BME communities: changing needs and apsirations

Housing providers must plan in order to meet the changing needs and aspirations of black and minority ethnic communities
Research evidence is indicating a change in the ‘traditional’ clustering of minority ethnic households within both the social and private housing sectors. Certain minority ethnic communities are showing more interest in affordable housing, whilst the impact of poverty on others, is likely to lead to new emerging needs for social housing providers to address. Sufficient resources therefore needs to be identified in order to develop the relevant services to meet these changing housing needs.
• The changing demography is predicting a significant growth in the black and minority ethnic (BME) population. The fastest growing groups are black Africans and Bangladeshi. Such growth is likely to influence the demand for affordable housing in the future.
• Changes in housing tenure. The current economic situation is making it increasingly difficult for newly formed households to access home ownership. This may lead to lower home-ownership rates in the future, especially among Pakistani and Bangladeshi populations. At the same time, interest in social rented housing is increasing amongst groups who had minimal interest before, such as young BME people and Pakistani people.
• Most BME communities tend to live around specific localities or neighbourhoods. However, the locational preferences of BME households are changing. For example, access to good schools is now an overriding factor for those who are British born, rather than the closeness of their home to their ethnic community. But fear and the threat of racism continues to restrict black and minority ethnic households’ area choice.
• The demand for culturally sensitive services for older people is likely to increase as England’s black and minority ethnic population grow and age. Black housing associations emphasis the need for more support in this area. Housing providers need to develop a better understanding of the cultural changes within minority ethnic groups. Assumptions that ethnic minorities communities ‘look after their own’ are raising concerns that BME older people’s needs will be overlooked. Whereas, changes within groups who have traditionally cared for older people at home, is likely to place more demand on social sector services in the future.
These are some of the key messages from the Better Housing Briefing paper on Looking to the future: changing black and minority ethnic housing needs and aspirations by Sanna Markkanen. The paper highlights some issues which will impact on the housing needs of minority ethnic communities and implication for future housing needs.
To download the paper, go to:
http://www.raceequalityfoundation.org.uk/housing/index.asp