher leverage, greater repayment burdens, and more severe housing cost strain. Fragility is also more strongly associated with overall net worth than with housing values alone, indicating that broader balance-sheet resources shape households’ capacity to sustain ownership under changing market conditions. In addition, less-educated homeowners experience persistently higher levels of fragility, particularly in measures tied to repayment obligations and ongoing financial strain. The findings show that homeownership amplifies existing wealth inequalities by exposing lower-wealth households to disproportionate financial risk embedded in contemporary housing and credit markets. Full article

This study presents an interdisciplinary examination of the intersections between human capital theory, philosophical interpretations of property, and contemporary housing and aspirational patterns in Germany and the United Kingdom. Drawing upon classical economic thought, Hegel’s philosophy of right, and Marx’s theory of alienation, the analysis demonstrates that falling homeownership rates and the reorientation of youth aspirations toward non-material domains reflect the structural impossibility of realizing Eigentum—property understood as an extension of personhood. These developments exemplify what Marx termed Eigenschaftslosigkeit, the condition of being divested of essential human attributes. The findings reveal a social configuration in which the Hegelian conception of Eigentum as a universal medium for freedom has been systematically denied to younger generations while the Marxian prospect of collective emancipation remains unfulfilled. The paper does not claim that virtual environments directly substitute for material property; rather, it proposes the metaverse as a conceptual horizon that illuminates the compensatory logic of a generation structurally excluded from Eigentum. Full article

Cohabitation has become an increasingly common context for childrearing, yet children living with cohabiting parents often exhibit poorer academic outcomes than peers with married parents. This study examines whether these disparities stem from cohabitation itself, subsequent family transitions, or underlying mechanisms related to resources, stress, or selectivity. Using data from the Growing Up in Australia: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), we follow 920 children born to cohabiting parents and track family structure changes alongside teacher-rated literacy and mathematics performance from ages 6 to 11 years. Generalized estimating equation models show that, although children whose parents transitioned to single-parent or other non-cohabiting arrangements initially appear to score lower academically, these differences are no longer significant once resource, stress, and selectivity variables are included. Instead, parental education, parental efficacy, homeownership, extracurricular participation, residential mobility, and parents’ region of origin more consistently predicts educational outcomes. Children with stably cohabiting parents and those whose parents later married do not differ significantly. Findings suggest that among children born to cohabiting parents in Australia, differences in later educational outcomes are largely explained by differences in parental education, efficacy, housing stability, and related factors, rather than by cohabitation or family instability alone. Full article

This study investigates the challenge of affordable housing in Riyadh, a city undergoing rapid transformation aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. It aims to bridge the structural gap in the housing market by developing a comprehensive analytical framework that measures housing suitability for emerging middle-income families, linking it to economic, spatial, and behavioral dimensions. The research employs a sequential mixed-methods design. The first phase involved a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) of 106 residential neighborhoods, constructing a Housing Suitability Index (HSI) based on financing cost (≤SAR 880,000), quality of urban life, and geographical accessibility. The second phase utilized focus groups with 16 participants from real estate developers and new families to explore behavioral drivers and subjective trade-offs. Quantitative results identified “convenience clusters” primarily in the city’s southeastern and southwestern sectors, offering an optimal balance between price and accessibility. Qualitative analysis revealed a significant trust gap and a misalignment of priorities: new families are increasingly willing to sacrifice unit size for central location and construction quality, a preference that conflicts with developers’ strategies focused on luxury units or peripheral projects for higher margins. The study concludes that achieving the 70% homeownership target requires a hybrid policy model, combining supply-side stimuli (e.g., subsidized land) with demand-side management (e.g., progressive mortgages). It recommends integrating the HSI into urban planning to direct investment towards logistically connected areas, fostering sustainable communities. Full article

In the context of China’s accelerated urbanization process, the increasing number of rural-to-urban migrants has become an integral part of urban economic development. Ensuring stable housing for the floating population is essential to facilitating their integration into urban society and promoting the realization of their health rights. Drawing on data from a large-scale survey of Chinese internal migrants, this study empirically analyzes how homeownership influences health services accessibility in rural-to-urban migrants. The findings indicated that homeowners exhibited approximately 18.4% higher odds ratio of accessing public health services compared to renters. This result remained robust after addressing potential reverse causality using instrumental variable approaches and correcting for self-selection bias through propensity score weighting methods. Meanwhile, the mediating effect decomposition showed that migrants’ perception of acculturation and community participation played parallel mediating roles in the relationship between homeownership and health services accessibility. Furthermore, the heterogeneity analysis revealed that the positive impact of homeownership on health services accessibility was more pronounced among individuals with lower household income and shorter migration duration. Our research underscores the importance of securing stable housing for rural-to-urban migrants as a key determinant in advancing the equitable development of urban health systems. Full article

