Social, standards and housing for Slovak Roma

Transcription

1 Social, standards and housing for Slovak Roma Katarina Smatanova 1 1 Ins0tute of Urban Design and Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Slovak University of Technology, Bra0slava, Slovakia, katarina.smatanova@stuba.sk ABSTRACT (max. 250 words) People of Roma ethnicity occupy in Slovakia a place on the margins, in terms of space as well as society. They have been living in excluded and spa0ally remote areas for more than a hundred years now. Different poli0cal systems have akempted to cope with their 'otherness' also through selec0ve housing provision. AMer the fall of communism regime, renewed idea of 'social housing' has been introduced in policies just recently. However, the conflic0ng results has among the society has caused a wave of unrest. What and for shall housing mean? At at for cost? Paper akempts to respond to these ques0ons via analysis and sharing of an alterna0ve housing system that is in the process of delivery by non- governmental organisa0ons in 8 different loca0on. The main aim is not only to provide housing, but also to support ver0cal mobility of the families that are trying to escape excluded gheko areas and find their own place in the city. Tested social housing system combines self- help construc0on of individual family houses and rental apartment houses, proposing solu0ons not only for improving the living condi0ons for individual families, but akempts also to find solu0ons for upgrading of the whole excluded areas. KEYWORDS (up to 5) housing standards, Roma, Slovakia, social sustainability AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: (short, not more than 5 lines) Katarina Smatanova is currently a post- doc researcher focusing on social sustainability at Ins0tute of Urban Design and Planning at STU, Bra0slava. At the same 0me, she is advising on housing, finances and regional and community planning for different government bodies (Plenipoten0ary for Less Developed Regions, Ministry of Finance). As an architecture prac00oner, she took part in developing self- financed incremental housing model for Slovak excluded communi0es 'Building Hope' that was awarded among others also EESC Civil Society Prize

2 1 IntroducOon People of Roma ethnicity occupy in Slovakia a place on the margins, in terms of space as well as society. Being part of Slovakia's landscape already since 14th century, usually nomadic Roma in Slovakia sedentary lifestyle in this region already in 18thC. Since then, issues of housing have served as a tool for different poli0cal systems addressing Roma 'otherness', reflected in their origin and different colour of skin. First were Roma in 19th century forcefully sekled on a precisely selected places out of the sight in remote rural loca0ons. During 20th century socialism regime moved 'underdeveloped' Roma from these areas to na0onalised proper0es in the city centres. Eventually, amer the fall of communism regime, the capitalist pressures evicted the most vulnerable families back to the areas of the urban or rural margins (Vašečka et al., 2003). As a result, in the condi0ons of illegal excluded ghekos trapped in deep genera0onal poverty without access to basic technical infrastructure currently lives more than 8% of the whole Slovak' popula0on dividing the image of Slovakia's landscape of black and white world (Picture 1). Lunik IX, Košice, 7500 Roma Veľká Ida, 1300 Roma Letanovce, 700 Roma 246 inner-city concentrations in 179 towns ( Roma) 327 city-edge concentrations in 309 towns 231 completely spatially segregated settlements in distance 900m - 7 km to main town, in 195 towns ( Roma) PICTURE 1: Three spa0al types of excluded Roma areas in Slovakia. Maps: Adopted by Google Earth. The rapid onset of capitalism amer 1989 was also connected to the changes in welfare poli0cs. Property res0tu0on processes lem only 3% of country's housing stock available for public housing, erasing all traits 'of social = socialis0c' thinking. However, as a condi0on for becoming a member of an European Union, in 2004 Slovakia started to deliver measures targe0ng living condi0ons of excluded ghekos. Renewed ideas of 'social housing' has among the whole society caused a wave of unrest - who and why should deserve a state help? What shall be the housing used for? And at what costs? Data presented in this paper were gathered through the years , as a part of MA, and PhD thesis of the author focused on issues of social housing and informal Roma areas in Slovakia. 2 Social, standard and housing 2.1 Informal Roma areas as a part of Slovakia's landscape Slovakia is a rela0vely small country of 49,000,000 km2 located in the middle of the Europe. The current popula0on of the country is 5,500,000, from which it is es0mated that Roma consist around 10%, being thus 2

