Housing Question Research Articles

Residential vulnerability and the housing question: a social and spatial-oriented analysis for the Andalusia metropolitan areas

The mismatch between basic household needs and the conditions and characteristics of dwellings is at the centre of residential vulnerability. According to the guidelines established in the international and national level, this paper aims to apply a two-dimensional perspective in urban and housing research. Indeed, the concept of residential vulnerability is used to address, jointly, the areas and social groups at risk due to housing characteristics and conditions. By analysing 2011 Population and Housing Census data, three indicators were developed, linking physical housing conditions to relevant social dimensions. This integrated perspective is used to identify the size and range of residential vulnerability situations brought about by the physical characteristics of dwellings and how they link to relevant social dimensions in the Andalusia metropolitan system. Results revealed significant deficiencies in housing conditions, yielding different impacts by metropolitan area and social group. Although the reported problems did not affect a sizeable proportion of the population, they proved relevant given the severity of the issues addressed and the social groups involved. These shortcomings should constitute a priority for sustainable housing policies and urban plans.

Housing and Revolution: From the Dom-Kommuna to the Transitional Type of Experimental House (1926–30)

In the USSR, against the backdrop of political change and social instability in the 1920s, the issue of housing for the masses was addressed by the Association of Contemporary Architects (OSA), under the leadership of Moisey Ginzburg. Their mission was not only to provide a solution to the lack of accommodation in the major cities of the country, but to redefine housing as a framework suited to a society transitioning towards a fully socialised life. The response was developed in three stages of design research, over a period of five years. The initial conceptual phase was formally presented by members of the OSA at the 1926 Comradely Competition, and focused on the housing question, with specific designs for communal houses. The second stage revolved around the scientific and methodological research of the Stroykom, developed in parallel with the designs for the new communal living units. The final stage took material form in six specific buildings, known as transitional-type experimental houses. One of these, the Narkomfin, gained worldwide recognition as a modern prototype of Soviet avant-garde housing, and has been widely researched as a result. However, to date no study has approached all three phases with equal scrutiny and methodology. This article offers a detailed account of the OSA’s experimental design strategies for collective workers’ housing between 1926 and 1930 under Ginzburg’s leadership by examining original sources, as well as analysing and restoring the individual projects at each stage. It provides a new interpretation of the famous Narkomfin House and ideas on the first Soviet avant-garde housing project by reconstructing the complex research context in which the building, in tandem with other projects, was developed.

Saving the neighbourhood: understanding tenant activism in middle-class Manhattan

Recent debates question whether assemblage urbanism provides an appropriate framework for addressing the housing question under late capitalism. On one side, proponents note the capacity of assemblage to reveal the complex emergence of events, places and processes, whereas critics argue assemblage accounts provide deep empirical detail but avoid engaging with political economy. This paper addresses such criticism through an assemblage account of local activism in the context of ownership changes that threatened the rent-regulated Stuyvesant Town neighbourhood in Manhattan. We adopt an assemblage methodology to examine this case of privileged tenant activism and find that it provides an additive lens for understanding the networks of relations that influenced the community during the mid-2000s. Noting that assemblage and the financial ecologies approach are similar in their attendance to relational thinking, we describe how these approaches can be used in conjunction to better understand the linkages between housing and financialization.

On the Question of Low-Energy and Green Housing

People’s mode of life, their professional activity and recreation depend not only on environmental factors including architecture, urban planning of a town or a settlement, but on specific atmosphere formed by the elements that are rather difficult to assess numerically. It also depends on the purity of air, soil and water resources. Generating ever increasing amounts of electrical power is indissolubly related to environmental setting and requires undertaking certain measures. The significant differences between low-energy and green houses have been demonstrated. Construction project should be considered low-energy one if it consumes less energy when in service in comparison with other similar building projects. Correspondingly, green houses are construction projects realized from naturally occurring materials with low conversion rate that could blend in with natural habitat. Every structure with low energy consumption could be considered low-energy house, at the same time, not every low-energy house could be called a green one. When erecting a house, one should take into account not only the benefits of energy saving but also the importance of environmental settings, traditions, customs, and historically developed architectural look of a town or a settlement.

