Framing the housing crisis: politicization and depoliticization of the Dutch housing debate

Abstract

How does a housing crisis become a crisis? In answering this question, this paper turns to framing in public and political debate. The case is the Netherlands where in the decade following the Global Financial Crisis the debate on housing quickly developed. Drawing on a discursive analysis of parliamentary documents, newspaper items, and interviews, the paper reveals how a housing crisis frame became central in debate, through a sequence of incubation, development and escalation. These debates shown signs of politicization as they increasingly emphasize the structural causes and political roots of the current situation, while also framing housing as primarily a fundamental right rather than a market commodity. This politicization, however, is matched by depoliticizing tendencies as relatively much attention is directed to the housing issues of the middle classes and young adults. Findings help us understand how housing struggles are understood, and which policies are deemed acceptable and necessary.