3 unofficially major ethnic minority. Similar to other Western ci0es, there can be observed a shrinking trend in the popula0on of most of the Slovak urban areas. However, recent territorial mappings of Roma residen0al pakerns (UNDP, 2014) show that there is an evolving trend in terms of popula0on (+70%) as well as number of the areas (+30%) occupied by Roma. Altogether, in 2011 these made up approximately 300,000 people, living in 800 informal segregated Roma concentra0ons in 2851 of Slovak towns (ibid.). Hurrle (2006) depicts these places as pockets of 'Third World in the First World'. The physical structure of the fabric in these areas is deteriorated, consis0ng in more then 25% from illegal dwellings built from mud, soil, wood, or other construc0on scraps (Jurásková et al., 2004). The living condi0ons of its residents display all factors of depriva0on and social exclusion: poverty, level of unemployment reaching up to 100%, low educa0on level, socio- pathological phenomena (crime, alcohol abuses), and dependency on welfare help (Filadelfiová et al., 2014). Of the main problems is the informality of the dwellings, as well as land- rela0ons, and related lack of access to basic infrastructure and services (for instance only 60% have access to water). Facili0es and ameni0es are usually located in non- Roma parts of the urban structures (UNDP, 2014), in distance up to several kilometres. Also, most of these areas are located in already marginalised and less- thriving regions of easter Slovakia. Thus, the segrega0on of Roma is supported by marginalisa0on of the whole region, causing an effect of 'double- marginalisa0on (Radičová, 2001). 2.2 Low- standard for Roma and a spread of gheuo Government ini0a0ve focusing on low- income families and people in material need was introduced in 2001 with Housing Developing Programme. From these measures, the only working tool targe0ng informal Roma areas has been available for local governments. As an answer for housing shortage, there is a funding for construc0on of municipal rental apartments, with uniformed architectural typology, and very low standard of flats and shared spaces (Picture 2). PICTURE 2: Lower- standard municipal rental housing, targe0ng Roma areas. Source: Ministry of Transport, Construc0on, and Regional Development of Slovak Republic. But its not only the architectural quali0es that the housing suffers from. Similar to other single- focused housing schemes around the world, new housing omen deepens spa0al segrega0on. For instance, in years , in 18% of the cases, new state housing was located in actually further remote loca0ons (Hojsík, 2008), in 70% located in already segregated areas. A 'lower- standard housing' on the one hand brings greater financial subsidies from the government, on the other hand also unfinished flats in bad quality with very low floor area, unrespectul to the needs of its residents.the rent in these flats omen takes up to more than 70% of the family income, what pushes the families into higher risks of poverty. Throughout the years, new housing has influenced also the spa0al hierarchies and development pakerns of the whole areas. The first apartment blocks located outside of the city margins have catalysed enormous spread of other informal housing units, crea0ng (self- )segregated spa0al structures (Picture 3). At the same 0me, squaung on a private land, the power struggle over the space and very scarce resources is intense - resul0ng in high density of these areas; but at the same 0me diminishing the remains of collec0ve will in these areas. Public space is used just for the necessity ac0vi0es, completely neglec0ng any community uses. Most of 3

4 the life is very private, all the public usage is limited to the necessary ac0vi0es and family rela0ons, sugges0ng that the residents do not want to be iden0fied with these areas. PICTURE 3: Kecerovce. Informal houses of the beker- of Roma families, adop0ng the visual form as well as internal layout according the local non- Roma standards. However, at the same 0me, within those new informal construc0ons, those who manage to save more financial resources, construct the houses in a visual form resembling the houses non- Roma rural residents (Picture 4). Architectural forms resembling those of non- Roma majority suggest that there is very different to what the social housing systems predicts. PICTURE 4: Svinia, one of the typical examples of informal Roma areas, evolving around the apartment block. Map adopted by GoogleEarth. 2.3 'Social' consequences of housing Social housing, as a part of a social welfare system, has its wider implica0on. Many families living in informal Roma seklements has been caught in the social dependency trap. The living situa0on of having just as much money to survive has caused disempowerment of most of the families, their loss of aspira0ons, values and resources. Furthermore, ar0ficial top- down development and mul0- genera0onal poverty has caused completely damage of social networks, loss of solidarity, and interests in public things in these areas. Underpinned by culture of poverty, to escape the living in these areas is for most of its inhabitants literally impossible (Radičová, 2001). The housing has also its 'social' aspects with implica0on on the wider society. The low standards of floor area omen cause overcrowding, that results in soon are these flats 'worn - out' (Smatanová, 2010). Thus, new housing development does not only worsens the condi0ons for local residents, and results in s0gma0sa0on of segregated popula0on - but also non- Roma 'majority' feels strong anxiety amongst any special help targe0ng Roma, who are perceived as 'un- deserving' (Reis and Moore, 2005, Moravec, 2006). 4