From asset to patrimony: the re-emergence of the housing question

The global financial crisis has ushered in a major housing crisis in many European countries. The paper seeks to shed light on why, despite massive housing crises, there are few policy efforts at tackling it. Probing into the policy paradigms that have informed housing policies, the paper demonstrates a shift towards housing as an asset before the crisis. Increasingly, housing policies have become interwoven with financial markets. This has led to a major policy mismatch after the crisis: while the return of the ‘housing question’ would have required renewed efforts at establishing housing as a social right, de facto policy makers sought to stabilise financial markets. The result is a paradoxical outcome, where neoliberal market-driven programmes are embedded in increased dependence on family wealth. The article demonstrates the shift from housing as asset to housing as patrimony in three different varieties of residential regimes, represented by Ireland, Denmark and Hungary.

D. MOVILLA - 99 Years of the Housing Question in Sweden

Daniel Movilla Vega (ed.)99 Years of the housing question in Sweden Based on an ArkDes exhibition curated by Dan HallemarLund: Studentlitteratur, 2017. 325 págs. Tapa blanda. Idioma: inglés.ISBN-10: 9144120478. ISBN-13: 978-9144120478

The political economy of the ‘residential rent relation’: Antagonism and tenant organising in the Irish rental sector

Homeownership is in decline in numerous countries, including the UK, USA, Spain and Ireland. So-called ‘generation rent’ is experiencing many of the issues associated with the ‘housing question’ as it was posed in the early twentieth century: exorbitant rents, frequent evictions and poor-quality accommodation. In response, tenants’ organisations have sprung up from Edinburgh to Madrid. This article seeks to contribute to understanding the politics of this transformation. It does so by, first, developing a theoretical approach to the political economy of what I will call the ‘residential rent relation’, i.e. the antagonism between the accumulation of capital/wealth and social reproduction which is inherent in the landlord-tenant relationship. Second, it sets out the particular forms of accumulation that characterize Ireland’s post-crisis housing system, which centre on the growth of the private rental sector. Third, it explores how these different forms of accumulation give rise to distinct forms of antagonism and resistance by discussing some of the tenant organising and activism that has arisen in Dublin over recent years.

A tale of two inequalities: Housing-wealth inequality and tenure inequality

The growing significance of housing to wealth inequality in Western societies is now well recognised and widely debated. This paper argues that understanding of the nature and causes of this problem and discussions of potential approaches to addressing it through progressive policy responses are both hampered by adopting a partial perspective on the housing question. Focusing singularly on ownership – how it has been idealised and subsidised, how it might be democratised and so forth – has led to scholars and policymakers tending to neglect the other main tenure form, in strict relation with which ownership always exists both materially and discursively: rental. We can neither understand why and how today’s asset-based inequalities have materialised nor plot realistic and meaningful policy responses unless we conceptualise and approach ownership and rental relationally. Using the United Kingdom and Swedish cases as exemplars, and examining how relevant national policy realities and logics have been constructed over time, the paper further argues that the emergence of significant asset-based inequalities in recent decades is rooted in the policy-driven emergence of significant inequalities – ideological as much as economic – between tenure forms, whereby ownership has increasingly been privileged over rental. If Western societies are to have any credible prospect of reducing existing property asset-based inequalities, preventing those inequalities from being reproduced within younger generations and limiting the likelihood of the re-emergence of comparable inequalities in the future, (re)instituting principles and practices of tenure equality should be made a primary political and policy objective.

Synchrony of Intersecting Temporalities in Young People’s Housing Transitions: Intergenerational Cross-national Comparisons

ABSTRACT This paper takes a longer historical view on the topic of young people and housing and examines how intersecting temporalities affect both the timing of moving out of the parental household and the subsequent housing trajectories for three generations in the same families. Synchrony between levels of biographical, family and historical time are important for timing of transitions. A main question addressed is if and how synchrony or lack of such between temporal levels affect biographical decisions in questions of housing and moving out. The paper is based on a study with a case-based cross-national comparative design and involves analysis of cases set in the wider contexts of Norwegian and British societies. In both countries changes at the structural level across generations have affected timing of moving out at the family and biographical levels and thus the synchrony involved in these processes.

