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Jardar Sørvoll

OsloMet—Oslo Metropolitan University, NOVA, Department of Ageing Research and Housing Studies, Faculty Member

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Sørvoll holds a PhD in history from the University in Oslo. His research interests include housing and housing policy, comparative history, the history of the Labour movement and the history of the welfare state. Sørvoll has published articles in journals such as Housing, Theory and Society, the International Journal of Housing Policy and Arbeiderhistorie (Labour history).Sørvoll has co-authored research reports on various aspects of Norwegian housing and housing policy, including housing for the elderly, housing for disadvantaged groups and the rental sector
Phone: 93224305
Address: Måsaveien 19b, Måsaveien

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Papers by Jardar Sørvoll

Hvorfor bør boligforskere interesseres seg for fortida? [Why should housing researchers care about the past?]

Tidsskrift for boligforskning, 2019

In this article, I discuss how and why housing researchers should care about the past and the sch... more In this article, I discuss how and why housing researchers should care about the past and the scholarly discipline of history in light of a literature review of three international housing journals. Iargue that key examples from the literature review illustrate the relevance of history for the explanation and interpretation of contemporary phenomena inthehousing sector.Historicalperspectives may for instancestrengthen Norwegian housing researchers’analysisof parental economic support to first-time buyers and the prospect of the establishment of a non-commercial housing sector in Oslo. The latter illustrates the relevance of history for even the most policy-oriented housing research. My article builds on previous studies, but focuses more on the challenges related to historical perspectives than what is typical in the relevant scholarly literature. I argue that many housing researchers’ approach to the past is problematic seen from the vantage point of the scholarly discipline of history. Many historically oriented housing researchers violate core scholarly virtues, such as «proximity to the past», «ideographic orientation» and «remnants as pieces of the puzzle». The limited use of traditional historical sources – such as, archival material, oral testimonies and historical statistics – is a generalweakness of historical housing research, or so Iargue. Iend the article by suggesting four functions of historical analysis in housing research: policy relevant contextualization, interpretation, causal analysis and empirical basis for the development of hypothesis and theories.

Social Citizenship, Inequality and Homeownership. Postwar Perspectives from the North of Europe

Social Policy and Society

In this article, we analyze the social distribution of residential property in Norway post-1945 i... more In this article, we analyze the social distribution of residential property in Norway post-1945 in light of the concept of social citizenship. Drawing on data from censuses and tax registers, we examine the social stratification of owner-occupation and housing wealth in a Nordic nation of homeowners. Our study shows that residential property and housing wealth is very unevenly distributed, and that the share of low-income homeowners decreased markedly after 1990. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to three different conceptions of citizenship: the socio-liberal, the republican and the libertarian. Our main argument is that the falling rate of low-income owner-occupation constitutes an erosion of social citizenship viewed from the socio-liberal and republican conception of citizenship. This follows from theoretical arguments and empirical studies linking homeownership to positive welfare outcomes, such as civic engagement and social integration. The latter is arguably particularly true in some high-homeownership countries, such as Norway, where owner-occupation is the cultural norm and rental housing is associated with low quality and insecurity.

Sørvoll2Det norske 1980-tallet som historie. Refleksjoner om tidsånd, politisk opposisjon og bruddpunkter018Detnorske80talletsomhistorie

Kollektive bestrebelser. Ei bok til Knut Kjeldstadli på 70-årsdagen, 2018

Denne artikkelen er en refleksjon omkring fremstillingen av det norske 1980-tallet i fem oversikt... more Denne artikkelen er en refleksjon omkring fremstillingen av det norske 1980-tallet i fem oversiktsverker. Jeg argumenterer for at plassen viet til 80-tallets bruddpunkter i disse bøkene fortrenger sentrale aspekter ved tiårets historie. Det gjelder for eksempel aktørenes egne stemmer og selvforståelse, politisk opposisjon og motstridende perspektiver, samt de politiske aktørene og strukturelle faktorene som lå bak 80-tallsreformene

The Norwegian Welfare State 2005-2015: Public attitudes, political debates and future challenges

Norface-blogg, 2015

I outline the postwar development of the Norwegian welfare state, focusing in particular on key c... more I outline the postwar development of the Norwegian welfare state, focusing in particular on key changes and continuities in the last twenty to thirty years. The article builds mostly on secondary literature. It has been published on the Norface-project blogg: s/Attitudes%20to%20the%20welfare%20state/Sørvoll-2015-Norface-Nwelfare-state.docx.pdf

The Dilemmas of Means-tested and Market-oriented Social Rental Housing: Municipal Housing in Norway 1945-2019

Critical Housing Analysis, 2019

In this paper, I analyse the postwar development of social rental housing in Norway. During the 2... more In this paper, I analyse the postwar development of social rental housing in Norway. During the 20 th century, Norwegian municipalities created some of the more means-tested and market-oriented social housing sectors in Europe. Given developments in other countries in recent decades, the Norwegian case is therefore highly relevant to the general debate on the residualisation of social housing in Europe. Using the case of Oslo as the main point of departure, I discuss key challenges of residual and market-oriented social rental housing. Drawing on city council debates, local government reports, and previous studies, I argue that the logic of extreme means-testing creates policy dilemmas connected to contradictory policy goals.

