Housing associations, private finance and risk avoidance: the impact on urban renewal and inner cities

In this paper a case study of the link between housing and urban policy in Britain is presented. The impact that policy on housing associations has had on inner cities and on urban renewal is examined. The impacts of recent changes in government policy about capital and revenue funding (which expose housing associations to risk), on the type and location of housing schemes are also investigated. It is shown that these impacts are inconsistent with the government's inner city and housing renewal objectives.