Die Wohnungsfrage abseits der Metropolen: Wohnen in Salzburg zwischen touristischer Nachfrage und Finanzanlagen

Abstract. The housing question is a topic of increasing concern in a number of European cities. Rising housing costs burden many households. Since the outbreak of the global economic crisis in 2008, housing has increasingly come under spotlight of investors. Institutional and private actors invest in real estate not only in metropolitan areas but also in middle and small-sized towns. Tourism-induced demand increases the pressure on housing markets particularly in tourist-dominated cities. The manifestation of these processes varies on a small scale and is influenced by regional-local planning and politics. Based on the example of the city of Salzburg, the article shows that the housing question manifests itself strongly aside metropolises as well. Financial investments by private and institutional actors in real estate and different forms of tourism demand exacerbate the housing shortage. By linking the discussions about the effects of (mass-)tourism and financial investments on regional housing markets, this paper provides additional insights. The additional demand for (residential) space by tourism is used to increase or secure the return on investments in real estate. Financial investments in housing offer additional (problematic) potential for tourist use, such as short-term rentals. Owners benefit from both processes. Due to the prevalent power relations, planning and politics have little to counter the current challenges.

Formation of the policy of Soviet power in the housing issue in the 20’s of XX century

In this publication formation of policy of Bolsheviks of rather housing question is considered. Housing policies of the Soviet power – some kind of unique experiment in the sphere of housing which had no analogs in the world and was conducted at the beginning of the XX century with an exception of a private ownership on the earth and the real estate, with change of a control system of housing and activity of people, formation of labor and household collectives, with development of state and departmental form of ownership on housing. All these processes happened in the uniform ideological field, in uniform political and welfare borders. Article purpose – not only to analyse theories which influenced formation of policy of Bolsheviks in a housing question, but also to track the embodiment them in life of the Soviet society.On the basis of the new approaches caused by the need for more objective estimates of historical heritage under conditions of democratization public lives the population life kommunization problem and also policy of Bolsheviks of rather housing question is investigated and reinterpreted. Process of change of old inhabited economy on anti-market destroyed house owners and apartments owners, liquidated old and created new types of development of living space, resisted to private individual housing. K. Marx, F. Engels and V. Lenin’s views of strategy and tactics of new anti-capitalist housing policies are considered. It is proved that housing policies in the 20-th years of the 20th century represented set of discriminatory and protectionist measures which created conditions for formation and existence of household collectives. The beginning of real practical actions for implementation of housing policies of Bolsheviks needs to be counted from the moment of adoption of the first decrees which cardinally changed the nature of a land ownership and the real estate. Housing policies of the Soviet power affected many processes which happened in society: from moral and ethical aspects of life in family before creation of «sotsgorodok» of future society. Thereof the earth and a housing stock, stopping being a purchase sale subject, turned into means of the state distribution, and as a result – into means of administrative and political influence.

The sustainable housing question: On the role of interpersonal, impersonal and professional trust in low-carbon retrofit decisions by homeowners

Trust is critical for facilitating energy transitions in both general and market exchange, and most particularly in consumer engagement. However, little research has been done to demonstrate how trust is established and how it influences the decision-making process of important change agents in energy transitions. On the basis of 40 in-depth interviews with homeowners who adopted a domestic low-carbon retrofit measure, this paper distinguishes three modes of trust that play a role in a retrofit decision-making process. First, interpersonal trust builds on the familiarity and social identification within social networks. Second, impersonal trust develops through certified tools and standards generated by governmental bodies and other actors perceived as independent. Finally, professional trust arises due to the perceived professional capacities and ethics of supply-side actors in the construction industry, and insulation and installation businesses. The paper demonstrates the various roles that modes of trust have in the decision-making process. Moreover, the paper shows the interaction between these different modes of trust and their mediators. Tailoring domestic low-carbon retrofit campaigns and services to different modes of trust is imperative in order to persuade homeowners to retrofit their homes, to engage with energy issues and to contribute to a transition to sustainable housing.