Forskningen på boligsosiale virkemidler rettet mot vanskeligstilte på boligmarkedet i Norge 2005–2018

Tidsskrift for boligforskning, 2018

SAMMENDRAG Artikkelen er en analyse av den samfunnsvitenskapelige forskningen på boligsosiale vir... more SAMMENDRAG Artikkelen er en analyse av den samfunnsvitenskapelige forskningen på boligsosiale virke-midler rettet mot vanskeligstilte på boligmarkedet i Norge mellom 2005 og 2018. Med støtte i den tredje kunnskapsoppsummeringen på feltet behandler artikkelen forsknin-gen om kommunale boliger, bo-oppfølgningstjenester og boligøkonomiske virkemidler. I gjennomgangen av forskningen på feltet fremheves blant annet verdifulle beskrivelser av boligsosial praksis og boforholdene i kommunale boliger samt forskning som påviser eller sannsynliggjør husholds-eller samfunnseffekter av de boligsosiale virkemidlene. Artikke-len konkluderer med at det er behov for mer forskning om de boligsosiale virkemidlenes effekter som tar den kontrafaktiske forståelsen av kausalitet på alvor. På den annen side argumenteres det for at studier av virkemidlenes virkninger ikke bør gå på bekostning av forskning på det norske selektive, eierdominerte og markedsbaserte boligregimets kon-sekvenser for vanskeligstilte. Vanskeligstiltes boligsituasjon påvirkes ikke kun av politiske This article is downloaded from www.idunn.no.

Et velfungerende leiemarked

Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning, 2017

SAMMENDRAG Norsk boligpolitikk er preget av en tydelig prioritering av eierboligen, og hovedmålet... more SAMMENDRAG Norsk boligpolitikk er preget av en tydelig prioritering av eierboligen, og hovedmålet er at flest mulig skal ha mulighet til å eie egen bolig. Denne eierlinjen har bidratt til en stemoderlig behandling av leiesektoren. Mange har derfor tatt til ordet for en revitalisering av leiemarkedet ved å legge til rette for et større innslag av profesjonell utleie. I denne artik-kelen argumenterer vi for at dette er vanskelig å oppnå innenfor rammene av dagens bolig-og skattepolitikk. Med utgangspunkt i begrepet stiavhengighet begrunner vi dette med at historisk betingede rammebetingelser i boligpolitikken bidrar til å strukturere oppfatnin-gene av hva som er mulig og ønskelig med hensyn til politisk endring i boligsektoren. Stikkord stiavhengighet, boligpolitikk, leiemarked, privat utleie, profesjonell utleie

Norsk boligpolitikk 1970-2015: Sosialdemokratiets såreste punkt?

Arbeiderhistorie, 2016

I denne artikkelen argumenteres det for at boligpolitikken gradvis ble et av Arbeiderpartiets sår... more I denne artikkelen argumenteres det for at boligpolitikken gradvis ble et av Arbeiderpartiets såreste punkter fra slutten av 1970-tallet. På begyn-nelsen av 1970-tallet forsøkte partiet seg med radikale svar på bolig-markedets utfordringer. Offentlig boligformidling og boligskatt ble lansert som virkemidler for å bekjempe ulikhet i boligsektoren. På 1980- og 1990-tallet ble styringsambisjonene svakere i takt med boligsektorens gene-relle liberalisering. I en verden hvor de sentrale styringsredskapene fra etterkrigstiden – som Husbanken og boligkooperasjonen – hadde tapt mye av sin kraft, mistet Arbeiderpartiets boligpolitikk retning. Den ble stadig vanskeligere å forene med sosialdemokratiske honnørord som «rettferdig fordeling» og «politisk styring». Boligpolitikken ble ikke bare et ideologisk problem, men var stundom også en partistrategisk hodepine.

Interpreting Housing Allowance: The Norwegian Case

Housing, Theory and Society, 2014

Housing allowances are part of both the housing policy and the general welfare policy. In order t... more Housing allowances are part of both the housing policy and the general welfare policy. In order to understand fully how the housing allowances affect welfare and well-being, one needs to use multiple approaches. We propose to complement traditional analyses of marginal effects and short-run incentives with long-run perspectives taken from the new social investment literature and elements of self-esteem and fairness taken from the literature on universalism. A neo-liberal approach where analysts limit themselves to studies of marginal effects and short-run incentives both in the housing and in the labour market runs the risk of neglecting important aspects of the effects of housing allowances. Therefore, this may lead to retrenchment. The approach we propose is illustrated through a closer analysis of important elements of the housing allowance system in Norway as it is today, and the development of the system over time.

