Housing transformation is crucial for addressing the changing housing needs of low-income urban households amid increasing family size and modernisation. This study aimed to unravel the logic behind transformations in family compounds and their implications for low-income housing in Wa, Ghana. The main research question to be answered is why family compounds in Wa are transforming and the implications of the transformative drivers for housing policy. Using a qualitative research approach involving interviews and focus group discussions data was collected from eleven family compounds and analysed using ATLAS.ti version 23. Drivers such as increasing family size, adherence to traditional cultural norms, and changes in taste and preferences for modern lifestyles were the main triggers of compound housing transformations in Wa. Simultaneously, economic benefits emerged as a minor factor. These drivers of transformative practices in Wa led to an increase in the supply of family-made housing, strengthened family ties and transformed old architecture for comfort and modern living. The study concludes that understanding the trajectory and logic of low-income housing necessitates addressing the influence of traditional cultural norms on housing policies and transformation processes in secondary cities.

This article contributes to an emerging recognition of the role of planning to mitigate the care gap in an ageing society. The allocation of space for care remains a spatial planning challenge at the local level. Our research question concerns the spatial planning instruments and strategies that local public authorities use to provide age-appropriate housing. Based on a single case study of Nieuwegein (Netherlands), our findings demonstrate the prominence of private law contracts, negotiated between public authorities and market actors. With the rollback of the state from essential social services, local governments are pushed to act more entrepreneurially to incentivize housing provision to meet the needs of the elderly on an ad-hoc basis. We argue that socially sustainable urban policy responses require deliberate coordination between social policy and land use planning to mitigate the care crisis, which will otherwise deepen in ageing societies with rapidly increasing demand for care.

Sub-standard living conditions among migrant workers have become a structural feature all over Europe. In the Netherlands, this policy problem has persisted for over a decade despite much political attention. We investigate this issue by combining a governance network perspective with a critical discourse analysis. The study builds on an analysis of existing materials and interviews with stakeholders. The results reveal a disjuncture between policy rhetoric and practice; while it is often stated that migrant workers should not be seen as second-class citizens, housing policies have the implicit aim of keeping them out of sight of the rest of the population. Our findings show that housing policy for migrant workers prioritises the social reproduction of labour and the interests of the general population instead of the rights of migrant workers. This contribution adds to the growing literature on governance networks in housing studies by refuting the assumption of consensus-seeking in deliberation and highlighting the significance of power disparities.

This paper is an exploration of housing financialisation by drawing upon the productive dynamics of the housebuilding industry. The housing financialisation literature has two distinct branches, one focusing on the macroeconomic mechanisms through which the imbalances in the housing market could reflect deeper macroeconomic fragilities. The other branch puts the emphasis on the commodification of housing as a commodity, mostly due to the withdrawal of the state as a provisioner. This study bridges the gap between these two literatures on housing financialisation by introducing the productive dynamics of the housebuilding industry itself as an explanatory factor, which has not been addressed by either of those literatures. It has two distinct but interrelated contributions. First, it provides a case that can demonstrate the various ways in which the commodification of housing can take place without necessarily the withdrawal of the state by using Turkey as an example. Second, by showing how this development took place in the context of public land availability to accommodate increasing supply and the sectoral interlinkages with the more ‘productive’ energy sector, it explains why the disruptive macroeconomic effects of that strategy could be delayed for a prolonged period.

Global housing demand has increased sharply due to rapid population growth and displacement driven by climate change and natural disasters, prompting many countries, including Bangladesh, to adopt public housing initiatives. The Ashrayan Project, launched by the Government of Bangladesh, is a flagship initiative aimed at alleviating homelessness and poverty by providing secure shelter and livelihood opportunities for landless and disaster-affected families. This study evaluates beneficiaries’ perceptions to extract lessons for improving the selection, design, and implementation of future housing initiatives. It examines how effectively the project is achieving its objectives, with a focus on access to livelihoods and essential services. Information from 404 beneficiaries across 40 upazilas was collected through a telephone survey. The findings show improvements in living conditions, particularly access to electricity, drinking water, and sanitation. However, shortcomings include distant locations, limited livelihood opportunities, and inadequate access to amenities such as healthcare and growth centers, which increase travel burdens and affect income stability. These challenges have led to dissatisfaction with basic services and, in some cases, partial abandonment of settlements or relocation to urban areas. Overall, the study highlights the need for better site selection, greater beneficiary participation, and integrated amenities to strengthen the sustainability of such housing programs.

