European Union (Horizon)
Objectives
- Understanding the mechanisms behind housing inequalities: In the last two decades, housing affordability and quality have become pressing issues, particularly for working and middle-class residents across Europe. A range of crises—including the global financial crisis, the migration crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the energy crisis—have worsened this situation, leading to a sharp divide between property owners and income earners. Low-income groups, including migrants, ethnic minorities, and the elderly, face increasing socio-economic exclusion, often living in lower-quality housing with limited access to affordable, secure, and energy-efficient homes. ReHousIn will explore how these inequalities have evolved over time, focusing on the impact of different crises and the structural factors that have perpetuated these disparities.
- Assessing the impacts of green transition initiatives on housing inequalities: The European Union's green transition, highlighted by initiatives like the “Renovation Wave” and the push for sustainable urban development, aims to create more energy-efficient housing and reduce emissions. However, these initiatives may unintentionally worsen housing inequalities, particularly for disadvantaged groups. Measures like retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency and development of nature-based solutions can raise property values and lead to ecological gentrification, pushing out poorer residents in favor of wealthier newcomers. Similarly, densification strategies may cater to affluent groups while excluding low-income households. ReHousIn will assess how these three sets of environmental policies impact housing inequalities.
- Understanding the mechanisms behind housing inequalities: In the last two decades, housing affordability and quality have become pressing issues, particularly for working and middle-class residents across Europe. A range of crises—including the global financial crisis, the migration crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the energy crisis—have worsened this situation, leading to a sharp divide between property owners and income earners. Low-income groups, including migrants, ethnic minorities, and the elderly, face increasing socio-economic exclusion, often living in lower-quality housing with limited access to affordable, secure, and energy-efficient homes. ReHousIn will explore how these inequalities have evolved over time, focusing on the impact of different crises and the structural factors that have perpetuated these disparities.
Approach
Analyses the (re)production of housing inequalities, including the impact of green interventions, across 9 countries in Europe.
Conducts 27 in-depth case studies in metropolitan regions, medium-sized cities, and rural areas to explore housing inequalities and local initiatives addressing them.
Engages policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders through workshops, webinars, and policy labs to co-create effective strategies.
Case studies
ReHousIn conducts 27 comprehensive case studies in 9 countries across 4 European regions:
- Italy and Spain in southern Europe
- Hungary and Poland in central-eastern Europe
- Austria, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom in western Europe
- Norway in northern Europe
In each country, ReHousIn will focus on three types of areas:
- Metropolitan regions
- Medium-sized cities
- Rural areas
The case studies spotlight effective local initiatives to address housing inequalities and provide valuable insights for tailored policy recommendations.
They represent a wide variety of governance systems, housing markets, and socio-economic conditions.This diversity allows the project to explore cross-country and within-country differences in how green transition policies intersect with housing inequalities.
The project uses quantitative, qualitative, and spatial analyses to map out the relationship between green policies and housing inequalities, examining both past trends and future projections. This multi-scalar approach enables the researchers to investigate how housing inequalities manifest in different types of urban and rural environments and how green policies affect these areas differences.
Norway case studies
In Norway, the following case studies have been chosen for in depth analysis.
- Metropolitan city: Oslo. We will focus on two study areas within the Norwegian capital. The first is Nydalen, a district located in the north-eastern part of the inner city of Oslo. The area is an interesting example of post-industrial shift, characterized by massive densification and various nature-based solutions interventions. The second is Haugenstua, a residential area in the outer east parts of Oslo, approximately 12 kilometers from the city centre. Haugenstua borettslag ) is one of Oslo's largest housing cooperatives and was completed in 1969. At the moment, the cooperative faces major and necessary rehabilitation works, including the replacement of facades, windows and roofs. This creates financial problems for the residents of the cooperative, opening issues of housing affordability and housing quality.
- Medium-sized city: Stavanger. We will particularly focus on the connection axis between Stavanger and Sandnes (which is part of Stavanger metropolitan area), where massive densification has happened. The case is very interesting also for the implementation of nature-based solutions and for the adoption of a local housing strategy based on active land policy to provide affordable housing.
- Rural area: Songdal is a municipality located in the county of Vestland, in the western part of Norway. Our focus will be on Sogndalsfjøra, which is located by the fjord and is the biggest area in Songdal’s municipal agglomeration. The area is particularly interesting as it has undergone quite a lot of densification over the last three decades. We will investigate whether these interventions have favored the increase of housing prices also in connection to the production of luxurious housing by the fjord.
In the case study work, we develop both a quantitative and a qualitative analysis. In the quantitative analysis, based on census-tracts level data, we explore whether the selected environmental strategies can be linked to housing inequalities.
In the qualitative analysis we engage with interviews with neighbourhood groups, nonprofits, community-development corporations, or cooperatives to understand their perceptions on these initiatives from the perspective of urban justice.
Partners
From the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
External partners
- Metropolitan Research Institute, Hungary (Project Coordinator)
- TU Wien, Austria
- University of Vienna, Austria
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
- Sciences Po, France
- Politecnico di Milano, Italy
- University of Lodz, Poland
- University College London, United Kingdom
- ETH Zürich, Switzerland
- ICLEI Europe