The Pyrrhic victory of civil society housing? Co-operative housing in Sweden and Norway

International Journal of Housing Policy, 2018

Co-operative housing in Sweden and Norway are true success stories of civil society housing in te... more Co-operative housing in Sweden and Norway are true success stories of civil society housing in terms of market shares. This stands in stark contrast to some other European countries, where attempts to promote co-operative housing have consistently met with difficulties, both politically and in the market. The paper explores the history of co-operative housing in Sweden and Norway since 1945 through the lens of path dependence. Notably, co-operative housing changed gradually in both countries between the 1950s and the 1990s, when co-operative companies went from being civil society organisations espousing the ideals of self-help, democracy, non-profit and solidarity, towards becoming more market oriented and profit seeking. We argue that two drivers, ‘the logic of conflicting member interests’ and ‘the logic of competition and growth’, contributed decisively to this development. These drivers may also be good candidates for general mechanisms of civil society housing based partly on collective or individual ownership – if they are not kept at bay. In our view, there seems to be some trade-off between the pursuit of civil society objectives and market success. This should serve as a marker for advocates of civil society housing.

Autonomy, democracy and solidarity. The defining principles of collaborative civil society housing and some mechanisms that may challenge them

Urban Research & Practice, 2019

This theoretical paper introduces a conceptual framework for empirical study and comparison of co... more This theoretical paper introduces a conceptual framework for empirical study and comparison of collaborative civil society housing (CSH). We suggest that CSH communities satisfy four criteria to a lesser or higher extent: (1) autonomy, (2) participatory democracy, (3) internal solidarity and (4) external solidarity. Drawing primarily on empirical examples from the scholarly literature on co-operative housing, we claim that all CSH communities face challenges that may lead to the erosion of these civil society criteria. We argue that such challenges are general social mechanisms that manifest themselves in various types of situations, for instance, when apartments are transferred or refurbished.

Vanskeligstilte på det norske boligmarkedet NOVA R13 15 ny

NOva -NOrsk iNstitutt fOr fOrskNiNg Om Oppvekst, velferd Og aldriNg

Den boligsosiale vendingen. Norsk boligpolitikk fra midten av 1990-tallet i historisk perspektiv

NOva -NOrsk iNstitutt fOr fOrskNiNg Om Oppvekst, velferd Og aldriNg

Innledning: Politisk, samfunnsorientert og analytisk historieskriving med vanlige folk i sentrum

Folk flest har strategier for å få tilvaerelsen til å henge sammen som skiller seg markant fra sa... more Folk flest har strategier for å få tilvaerelsen til å henge sammen som skiller seg markant fra samfunnselitenes metoder. Med slit, flid og hell har vanlige folk etablert fellesskap for å slå tilbake, holde seg i live og løse nødvendige oppgaver. Noen ganger har disse kollektive bestrebelsene funnet sted i et avgrenset geografisk område -som i innhøstingen på gårdsbrukene, byggingen av bedehus eller folkets hus, dugnadsarbeid i borettslag eller idrettsforeninger. I lykkelige stunder har denne lokale solidariteten inngått i breiere nasjonale og transnasjonale fellesskap. Ofte har folk også funnet sammen for å kjempe mot en ytre motstander: en allmektig sjef på arbeidsplassen, et dominerende sosialt sjikt eller statsmaktens pansrede neve. Fiskere, bønder, kvinnesaksaktivister, arbeidere i industrien og prekaeriatet -vår egen tids småfolk -har hatt lite annet å stille opp med enn å organisere seg på langs og på tvers.

Mechanisms of Solidarity in Collaborative Housing – The Case of Co-operative Housing in Denmark 1980–2017

Housing, Theory and Society, 2018

In this article, we discuss the role of solidarity in collaborative housing in relation to the tr... more In this article, we discuss the role of solidarity in collaborative housing in relation to the trajectory and discourse of the Danish idea of cooperative housing (andelstanken). Our analytical perspective draws on the concept of social mechanisms and a framework suggested by the social scientist Steinar Stjernø. We argue that collaborative housing based on individual (home) ownership of shares and user-rights to apartments are susceptible to the mechanism of "conflicting interests between different categories on the housing market". Moreover, we suggest that this mechanism has a tendency to further the economic interests of residents, at the expense of the external solidarity with groups looking to access affordable housing. Our argument is supported by theoretical reflection, the historical trajectory of cooperative housing in Scandinavia and empirical analysis of the Danish case.

Organisering og planlegging av boligsosialt arbeid i norske kommuner.

NOVA-rapport, 2011

Samfunnsvirkninger av boligpolitikk. Boligsatsinger og samfunnsutvikling i ti norske distriktskommuner

by Jardar Sørvoll and Gøril Kvamme Løset

NOVA-rapport, 2017

Planer for et aldrende samfunn? Bolig og tjenester for eldre i kommunene

NOVA-rapport, 2014