This study highlights persistent social segregation between social and private housing estates, but also within these estates themselves, particularly between municipalities within the same inter-municipal authority (EPCI). Social housing, although more homogeneous and less segregated for the lowest-income households, remains concentrated in certain neighbourhoods or municipalities, particularly in the priority neighbourhoods identified under Urban policy. Whilst segregation within the social housing stock decreased between 2016 and 2022, it remains high between different areas. The report emphasises the need for a more even geographical distribution of social housing and households with different socio-economic profiles in order to promote social diversity and reduce regional inequalities.
Residential diversity and social housing
This report analyses social diversity in housing in mainland France using a composite indicator, the Housing IPS, which measures the social position of households based on their income and composition.
Reference IPP Report No. 57
Presentation
Key Results
- Development of a Social Position Indicator (SPI) for social housing: this is defined as the sum of the income derived from economic activity of all individuals in the household, divided by the number of consumption units in the household.
- The overall social segregation of households across neighbourhoods, as measured by their IPS, remains fairly stable over time. In 2022, 16.6 per cent of the variation in the SPI of households in our sample is explained by their neighbourhood of residence, compared with 16.5 per cent in 2016.
- Social segregation between neighbourhoods within social housing stock alone is slightly lower, and fell by 18.8 per cent between 2016 and 2022, from 16.5 per cent to 13.1 per cent.
- More than a quarter of the segregation of households in terms of the IPS is explained by segregation between municipalities within the same community of municipalities (EPCI). For the most vulnerable households, segregation between municipalities within an EPCI accounts for up to 30 per cent of total segregation.
- The geographical distribution of social housing across the country has become increasingly uniform over time, but the level of social housing segregation remains high, with significant differences between municipalities within the same EPCIs.
- At local level, the social segregation of households within the social housing stock remains high across different areas, but it is less pronounced than within the private housing stock.
Partners
This project received funding from the Federation of Social Housing Organisations (ESH).