The right to holidays or the emergence of an era of optimism

In 1937, CIAM 5 specifically linked the housing question to leisure, considering it an absolute necessity to acknowledge that the most privileged places will be chosen for the location of these leisure areas. Taking possession of these places by large masses will allow for rest and outdoor exercise, the indispensable recuperation of the forces lost in the city. As Charlotte Périand (1903–1999) asserted, the need to create machines à recréer, the goal was definitively to assure “the happiness of men”. From the first optimistic architectural swimming-pool complexes to discovering the enjoyment of beaches or of winter sports in the mountains, these “architectures of the Sun” began to link the power of landscapes with the relaxation and pleasure of the human body. Associated with healthy living and claimed for all, for the first time, the beaches, mountains, lakes and forests became identified as places for vacations.

Governing Global Displacement in Austerity Urbanism: The Case of Berlin's Refugee Housing Crisis

ABSTRACTA surge of forcibly displaced migrants into Europe in 2015 culminated in what has been referred to as the ‘refugee crisis’. As the continent's top destination country, Germany has been widely praised for its welcoming culture while heavily criticized for failures of integration. This is particularly true of Berlin — a city that has absorbed the highest number of war refugees in Europe, many of whom remain without stable accommodation. Despite its significance, the scholarship has largely neglected the housing question within the European refugee crisis. The aim of this article is to cast a critical light on the complexities and contradictions glossed over by the refugee crisis trope. Drawing on the Berlin case, the author argues that resettlement initiatives need to be understood against the backdrop of austerity urbanism, particularly its insistence that markets can meet housing demand. By focusing on three types of shelter provisioning for refugees, the article reveals the multifaceted and nuanced ways in which the Berlin government, refugees and grassroots organizations contest, produce and navigate the moving frames of austerity urbanism in search of stable housing.

Wenn Geldkapital eine sichere Bank sucht

The housing question is back on the agenda in Germany. House rents in urban areas in particular, where the vast majority of habitants are renters, are on the rise since the outbreak of the global financial and economic crisis in 2007/08. The first part of the article articles discusses David Harvey’s notion of the secondary circuit of capital in order to provide a politico-economic theory for a better understanding of the economic base of these processes. Harvey’s central argument is that the flow of money capital in search of investment opportunities is “switched” into the sphere of real estate in times of overaccumulation. The second part of the article provides empirical data on construction activities, buying and selling of built environment and the development of land prices, including speculation, in Germany that all point in the same direction: the secondary circuit is gaining in importance in the past ten years. Further, the data shows the geographical unevenness of these processes, as most activities are located in major cities.

Urbanização rentável e questão da moradia no Brasil: da financeirização à (re)produção dos grandes conjuntos habitacionais, novos e velhos padrões

A questão da moradia permanece central para a população, Estado, investidores, empresas, pois faz parte das necessidades mais elementares para reprodução da vida, mas é também veículo condutor da ampliação dos ganhos do capital produtivo e financeiro, seja na forma de subsídios monetários por parte do Estado e garantia de aparato legal, dos financiamentos bancários, da realização de operações urbanas consorciadas (OUC), no caso Brasileiro, ou ainda, na produção em larga escala de moradias populares, a exemplo dos grandes conjuntos habitacionais para a população empobrecida. Nesse sentido, este trabalho discute como a habitação social tem sido apreendida no atual processo de urbanização capitalista em tempos de financeirização e suas consequências sócioespaciais na escala local.

