Housing Policy and Residential Differentiation in Post-Socialist Tallinn

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the role and effects of housing policies on residential differentiation in the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The focus is on contemporary ‘post-privatization' housing-policy measures and their effects, although the transformation from socialism to a market economy during the 1990s is also covered. A distinct contrast was found between housing policies in Estonia and western Europe, where the welfare role is often to mitigate the detrimental effects of economic restructuring and to prevent segregation. Estonian housing policies at state and local levels do not even aim to reduce, prevent or slow down the harmful effects of the considerable income disparities that manifest in housing inequality and increasing residential differentiation. One of the main mechanisms driving residential differentiation is the relocation of people according to their ability to pay in connection with the increasing amount of renovation being undertaken. It is increasingly evident not only ...