This study utilizes the push–pull framework to examine the impact of homestead and urban homeownership on Chinese migrants’ willingness to settle in urban areas in the long term, as well as the moderating role of local homeownership. The results show that homestead has a significant pushing effect on migrants’ long-term residence, whereas local homeownership has a significant pulling and positive moderating effect. In addition, we conducted multiple robustness tests to confirm the validity of our findings. Moreover, urban homeownership exerts significantly heterogeneous effects on long-term migration across different ages, income levels and regions. Also, migrants who own homesteads and housing are more inclined to relocate to urban areas within the same provinces rather than moving to major cities. Furthermore, we identified the mechanism that local homeownership promotes social integration, which, in turn, strengthens migrants’ long-term residence intentions in urban areas. This study enriches research on China’s land systems and urban migration and aims to shed light on enhancing existing migrant welfare, optimizing housing policies and facilitating urban integration. Full article

The dual Hukou system, originating in China’s planned economy period, structured Chinese society into separate urban and rural segments, thereby generating distinct sets of rights and benefits for agricultural and non-agricultural residents regarding land, social security, education, and healthcare. Urban home purchase is a pivotal indicator of social integration for rural–urban migrants in destination cities. While the literature has extensively examined migrants’ residential conditions in China, the institutional impact of the agricultural hukou system—a core constraint—on their urban homeownership, along with its underlying mechanisms and heterogeneity, remains underexplored. To address this gap, this study adopts a twofold approach: theoretically, it employs the separating equilibrium model in housing markets with incomplete information to verify that agricultural hukou acts as an institutional barrier to migrants’ local home purchases; empirically, it uses data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) and applies the Fairlie decomposition method to quantify the constraint effect. The empirical results suggest that agricultural hukou exerts a 29.72% suppressive effect on migrants’ urban home purchase behavior. This effect operates indirectly by weakening migrants’ long-term settlement intention, which serves as a mediating variable. Moreover, the hindrance of agricultural hukou varies heterogeneously across groups, differing in education level, generational cohort, and regional distribution. To advance the fair and sustainable development of the real estate market, we advocate accelerating hukou reform by decoupling public services from residence status, fostering inclusive urbanization, and ensuring equitable development of housing markets. Full article

Background/Objectives: There is a paucity of research evaluating factors associated with healthy eating behaviors in reproductive-age, non-pregnant women. This study aims to examine the association between sociodemographic, perceived health, and environmental factors with fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and adherence to dietary recommendations among women of reproductive age who lived, worked, or attended school in Flint, Michigan, during the Flint water crisis (April 2014–October 2015). Methods: This cross-sectional study used data collected from enrollment surveys completed by participants in the Flint Registry (December 2019–2021). Inclusion criteria were females aged 18–55 having complete data on sociodemographic indicator, general health perception, and dietary assessment data (n = 1239). Pearson chi-square measures of association were used to compare frequencies within groups between sociodemographic characteristics, perceived health and wellbeing (PHW), F&V quality/selection, adherence to recommendations, and total F&V intake. Results: Few participants met recommendations for fruits (22.8%) and vegetables (20.3%). Approximately 50.5% reported having access to a wide variety of F&Vs in their neighborhood and perceived F&V quality to be high. Factors significantly associated with meeting F&V recommendations included education, income, homeownership status, and PHW (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Associations between environmental and socioeconomic factors and daily F&V intake among women of reproductive age offer important considerations for designing interventions to improve this demographic’s nutritional status. Results indicate low adherence to recommended F&V intake but perceived access and quality as high in this population. Targeted interventions addressing key components of socioeconomic barriers, perceived access and quality, and perceived wellbeing are needed to improve F&V intake. Full article

