ESR3

Housing governance beyond city boundaries

Université Grenoble Alpes, Pacte - Laboratoire de sciences sociales, Grenoble, France

Research project

Housing markets are spatially differentiated. The differences between urban, suburban or rural areas of the same region in terms of housing affordability and social inequalities pose a challenge for housing policies and planning strategies. Differences in housing markets, availability of land, degrees of concentration of public housing, presence of amenities, bring about residential mobility, daily commuting or segregation phenomena. Local policy-makers and housing providers differentiate their strategies of developing or reducing the stock of social, affordable or market price housing according to the dynamics of different areas.

The purpose of this research is to develop a comparative study of how local housing and planning policies deal with spatial differences regarding housing. The work will include an analysis of the methodologies and tools used by housing agencies, planning authorities or other housing stakeholders for measuring territorial differences in order to define their strategies. The research should also address the negotiation process between different stakeholders involved in managing, retrofitting or building affordable housing in city regions. A comparison of the housing impact of national, regional and local governance and planning systems will be conducted, thereby paying attention to the coordination role of supra municipal planning authorities in different European contexts.

Territorial differences can also provide opportunities for introducing regulatory measures and experimenting with innovative endeavours aiming to promote sustainable and affordable housing solutions: long-term community control over land, use of private housing for social purposes, reuse of vacant housing, among other. Innovative local solutions and partnerships for providing affordable and sustainable housing in different European contexts will be analysed and compared in this research project.

Tasks

To contribute to the RE-DWELL network by analysing case studies of affordable housing production and/or renovation in at least two European countries. The analysis will focus on examining the relationships among stakeholders when addressing the challenges of housing affordability and decarbonization simultaneously.

The research to be carried out involves:

->Literature review and establishment of key theoretical frameworks.

->Analysis of the governance system and stakeholders' relations.

->Analysis of the impact of European and national policies on local housing practices.

->Analysis of the role of local housing policies, actors, and spatial planning in meeting both social and environmental targets in housing production and management.

The researcher will be based at the host university and will have the opportunity to spend one to two months at a partner organization for a secondment.

In addition to the assigned research tasks within the RE-DWELL programme, the fellow will also focus on developing a PhD proposal to enrol in a doctoral program after completing the contract.

Host university

Pacte is a social sciences research centre affiliated to the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Grenoble Alpes University (UGA) and the Grenoble Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po Grenoble). Pacte brings together the majority of Grenoble’s researchers in geography, urban planning and territorial development, political science and sociology. It also hosts economists, historians, and specialists in information and communication sciences. Interdisciplinary research is central to its practice, through sharing and confronting methods, epistemologies and common fieldwork. The centre is organized in five research teams: Cities and Territories, Environments, Governance, Regulations and Social Justice. The recruited researcher will join the teams Cities and Territories and Social Justice and participate in the different scientific activities of Pacte. The two research teams are mainly located on the premises of the Institute of planning and urban geography.

Among the different research areas, the researchers of Pacte are involved in comparative research programmes addressing metropolitan transformations and strategies and local housing policies in French urban areas, such as POPSU Métropoles, Housing policies and the metropolis (PUCA), and Selling social housing in France (PUCA)

Benefits

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme offers highly competitive and attractive salary and working conditions which include:

->a living allowance (3,784 Euros per month)

->a monthly mobility allowance (600 Euros per month)

->a family allowance (if applicable, 500 Euros per month)

These allowances are used to cover the gross salary, employers’ compulsory deductions and benefits for the three years of the Marie Curie programme. The living allowance is a gross EU contribution to the salary costs of the full-time researcher. The family allowance is an estimated average that will be adapted to the specific conditions of the hired researcher. All three subsidies are subject to the deduction of compulsory social security contributions and income taxes in accordance with the regulations applicable in the country of the host institution. At the end of the contract any possible difference between the gross amounts paid and the amount to be paid according to the programme will be equalized.

Enrolment fees in the PhD programme of the host institution will be covered by the programme.

PLEASE NOTICE: The contract will be effective from September 5, 2023, to September 30, 2024.

Application

Please use this form to provide the following information:

->personal data

->confirmation of compliance with the eligibility and mobility requirements

And the required documentation:

->letter of motivation (maximum 2 pages)

->CV in EUROPASS format

->certificate of English proficiency

->transcripts of your academic degrees (translated into English, by a sworn translator; including ranking of degree classification)

->a research proposal in line with the ESR project (3 to 5 pages, plus reference list)

->two reference letters

Selection process

The selection process will follow these stages:

1. Deadline for applications: June 19, 2023 24:00 CET
2. Until June 30, 2023, the ESR recruitment committee (supervisor and co-supervisors) will review the applications and interview the candidates online and select the best two candidates for the second round.
3. On July 3, 2023, the ESR recruitment committee will present to the RE-DWELL Supervisory Board the two best candidates for the position
4. From July 10 to July 13, 2023 candidates will present their projects to the Supervisory Board members in an online conference. After this meeting, the Supervisory Board will make recommendations for ESR appointment to the host institution. The ESR appointment will be made by the host institution. 

Applicants will be selected on their potential for scientific excellence, their adaptability to work in a multicultural environment and their capacity to conduct transdisciplinary research on housing.

The recruitment process will be transparent, open and equal, following the guidelines of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers

Contact

Assoc. Prof. Adriana Diaconu (adriana.diaconu@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr)

More information

PhD programme at Université Grenoble Alpes.

Working at Pacte