La regeneración de las áreas marginales, los casos de Tunja y Sogamoso

La investigación que se expone en el presente artículo tiene como objetivos entender la desventaja de la vivienda en las urbanizaciones informales colombianas, como también plantear soluciones para mitigar dicha problemática mediante el diseño de una unidad modular, prefabricada y flexible, que se pueda combinar en diferentes configuraciones con el fin de regenerar el tejido urbano. La marginación social que caracteriza a las urbanizaciones informales, la explosión demográfica cíclica y el consumo de suelo han generado en Colombia un déficit habitacional cualitativo-cuantitativo. La dificultad para acceder al mercado inmobiliario legal se debe a la insuficiencia de ingresos, determinada por la falta de trabajo. Las personas en condiciones de pobreza se ven obligadas a ocupar lugares de asentamiento en zonas de alto riesgo hidrogeológico. Además, estos ocupantes ponen en riesgo su salud al construir con materiales que no siempre son adecuados. El requisito de vivienda choca con los recursos asignados por el estado colombiano, grandes pero insuficientes y que no responden ni a la pregunta sobre la vivienda ni a la calidad de vida que sigue. Todo esto obliga a la autogestión territorial y a la autoconstrucción según las capacidades económicas. El tejido urbano generado dentro de la ciudad informal está siempre caracterizado por espacios habitacionales mínimos, agrupados en la búsqueda de satisfacer la necesidad primaria, sin planificación ni implementación de espacios públicos. El artículo detalla las principales fases de la investigación que exploró esta realidad y presenta algunos de sus resultados.

Recovering the politics of planning

The goal of this paper is to recover the politics of planning with a focus on the state-planning tool ‘developer contributions’. We draw on David Harvey’s theory of accumulation by dispossession [(2003). The New Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press] and Spaces of Hope [(2000). University of California Press] to identify not only (new) spaces of inequality, but also cracks in contemporary capitalism—material and discursive spaces for alternatives. These theoretical foundations are invaluable in developing and building-on Engels’ discussions in ‘The Housing Question’ [(1872). Accessed March 3, 2016. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1872/housing-question/] and add complexity to the post-political perspective as championed by Erik Swyngedouw [(2007). “The Post-Political City.” In Urban Politics Now. Re-Imagining Democracy in the Neoliberal City, edited by Guy Baeten. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers]. In scrutinising the potentials of developer contributions within the contemporary housing question, Harvey is not only helping lay the foundation for more pragmatism within leftist camps, thus fulfilling an ethical imperative within planning. Harvey’s theories are also invaluable in terms of analysing empirical contradictions ‘on the ground’ that are more ambiguous than both Engels and Swyngedouw suggest. In order to make our case, we review existing literature on developer contributions, exploring the ways in which developer contributions can be analysed as both a sign of hope and as a disaster. We offer a dialectical reading, and make a proposal as to ‘what next’?

“Economic Policies Are the Best Social Policies”: West German Neoliberalism and the Housing Question After 1945

AbstractThis article challenges the widespread view that neoliberalism had become hegemonic in the late 20th century by zooming into a less well‐known variant of neoliberalism, German ordoliberalism, whose political ascendency dates back to the 1940s and 1950s. Through the lens of post‐WWII housing policies—a central field of political intervention after 1945—this article focuses on the remaking of social policies as neoliberal policies in West Germany, a remake that rendered the market economy a key source of political legitimacy of the newly emerging, liberal democracy.

The Moscow housing problem of 1920s in the stories and feuilletons of Mikhail Bulgakov

At the beginning of the 1920s Moscow was in the middle of a housing crisis: after the revolution the housing resources in Moscow have decreased, while the population has increased. The housing shortage has become the sign of decade and has been treated therefore in many satirical magazines by Sergei Garin, Mikhail Zoshchenko, Pantelejmon Romanov and other satirists. Mikhail Bulgakov, who went through this crisis himself, also belonged to these satirists. The present article deals with Bulgakovs feuilletons and stories which treat the housing question in Moscow. The analysis includes following stories and feuilletons: “Vospominanie”, “Stolitsa v bloknote”, “Ploshchad’ na kolesakh”, “Moskva 20-kh godov”, “Moskovskie stseny”, “Samogonnoe ozero”, “Nr. 13 — Dom Ėlpit-Rabkommuna”.