Social Housing Policy and the Welfare State: A Danish Perspective

Abstract

This paper focuses on the role of the social housing sector as part of Danish housing policy and on the role of housing policy in the Danish welfare state. The paper is mainly descriptive regarding social housing development in the post-war years, but in the last section of the paper some of the actual discussions on housing policy in Denmark are presented. One such theme is segregation, where it is argued that housing policy must become more integrated with social policy in order to cope with increased segregation. Another theme is the future division of responsibilities for housing policy between the state and the municipalities, where the argument is less state and more municipal involvement-and increasing diversity between the municipalities. Finally, the issue of sale of social housing is touched upon, but the expectation is that this will not become a big issue in Denmark, as social housing is regarded as an integral part of the Danish welfare state and, as such, nearly untouchable.