5 2.4 Redefining 'Social housing' - Inclusive Housing System Given the malfunc0on of official social welfare poli0cs, housing provision seems to be one of the most important and accessible tools that have a poten0al in addressing some of the problems of these areas. In 2012, NGOs dom.ov [Home] started to develop an alterna0ve complex housing system, in collabora0on with local governments in 8 different municipali0es, altogether reaching to around 400 families. Housing is understood as a tool for empowering individual families and ac0va0ng community. The process of housing delivery aims to embrace different areas of life, with an aim to support social ver0cal mobility: provide a way of gheko and address problems caused by bad social housing (overcome dependency trap, gain working habits) by providing assistance (social work and educa0on) while at the same 0me trying to also address the underdevelopment of the whole areas. Four steps of housing targe0ng families in different levels of living situa0ons opens up a route to access the basic living ways of Slovak non- Roma (Picture 5): (1)fist- aid housing, (2) supported housing, (3) assisted housing, and (4) independent housing. Assistance 100% Assistance 0% (free market) 'FIRST AID' HOUSING SUPPORTED HOUSING ASSISTED HOUSING INDEPENDENT HOUSING FORMS: temporary housing: container mobile housing solutions FORMS: municipal rental apartment houses FORMS: incremental housing of individual family houses /row housing FORMS: site and service renal market TENURE: OWNED BY MUNICIPALITY / STATE // rental form TENURE: OWNED BY MUNICIPALITY TENURE: OWNED BY MUNICIPALITY leasing TENURE: RENTAL INDIVIDUAL OWNERSHIP INDIVIDUAL OWNERSHIP PICTURE 5: Four steps of housing targe0ng families in different levels of living situa0ons opens up a route to access the living strategies of Slovak non- Roma. The aim is to have a social aspects embodied in the process - design process, allowing to set the networks of friendships and crea0ng connec0ons between the two worlds. With higher housing level decreases the social assistance and educa0on programmes that are provided to the future inhabitants. The most important in this sense is 'assisted housing', to a wide extent re- defining the understanding of 'social housing' and its purposes in Slovakia. It covers the self- help construc0on of individual family houses in the ownership of each family, applying incremental housing strategies. Financing is in the hand of the family, using specially developed social microcredit system or other commercial microcredit system, construc0on is also in the hands of the family, under the professional surveillance of 'building teacher' focused on gaining working skills and experience that helps the individuals to step out in the labour market. The social work and assistance to family is provided throughout the whole micro- loan repayment period. 5

6 Based on the principle of three- phase construc0on, as a 'core' is delivered a house of 75m 2, which can be later on by the residents easily extended up to 100m 2, or 150m 2 ; using locally accessible materials allowing the families to learn a building techniques that can be useful in labour market (Picture 6). However, the 'catalogue' of a projects of core houses is under constant extension, due to different culture pakerns, access to materials in climate - varying according site specificity. S0ll, one of the burdens creates the construc0on standards. EU building, technical and construc0on norms are in terms of self- help and incremental housing. 25 m 2 PICTURE 6: House+; incremental self- help housing design. OZPLZ. 2.5 New spaoal hierarchies Addressing the housing shortage in this scale also requires availability of land. Roma areas are omen located on the private land or geographically locked areas (valleys), not allowing for expansion. Furthermore, problems is of bridging the two worlds: as the non- Roma Slovaks do not want to allow 'Roma' to enter 'their areas'. Another ques0on is of permanency of the interven0ons - of how not to 'set in concrete' these illegal loca0ons opens up. Since residents want to escape the gheko, there is s0ll a contradic0on in to what extent these areas shall be 'op0mised', demolished or upgraded. Having experienced with reloca0ons' consequences, system adopts a strategy in the middle. Incremental development uses housing as a tool for ac0va0ng community. The design process is also broken down into stages, star0ng up with temporary use of a communal sites, what allows for the ini0al social works and provision of basic communal ac0vi0es. AMer that, the ini0al houses are built. Tearing down the old houses frees up new land that can be open up for further temporary community development. For the area as a whole, focus of all interven0on is on providing infrastructure suppor0ng self- sufficiency of the area, educa0on and gaining communica0on and social skills. PICTURE 7: Rankovce - construc0on of 14 new houses, spring

