A study into the impact of investment in housing, regeneration and neighbourhood renewal in Glasgow has issued a briefing paper into the benefits of new build housing provided through regeneration in the city.

As part of an investigation of the health and wellbeing impacts of regeneration, the GoWell programme has examined the issue of whether or not new build dwellings have advantages for occupants over and above improved houses, and contribute to the aims of regeneration.

The new briefing paper: The benefits of new build housing provided through regeneration in Glasgow, uses the fourth wave of the GoWell community survey carried out in summer 2015 to compare the responses to the survey given by occupants of new build social housing (built since 2003) with those given by occupants of improved social sector dwellings.

After looking at the employment status of the two groups, to see if there are any differences in who gets access to new build housing, the paper compares the responses given by the two resident groups in relation to a series of topics including: dwelling satisfaction and condition; feelings of status, control and safety at home; the affordability of housing and related utility costs; neighbourhood satisfaction and condition; neighbourhood services and amenities; community belonging and social contacts; and health behaviours.

In each case, GoWell tested for statistically significant differences in responses, after controlling for the occupants’ age and gender, and the location of the dwelling across the study areas (in case any dwelling differences reflect differences between the types of areas we are studying).

The analysis presented in the paper shows that new build housing provides additional housing and environmental quality gains to occupants (as reported by the residents themselves), over and above those enjoyed by the occupants of improved housing, and that these advantages might also be reflected in other benefits associated with new build housing in respect of affordability, status and home-based health behaviours.

In social terms, the paper finds some community-related benefits for new build occupants in respect of trust and reliance on neighbours, but not in not in terms of reported social interaction or mixing.

Access the briefing paper.