Exploring housing policies in five Swedish municipalities : alternatives and priorities
Heller, Christina LU
; Ekstam, Lisa
LU
; Haak, Maria
LU
; Schmidt, Steven M.
LU
and Slaug, Björn
LU
(2022)
In BMC Public Health
22.
- Abstract
Introduction: Housing shortage due to population growth within metropolitan areas, combined with an ageing population, has put pressure on current housing provision in Sweden. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable housing policies to accommodate the growing number of seniors in accessible home environments. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of how municipalities currently address housing accessibility issues and to explore what types of policy solutions they consider for the future. Material and methods: Five Swedish municipalities were selected to represent a diversity of the population, housing provision approaches, and geographical areas. To understand current housing policies, two key actors (e.g.... (More)
Introduction: Housing shortage due to population growth within metropolitan areas, combined with an ageing population, has put pressure on current housing provision in Sweden. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable housing policies to accommodate the growing number of seniors in accessible home environments. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of how municipalities currently address housing accessibility issues and to explore what types of policy solutions they consider for the future. Material and methods: Five Swedish municipalities were selected to represent a diversity of the population, housing provision approaches, and geographical areas. To understand current housing policies, two key actors (e.g. public officials, housing adaptation grant managers, city architects, etc.) from each municipality participated in semi-structured interviews (N = 10). Subsequently, those key actors, two senior citizens, and three researchers participated in a research circle to explore future policy solutions. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: The interviews revealed common approaches to deal with housing accessibility issues such as regular renovations and maintenance, individual adaptations based on specific needs, and seeking collaboration with private housing actors on housing provision matters. Possible measures suggested for the future included increasing the national coordination of housing accessibility policies, amending legislation to only allow the construction of housing according to strengthened accessibility standards, and introducing economic incentives for seniors to move from housing with poor accessibility to more accessible accommodations. Conclusions: Municipalities struggle with the lack of accessible and affordable housing for their ageing population, despite a large variety of policies from economic incentives to research and development policies. The results suggest that collaboration needs to be improved between all actors involved in housing policies. Preventive measures within the current laws may be needed to strengthen the construction of more accessible and affordable housing for populations ageing in place.
(Less)
- author
- Heller, Christina
LU
; Ekstam, Lisa
LU
; Haak, Maria
LU
; Schmidt, Steven M.
LU
and Slaug, Björn
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- CASE - Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments
- in
- BMC Public Health
- volume
- 22
- article number
- 260
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85124328745
- pmid:35135523
- ISSN
- 1471-2458
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12889-022-12672-5
- project
- Simulation models that enable long-term prediction and cost-benefit analysis related to housing adaptation needs for a population ageing in place
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Funding Information: Open access funding provided by Lund University. The study was supported with funding from the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE, 2019-01122). Funding Information: This study was accomplished within the context of the Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments (CASE) at Lund University. The PhD student’s learning process was supported by the Swedish National Graduate School on Ageing and Health (SWEAH) funded by the Swedish Research Council. The authors wish to thank all participants involved in the interviews and research circle. Funding Information: This study was accomplished within the context of the Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments (CASE) at Lund University. The PhD student?s learning process was supported by the Swedish National Graduate School on Ageing and Health (SWEAH) funded by the Swedish Research Council. The authors wish to thank all participants involved in the interviews and research circle. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).
- id
- 48217905-f9b3-49af-b26a-186fdbb791d8
- date added to LUP
- 2022-05-30 09:20:56
- date last changed
- 2024-04-16 10:31:37
@article{48217905-f9b3-49af-b26a-186fdbb791d8,
abstract = {{<p>Introduction: Housing shortage due to population growth within metropolitan areas, combined with an ageing population, has put pressure on current housing provision in Sweden. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable housing policies to accommodate the growing number of seniors in accessible home environments. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of how municipalities currently address housing accessibility issues and to explore what types of policy solutions they consider for the future. Material and methods: Five Swedish municipalities were selected to represent a diversity of the population, housing provision approaches, and geographical areas. To understand current housing policies, two key actors (e.g. public officials, housing adaptation grant managers, city architects, etc.) from each municipality participated in semi-structured interviews (N = 10). Subsequently, those key actors, two senior citizens, and three researchers participated in a research circle to explore future policy solutions. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: The interviews revealed common approaches to deal with housing accessibility issues such as regular renovations and maintenance, individual adaptations based on specific needs, and seeking collaboration with private housing actors on housing provision matters. Possible measures suggested for the future included increasing the national coordination of housing accessibility policies, amending legislation to only allow the construction of housing according to strengthened accessibility standards, and introducing economic incentives for seniors to move from housing with poor accessibility to more accessible accommodations. Conclusions: Municipalities struggle with the lack of accessible and affordable housing for their ageing population, despite a large variety of policies from economic incentives to research and development policies. The results suggest that collaboration needs to be improved between all actors involved in housing policies. Preventive measures within the current laws may be needed to strengthen the construction of more accessible and affordable housing for populations ageing in place.</p>}},
author = {{Heller, Christina and Ekstam, Lisa and Haak, Maria and Schmidt, Steven M. and Slaug, Björn}},
issn = {{1471-2458}},
keywords = {{CASE - Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{BMC Public Health}},
title = {{Exploring housing policies in five Swedish municipalities : alternatives and priorities}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12672-5}},
doi = {{10.1186/s12889-022-12672-5}},
volume = {{22}},
year = {{2022}},
}