A social housing policy for Paris city center

Transcription

1 A social housing policy for Paris city center Rémi Feredj, Director, Real Estate Department; Chair, Social Housing subsidiary CHRA ACHRU Innovation Forum Montréal, April 12 ve, 2016

2 Overview Rental properties are much more widespread in Northern Europe (35%) than in the South (5%). Social housing benefits have been cut everywhere due to the crisis in public finances. 25 millions households in Europe living in social housing. In France, on income criteria two-thirds of all households qualify for social housing but social housing increasingly occupied by the most impoverished people

3 Urban realities in Paris 21rst century

4 Part 1: French context French model seats between Northern idea of giving everyone access and Southern focus on vulnerable populations. Social housing is integrated into urban regeneration programs. Recent trend towards increasingly poor tenants; as well as singular way of funding social housing companies.

5 French housing figures - France: 66 million inhabitants (60% homeowners) - 33 million housing units - 5 million social housing units (1.2 million in Greater Paris) - Declining occupancy rate: 2.4 persons/ household - Average home: 85 square meters (915 sq ft) - 50% of population spends 18% of income on main residence - Total housing subsidy= 40 billion, almost 2% GDP

6 Social housing figures Stock: 5 million social housing units 90% of social housing stocks belongs to affordable housing associations Production : >60,000 units/year Average social housing rent: 6.60 /m 2 /month ($0.80/sq foot) Average middle class rent: 13/m2/month Rents = 30% of tenants income (Average private rents in Paris city center = 30/m 2 / month) Cost of social housing: 20% of 40bn = 8bn/year

7 France: Typology of public housing aids 20% 17% 8% 4% 4% 47% aides personnelles au logement locatif aides à l'investissement locatif aides à l'accession à la propriété aides à la production de logements sociaux aides à la rénovation privée autres Individual rented housing aid Rented housing investment aid First time buyer aid Social housing production aid Private renovation aid others

8 Financing French state (30% of price of an apartment) - Loans (preferential rates) - Reduced VAT (5.5% vs 19.6%) - Property tax exemptions (lasting 25 years) - Tenant support packages Local authorities: housing occupation subsidies; loan guarantees Companies: 1% levy. All companies in France must pay ca. 0.45% of their total wage bill to regional collection agencies who use these sums to fund employee housing. Companies can either rent flats to employees or offer them first-time property acquisition loans. Equity capital: investments by developer/savings and loans companies

9 Breakdown of funding for new operations Loan 63% Employer contribution 12% Equity capital 15% Local authority subsidy 10% Tenant housing benefits are income-related and vary according to area location and family circumstances. To qualify, for instance, a single person must not earn more than 23,000; a couple no more than 34,000; and a couple with two children no more than 53,000.

10 French corporate contribution (so-called 1% levy) 4 bn: 1.6 bn: tax on total corporate wage bill 2.4 bn: receipts from outstanding loans These sums are managed by employer/trade union bipartite organizations Savings and loans institutions use these tax proceeds as quasiequity from companies paying for the right to designate tenants for the apartments that are being built. Tenants selection based on wages level Social housing funding Investment contributions (construction, land ): 1.6 bn Urban regeneration: 1.2bn Tenant assistance (home improvements; acquisitions): 1.2 bn

11 Current social housing problems Decline in State aid (due to recession) Not enough urban land for development Tenants becoming less solvent (unemployment) Social initiatives increasingly focused on tenants unpaid bills = higher overheads Tenants have lower levels of disposible income Spatial inequality between Paris and French provinces

12 Part 2: Business context How an industrial company can use its land holdings to develop complex urban regeneration operations in a way that benefits its employees

13 The Greater Paris region Greater Paris accounts for: - 1/5 of France s total population - 1/4 of all jobs - 2% of national territory - > 1/4 of GDP - 8 counties - 25% of social housing stock Epitome of a centralized country Heavy pressure on housing

14 Patterns and requirements of urban living Density Sustainability (Economy) Employment Social mix (+ social infrastructure) Civility (urban shape + security)

15 RATP case study RATP is a multimodal transporter in Paris: metro, bus, tramway 5 billion annual turnover; a state-owned company 4,400 buses (and 7,050 bus stops); 4,600 train carriages 400 subway stations, 16 metro lines, 350 km of tracks, 740 hectares of land 45,000 employees (24,000 drivers; 5,000 station employees; 7,000 maintenance personnel) Huge portfolio but no brownfield sites and no other land available Impetus for a original urban model

16 Constraints Blue collar work in the city center: RATP is one of the last companies to employ industrial workers in the center of a French city. Scheduling constraints: The Paris public transportation system generally operates from 5:00 AM to 1:30 AM, (teams working three shifts). This means that employees often face commuting problems, making it a real advantage for them to live near their place of work. A need for centrality for industrial infrastructures. Large pieces of land dedicated to Buses or Subways maintenance in the dense city.

17 Living near one s place of work Lower absenteeism rates; Better health (less fatigue and stress) Save on parking costs Helps supervisors who need to be on call Helps in case of bad weather Lower debt levels Although curiously enough, people with longer commutes tend to be more punctual!

