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Dr Kathleen Stokes - Assistant professor in Urban Geography, Dublin City University
Michelle Connolly, Research and Policy Manager, Dublin Simon Community
March 2024
Tell me about the research you have just published?
We have published a report which examines opportunities and challenges surrounding the conversion/renovation of vacant above-the-shop units into residential use, and social housing in particular.
To address this topic, we have reviewed existing research and policies in Ireland and elsewhere to understand current approaches, as well as speaking with professionals and owners who have worked on such conversions/renovations to understand what is needed to successfully complete them, and scale them more generally, through both workshops and case study interviews.
Why is this research important?
Vacancy is a pressing public issue in Ireland, particularly amidst the ongoing housing crisis. Likewise, there is growing recognition that maintaining existing building stock can be more sustainable than extensive greenfield building, and converting commercial vacancy to residential use can contribute towards wider town and city revitalisation.
We see our research as building on existing studies that have assessed the challenges surrounding vacancy in Ireland generally (http://www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/103170), by considering opportunities and best practice for converting/renovating vacant units into residential use.
Our focus on vacant above the shop units (which we’ve shortened to VATSUs) is also trying to provide a more nuanced understanding of the specific circumstances and challenges that surround this particular type of vacancy.
Have you come across any challenges in carrying out this research?
Avoid holding workshops and interviews in late summer! If you must, prepare to facilitate virtual or follow up options later for those who are unable to attend the first time around.
How can this research be used to influence housing policy or practice?
We are hopeful that our report and recommendations will reflect the diverse array of people we’ve engaged with through our research.
In particular, we hope it conveys what converting a VATSU to residential use actually entails, and what key stakeholders see as opportunities and lessons to improve current policy approaches and incentives within housing policy.
What is an interesting piece of housing research you have read recently? Irish or international.
Mick Byrne’s weekly “This Week in Housing” substack to be an exceptional resource for anyone interested in housing policy and research in Ireland: https://theweekinhousing.substack.com/
Internationally, we would recommend looking at the open access Radical Housing Journal (https://radicalhousingjournal.org/). One of us has also found Dr Suraya Scheba and Dr Nate Millington’s recent article on housing occupations and reparative infrastructure in Cape Town to be very thought-provoking: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13604813.2023.2266192