Housing is a basic human need. Urbanisation has caused severe housing issues in urban areas with space scarcity. In Colombo, middle-income earners are more vulnerable to housing issues due to housing unaffordability and low-quality housing arise from demand–supply imbalances, and structural and distributional issues, as explained by neoclassical and Marxist housing theories. However, micro housing has been recognized as an effective approach to addressing urban housing issues worldwide. Hence, this research aimed to investigate the viability of micro housing as an alternative housing option for middle-incomers in Sri Lanka. The aim was accomplished via a qualitative approach by collecting data through two phases of semi-structured interviews: experts in phase I and potential middle-incomers in phase II. Collected data was analysed through content analysis. Findings revealed higher rent, fewer facilities, poor interior design, and poor space arrangement as primary housing issues. Younger individuals, couples and retirees in Colombo preferred micro housing particularly micro apartments due to affordability, simplicity, freedom, quality, and sustainability. Cost comparison revealed the low construction and operational costs of micro housing compared to conventional housing. The findings offer a foundation for countries who share similar socio-economic backgrounds to consider micro housing as a viable housing option.

This urban ethnography examines how precaritized migrants navigate the urban margins of Ghent, Belgium, compounded by precarious legal statuses that limit access to formal social services. Through participant observation and interviews with fourteen individuals and three couples over three years, the study explores how they assert their presence and create a sense of ‘home’ despite their contested homelessness. The findings reveal diverse, multi-spatial, and impermanent homemaking practices that challenge conventional notions of home, serving as acts of everyday resistance against restrictive mobility regimes, welfare systems tied to national identity, and inaccessible housing markets. The study advocates for rethinking housing norms and policies to recognize alternative ways of dwelling, emphasizing the need to uphold the human dignity of those living on society’s margins and urging more inclusive approaches that reflect the complex realities of precaritized migrants.

Increasing numbers of women are facing housing insecurity later in life. In response to this precarity, several alternative forms of housing are emerging, including different modes of sharing housing. This paper identifies three forms of sharing in older age: share housing, co-living, and collaborative retirement housing or co-housing, specifically for women 55 and over. These forms were identified through primary data collection on the experiences of older women in housing and industry responses to the increasing housing precarity of older women in Australia. Situating housing as an infrastructure of care, the paper positions these emergent options as a form of non-ideal care. It argues that while sharing may be an imperfect option, these different forms of sharing are identifying and responding to housing needs of women in the absence of adequate responses from mainstream housing provision and policy. The paper argues that these emergent practices, although small in scale, require attention as ruptures of the mainstream provision of housing by mobilising existing housing systems and infrastructures in new ways.

The Private Rented Sector (PRS) occupies a complex position within local housing welfare systems. While PRS housing has provided an increasing resource for homelessness prevention activity, the notion of welfare is challenged through varied routes into housing benefit markets. This paper provides new theoretical and empirical insights to our understanding of the ethical legitimacy of PRS housing interventions in the governance of homelessness. By applying the lens of capabilities scholarship that is largely confined to congregate hostel accommodation, the article asks to what extent housing-led alternatives in the PRS can contribute to well-being for people experiencing homelessness and broader disadvantage. Drawing on interviews with commissioners and housing providers within a city-based case study, the article reveals how without effective mechanisms for identifying or responding to welfare needs, the precarity faced by some of the most disadvantaged people may be extended in the PRS.

Home ownership rates among young adults are plummeting across many developed countries. Using mixed methods, we investigate the personal factors that contribute to heterogeneous attitudes and intentions towards home ownership in the Australian context. Ownership remains an important life goal for most, but we identify a significant minority of young adults who are rejecting ownership as a goal, who display ambivalence towards it, or who are intentionally putting home ownership on hold to pursue other goals. This is despite appearing to have the financial capacity or potential to own. Our primary contribution is to foster understanding of these latter, little-researched groups. Desires for freedom, flexibility, and quality of life are drivers of less favourable attitudes to ownership, along with the related issues of debt aversion and delayed partnering. Neither financial literacy nor life satisfaction varies significantly between the groups we identified. Financial wellbeing is, however; significantly lower for homeowners than for most other groups, highlighting the sacrifices that are necessary for achieving ownership under declining affordability. We find that financial self-efficacy, mastery, and conscientiousness are relevant for explaining ownership intentions. Policy implications are briefly explored.