7 3 Conclusion As the project is s0ll under development, it is difficult to make any final evalua0ve conclusions. From the 8 areas, the visible results can be traced only in the first one - Rankovce (Picture 7), where programme kicked off in In September 2015 was executed preliminary monitoring, involving series of semi- structured interviews with several members of the municipality and people from both communi0es. These were asked to depict the changes that have taken place in their life since the project started and how do they subjec0vely evaluate the project success. All of the respondents agreed that the project has significantly improved the life for the whole community in the posi0ve way (Smatanová, 2014). Also, the women from families involved in the project became more ac0ve, and with the support of local based community associa0on 'For BeKer Life' that is run by non- Roma, who also provides a social work in the community, established a micro- business with second- hand clothes, while the man have focused on produc0on and sell of 'eco- bricets' ( However, even though preliminary results of the first project seem promising, the ques0on of their long- term sustainability and transfer to other loca0on s0ll requires more 0me and work. At the same 0me, s0ll remains unanswered also projec0ons for the future and the impact of building up and empowering Roma areas. What is going to happen with Slovakia's landscape, given on the one hand shrinking formal urban areas and on the other booming inform Roma areas on the (rural) margins without any linkages between these two worlds? Acknowledgement The author thanks to the great team at office of Plenipoten0ary for the Support of Less Developed Regions in Slovakia for allowing the 0me and opportuni0es to enjoy the research and publica0on ac0vi0es. References FILADELFIOVÁ, J., GERBERY, D. & ŠKOBLA, D Report on the Living Condi0ons of Roma in Slovakia, Bra0slava, United Na0ons Development Programme, Friedrich Ebert S0Mung, Erich Brost S0Mung. HOJSÍK, M. F Evalua0on of the municipal rental housing programme in roma seklements.: Milan Šimečka Founda0on. HURRLE, J The Third World in the First World: Development and Renewal Strategies for Rural Roma GheKos in Slovakia. In: ALTROCK, U., GUNTER, S., HUNING, S. & PETERS, D. (eds.) Spa0al Planning and Urban Development in the New EU Member States. Ashgate. JURÁSKOVÁ, M., KRIGLEROVÁ, E. & RYBOVÁ, J Atlas rómskych komunít, Bra0slava, Úrad vlády SR. MORAVEC, Š Nega0vní dusledky etnicke definice socialniho vyloučeni. In: JAKOUBEK, M. & HIRT, T. (eds.) "Romové" v osídlech sociálního vyloučení. Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Česnek. RADIČOVÁ, I Hic Sunt Romales, Bra0slava, Nadácia S.P.A.C.E, Fulbrightova komisia, SR. REIS, E. P. & MOORE, M Elite percep0ons of poverty and inequality, London New York, London New York : ZED Books. SMATANOVÁ, K Addressing Housing Needs of Segregated Roma communi0es in Easter Slovakia: to what extent are government programmes succesful? MA, Newcastle University. UNDP Atlas rómskych komunít 2013 [Atlas of Roma communi0es], Bra0slava. VAŠEČKA, M., JURÁSKOVÁ, M., NICHOLSON, T. & EDS Čačipen pal o Roma. A Global Report on Roma in Slovakia, Bra0slava, Ins0tute for Public Affairs. 7

8 Graphic Work, Images PICTURE 1: Three spa0al types of excluded Roma areas in Slovakia. Maps: Adopted by Google Earth. PICTURE 2: Lower- standard municipal rental housing, targe0ng Roma areas. Source: Ministry of Transport, Construc0on, and Regional Development of Slovak Republic. PICTURE 3: Kecerovce. Informal houses of the beker- of Roma families, adop0ng the visual form as well as internal layout according the local non- Roma standards. By author. PICTURE 4: Svinia, one of the typical examples of informal Roma areas, evolving around the apartment block. Map adopted by GoogleEarth. PICTURE 5: Four steps of housing targe0ng families in different levels of living situa0ons opens up a route to living strategies of Slovak non- Roma. by author. PICTURE 6: House+; incremental self- help housing design. OZPLZ. PICTURE 7: Rankovce - construc0on of 14 new houses, spring By author. 8