Gallent, N; (2013) The Social Value of Second Homes in Rural Communities. Housing, Theory and Society , 31 (2) pp. 174-191. 10.1080/14036096.2013.830986.

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Abstract

Analyses of the impacts of second home ownership in rural areas, around the world, regularly align with a "loss of community" thesis, linking second homes to a range of negative socio-economic consequences. This article looks again at the second home issue, developing a perspective that attributes a particular social value to temporary and seasonal rural residence. It proposes a framework for thinking about this phenomenon that brings together writings on the nature of place dwelling with ideas of social capital accumulation, and the potential interconnectors that temporary residents provide between the otherwise closed (or more limited) social networks of some rural communities and wider socio-economic and professional worlds. It argues that second homes may give communities a potential store of "bridging" social capital. Moreover, it proposes that second homes have a clear social value within rural community structures, and aims to open a research agenda and debate around the measurement and likely extent of this value. © 2013 Copyright IBF, The Institute for Housing and Urban Research.

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