18 Building a dense and mixed city Social perspectives blue collars Scheduling constraints 5 am to 2 am Living near one s place of work Social lever RATP 1rst Multimodal Political lever transporter in the world Buses, subways, tramways employees Step 1 increase industrial capacity Step 2 allocate spaces for housing on top of these plants Step 3 designate workers as tenants of social housing flats Step 4 use real estate incomes to finance increased industrial capacity Industrial perspectives 60 industrial plants I city centers More than 200 hectares Need for more industrial capacity Industrial lever Urban planning lever

19 Part 3: An urban project Developing housing to fund infrastructure. Fulfilling social mix and density targets. A support package that is turning into a whole new area of social intervention

20 An example of urban and industrial densification involving RATP s own land: Bus depot Major social housing + industrial development operation in Paris > 100 million budget Aims: Increase industrial capacity (>50 buses added to 135 currently) Build housing on top of an industrial facility (ca. 650 flats:170 social housing units; 350 student housing units; 100 private housing units; plus nurseries and parking spaces) Use real estate income to finance increased capacity Architectural competition. 10 years for project completion. Half of all social housing units allocated to RATP workers

21 Bus depot: Former 19th century industrial infrastructu 1 Vue aérienne depuis la Porte d Orléans: Opération Montrouge - existant

22 Cont d: 2.4 hectare space, 58% covered in plants (10,000m²) new industrial infrastructure below Urban agriculture based on local foodshed production systems for the benefit of t new neighborhood s inhabitants. Biodiversity. Vue aérienne depuis la Porte d Orléans: Opération Montrouge - projet 1

23 Bus depot: Cont d

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25 Metro Line 12 Vaugirard workshops (Paris 15 th district) hectares, 60% covered by plants (14.000m²)

26 Metro workshops (cont d)

27 Metro workshops (cont d) Plants will cover most of the roof space and enhance biodiversity throughout the project. They will also create a biodiversity highway criss-crossing the whole of the neighborhood. In turn, this will help the project to achieve some of its environmental objectives, including rainwater harvesting and a reduction in heat waste

28 Metro workshops (cont d) Perspective depuis la voie nouvelle vers l entrée RATP de nuit

29 Metro workshops (cont d)

30 The «green attitude!» Green roofs: environmental benefits but others too Nearly 60% of roof space allocated to green uses Access restricted to resident associations Partnership with Agro Paris Tech, a leading agronomy school Local school children helping on allotments Bee hives

31 Part 4: Social initiatives Social housing increasingly means more than finding accommodation for low-income populations. People s vulnerability (for instance, because they are unemployed), the growing desocialization of children all of this imply that social housing companies must invent new products in order to strengthen social links. A few examples already exist, however. The RATP foundation for citizenship also helps. Whilst subsidies from public sectors (municipalities, state etc.) is decreasing under the effect of financial crisis).

32 Is this a smart city?

33 On-site work placements Focusing on the above mentioned bus depot project (650 apartments): Agreement with contractors to provide 35,000 hours of on-site placements preferably for long-term unemployed workers Equivalent to 15 full-time jobs lasting 3 years Mainly targeting builders, electricians, painters and carpenters

34 Promoting project jobs in local schools Local websites created on construction site, publicizing topics like «machines and people» Professionals helping to promote their line of work Presentations and actions targeting schools but also leisure centres near the construction sites

35 Using images to educate Current partnership with a photographers organization called La fabrique du regard (Magnum agency) using photography to raise awareness and support learning in a network of more than 120 schools Professionals teaching amateur photographers to see and learn differently Target : children 8 14 years old

36 Student accommodations Deserving students from poorer neighborhoods offered rooms in Paris so they can live closer to the city s top universities => Creating an environment conducive to success by providing material support alongside tuition subsidies

37 The Volunteering Hours People of the RATP (retired included) are asked to offer a part of their time to work with solidarity associations. 2,023 hours pledged, of which nearly 30% around the world The hours: 45% between 1 and 5 hours pledged, 33% between 6 and 10 hours pledged. Examples: Alliance for Education, The Curie Institute (Cancer), Paris First-aid workers, Alliance for Education. Among these actions, many are targeting education through the help retired people can provide to children on daily basis.

38 Partnership with the Alliance for Education «Destination Mutual Aid» Program The association encourages the success of nearly 2,500 middle-school students through a tutoring program supported by partner associations, over the middle school years. 17 volunteer employees of the RATP are involved in the project. 11 middle schools in the Paris region are involved : Amount of the 1st agreement 18, : Amount of the agreement 20,000

39 Funding studies for students from underprivileged backgrounds Deserving students funded through social housing company levy of up to 1 per unit/year 7,000 units = 7,000/year Make tenants understand that the company will help their children if they do their best

40 Organizing educational support In France, each social housing block must include premises for hosting local volunteer organizations Partnerships between fund providers and national educational support organizations enabling the community to appropriate these ground-floor facilities and highlight their presence => Spark competition, hence success Educational re-appropriation of a quality space

41 Tech Hub Communicating with local populations about the urban regeneration processes associated with a particular project: Recruited by an organization specializing in the hard to employ (NEETS between 18 and 25; over 50s) and offering 26 hours counseling a week. Accompanied by degree studies from University of Paris VIII s Hypermedia and ICT department. Equivalent to US junior college => Over four years: 48 graduates with professional experience in growth sectors like digital and multimedia Creation+management of websites/ push/ flashtags

42 Paris public spaces 1

43 THAT S ALL, FOLKS!