Abstract
This study analyzes the housing policies enacted in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century in Portugal and Italy to understand whether the comparison between the two countries’ housing domains reflects a divide between the “center” and the “periphery,” or, on the contrary, can be observed as “between peripheries.” This article stems from a comprehensive literature review on the topic, which is divided into a theoretical discourse on housing, a general European housing scenario, and a historical and contemporary framework of housing policies in Portugal and Italy. The literature review seeks to identify the economic and sociocultural singularities of the two countries through official laws and statistical data. Within a fundamentally theoretical comparative observation, this work aims to identify whether Italy and Portugal are contrasting realities within the housing domain—that is, with housing characteristics typical of the center (Italy) or the periphery (Portugal)—or represent two similar realities that integrate the peripheral context of Europe.
Highlights
The “peripheries” in Europe refer to the southern countries, including Portugal, and Eastern Europe; these areas normally have a lower per capita gross domestic product and are subject to decisions made by the center
Starting from research already developed by the authors and based on a comparative housing analysis in Portugal and Italy,2 the objectives of this paper are to understand the housing policies adopted in Portugal and Italy placed within a European framework and to interpret the current housing dynamics in the post 2008 crisis period to propose future perspectives
Through an analysis of publicly accessible literature and statistical data, this study aims to execute a systematic comparison of the policies of both countries to answer the following research question: are Italy and Portugal countries of the center or of the peripheries when we analyze the housing field?
Summary
The debate of the eighth annual “Europe and the World” meeting is based on the theme “Europe of the Center and the Peripheries,” which pertains to the existence of a “two-speed Europe” where the “center” moves faster than the “peripheries” rather than a unified continent that moves at the same pace. The “peripheries” in Europe refer to the southern countries, including Portugal, and Eastern Europe; these areas normally have a lower per capita gross domestic product and are subject to decisions made by the center. This subdivision does not apply to all fields: firstly, Europe does not have authority in all subjects, but some economic and political options are exclusive to the national competence; secondly, some sectors overturn the idea that certain countries are always part of the center or the peripheries. This approach allows to contribute theoretically to the literature of comparative housing studies in Southern Europe, which is less studied compared to Northern Europe and is often considered “a semi-peripheral region and not at the fore-front of international interest and discussion”.3
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