This study investigates shopping behaviors for essential services among Black middle-class homeowners in Ward 8, Washington, D.C., a historically underinvested neighborhood experiencing a rise in Black homeownership. The research examines how these residents manage limited local retail options, address safety concerns, and evaluate quality perceptions when choosing where to shop. Using survey data from 58 homeowners, we categorized shopping patterns into Inside-only, Mixed, and Outside-only. Exploratory factor analysis identified three main motivational factors: Service & Quality, Access & Convenience, and Economic. Multinomial logistic regression showed that higher scores on the Access & Convenience factor significantly increased the likelihood of Outside-only shopping (OR = 1.67, p = 0.02), while residential tenure showed a non-significant trend toward predicting Mixed shopping. To explain these findings, we introduce the concept of the “Small Spatial World^TM,” an adaptation of Chatman’s Small World theory, to describe how routine spatial behaviors, not social networks, shape resource gathering in limited urban settings. These behaviors reflect the ongoing impact of racial capitalism and spatial disinvestment, which limit consumer choice even among middle-class residents. This research advances urban studies by uniquely examining the consumption patterns of Black middle-class homeowners in a racially homogenous yet structurally disinvested community, linking race, space, and class in daily consumption, and advocating for targeted retail investments to foster equitable, community-focused development. Full article

Background: Child Development Accounts (CDAs) were introduced in the 1990s as a long-term asset-building policy aimed at supporting families in accumulating assets to achieve life goals for their children, including higher education, homeownership, and long-term economic security. Beyond their financial benefits, CDAs have been theorized to strengthen family relationships and improve children’s well-being by fostering a future-oriented mindset and increasing parental involvement in educational activities. Objective: This study investigates the impact of CDAs on parent–child educational engagement and children’s sense of hope for the future, contributing to the growing body of research on the multidimensional benefits of asset-based policies for children’s development. Methods: Data were drawn from the third wave of the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) study, a rigorous, longitudinal, randomized policy experiment in the United States. The analytic sample comprised 1425 families. Dependent variables were parent–child educational engagement and children’s hope. The independent variable was participation in the SEED OK CDA policy experiment. Baseline sociodemographic variables related to children, mothers, and households were controlled for in the analysis. Multivariate linear regressions and path analysis techniques were employed to assess direct and indirect effects. Results: Participation in CDAs was found to improve parent–child educational interactions and enhance children’s hope significantly in the pre-COVID-19 sample. The study’s rigorous design and consistent implementation allowed for establishing causal relationships and long-term developmental benefits. Conclusions: CDAs offer not only financial advantages but also contribute meaningfully to strengthening family dynamics and promoting positive psychosocial outcomes for children, supporting their inclusion in comprehensive social policy frameworks. Full article

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) have emerged as alternative housing models mainly taken up by civil society organizations aiming to de-commodify land and ensure long-term affordable housing, while fostering participatory democratic governance and (re)claiming the right to homeownership. Drawing on empirical evidence from the CLT in Leuven (Belgium) and research conducted between November 2022 and February 2025, this study examines state-led CLTs and their potential in providing affordable housing and democratizing housing systems. The leading role of local authorities serves as a catalyst facilitating access to land and resources while setting up democratic and collaborative governance processes towards the creation of housing commons. However, their involvement introduces market mechanisms that undermine long-term affordability. This research mobilizes the literature on commons and commoning, housing affordability debates and governance theories to explore the paradox of state-led CLTs: Can they democratize housing governance, or does state involvement inevitably reinforce the market mechanisms they seek to counteract? The paper argues that states can initiate commons without fully co-opting them, provided governance is polycentric and reflexive. The contribution of state-led housing commons lies not in radical rupture but in incremental decommodification and emergent commoning, showing how commons can evolve within capitalist states. Full article

In comparative analyses, specific features of the Spanish welfare and housing systems have often been emphasized. The case of Barcelona illustrates the extent to which these features are the result of a long-standing historical trajectory and the decisive impact of the challenges and policy responses adopted during Franco’s lengthy, dark, and gloomy regime. This period marked a significant shift, not only due to the persistent shortage of social rental housing, but also because of the early consolidation of a homeownership culture and its dominance in working-class suburban areas—a legacy that is completely different from that of the welfare states of Western Europe. Through a review of the literature and the analysis of primary sources, ongoing research on Barcelona seeks to clarify the factors and processes that led to this transformation, as well as its evolution during the democratic period, within an international context of economic liberalization and the dismantling of the welfare state. Full article