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Housing in the EU

Selected e-articles

Abstract: Affordable housing is a pressing political problem that seems to be fueling social unrest among young people. Rising rents, expensive property prices, and stagnant wages leave young adults with few prospects of entering the housing market without intergenerational financial support. In this article, we examine the role of homeownership, housing unaffordability, and intergenerational transfers in explaining welfare preference and voting behavior of young European adults. We propose the emergence of a new growing interest group composed of financially overburdened young renters and mortgaged homeowners whose welfare is increasingly threatened. We bridged HFCS 2017 and ISSP 2016 datasets through statistical matching and used ordered and multinomial logit models to analyze these trends in Belgium, Germany, France, and Slovakia. We find that homeownership polarizes young adults in terms of their welfare support. Housing unaffordability, however, coalesces young homeowners and renters by increasing redistribution support.

Abstract: This article identifies the shortage of affordable, secure housing as a key driver of political alienation, particularly among young people. The social consequences of this trend for this group include, but are not limited to, delayed independent living and family formation, declining mental health and diminishing belief in their ability to match the living standards of their parents. Increasingly vulnerable and insecure, many young people now link the issue of housing with inward migration. Left unresolved, this issue will further polarise (and radicalise) the political choices of younger generations in the years ahead. In response, this article proposes three immediate actions. First, a dramatic expansion of construction for all types of housing where excess demand exists. Second, the use of public money to ensure that housing options exist for people of all ages, social classes and income levels. Public money should not be utilised for schemes which ultimately inflate house prices further. Third, to tackle widening intergenerational inequalities, existing housing wealth must be taxed fairly.

Abstract: Housing has been, and continues to be, a central concern of economic, geographical and political research, as well as of social debates. It is worth noting that the European Union (EU) does not possess exclusive or shared competence in the field of housing. Rather, its influence is the result of policies in other areas. Building on the call in the literature to examine both Europeanisation and housing studies, we present and discuss the areas of the EU’s influence—economic, environmental, legal, political, social, and urban. The literature shows that these influences have resulted from different shifts in the European agenda, with different approaches (top-down, bottom-up) and mechanisms (legislative, economic and fiscal, cognitive), creating conflicting housing narratives. In conclusion, future research should focus on understanding the influences of member states as well as the intersection between housing and other policy areas. Additionally, the distribution and transfer of power in decision-making within the EU should be examined, as well as the strategic interactions between (housing) political actors from different member states and EU institutions, and the consequences of such interactions.

Abstract: The war in Ukraine presents Europe with one of the largest housing emergencies that it has ever faced. European Union (EU) member states have acted swiftly to trigger temporary protection measures which have been successful, but on a local level the gaps in provision are felt by civil society. In neighbouring countries to Ukraine, much of the role of supporting refugees has fallen on housing and homelessness organisations already struggling in the face of a regional housing crisis and lack of affordable social housing. The author discusses the implications of this, and shares experiences from frontline organisations being forced to offer a full range of social services to refugees and respond to the crisis in real time.

Abstract: A heated debate has emerged drawing a connection between housing affordability and home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb. Despite first regulatory efforts by municipalities, the impact on rents and house prices has been examined insufficiently in scientific literature, especially with regards to Europe. Therefore, this paper addresses this gap by analyzing data on Airbnb listings for 25 European cities between 2010 and 2019. Using fixed effects and dynamic panel regressions, we show that home-sharing has significantly contributed to a rise in rents and house prices in European cities. While these effects are mainly concentrated in city centers, we also document effects in other urban districts. Finally, recent home-sharing regulations are not associated significantly with housing affordability.

Abstract: Many European countries have a large stock of public social housing for low- and middle-income families. The European Partnership for Active and Healthy Ageing report shows that much of this housing stock is unsuitable for the growing number of older residents with declining functional abilities, especially those needing long-term care (LTC) services. The article describes why and to what extent the problem is occurring. Also, we answer the question of what the dynamics of production of such specialized housing units for older adults in need of an LTC should be. We considered the production (masonry) of assisted living units and housing with care for independent and sheltered housing to mitigate the risk of events leading to illness and disability and thus increase the life expectancy of residents if the right housing stock is in place. The model is recommended to determine the dynamics of investment and production of such housing units. Mathematical programming is developed based on geo-gerontological projections of demand. The calculation in R provides us with the optimal dynamics of production and supply in one of the Slovenian regions. The developed model may be of particular interest to other regions and municipalities facing a housing shortage for older adults and increasing demand. The same procedure could also be used to plan the dynamics of constructing facilities in a public-private partnership or some other form of social infrastructure ownership.

Abstract: The paper proposes a conceptual framework for evaluation of the degree of housing decommodification in current welfare states. It presents the findings of an empirical analysis that employs a wide range of institutional characteristics, both quantitative and qualitative, and covers 31 European countries. A statistical explanatory technique is employed to distinguish between three groups of countries: precommodified, commodified and decommodified. To answer the question whether there is a nexus between state decommodifying housing policies and outcomes such as housing affordability, tenure distribution and housing conditions, the results are compared against housing outcomes in the countries studied. A quite clear pattern can be identified only in regard to tenure distribution. This suggests that there is a linkage between housing (de)commodification and housing wealth accumulation. The configurations of two other categories of housing outcomes, i.e. housing affordability and housing conditions, do not coincide so clearly with the identified decommodification arrangements.

Abstract: To explain an emerging trend towards deteriorating living conditions among low-income households across several (West-)European countries, it makes sense to investigate domains of socio-economic regulation that impact on expenditures, rather than incomes. I focus specifically on the domain of housing. Multilevel analyses for 28 countries (EU-SILC) demonstrate that redistributive housing policies such as rental market regulation and housing allowances weaken the cross-sectional (between-country) positive association between a low-income and living conditions-deprivation, while also benefiting living conditions across the broader population. Regarding changes over time, increased uptake of housing allowances throughout the Great Financial Crisis (2008/2009) seems to have shielded in particular renters from deteriorating living conditions, and might have compensated for declining availability of social housing. Higher house prices and price volatility, indicating housing market financialization, are associated with increased living conditions-deprivation for renters and low-income owners, both cross-sectionally and within countries over time. Anti-poverty policies should thus take a broader perspective, and take better account of provision for housing and other basic needs.

Abstract: As suggested by the person-environment fit theory, how older people interact with and modify their housing is an important determinant for their health and well-being. For the first time, this study investigates the constraints of housing modifications innovatively. It finds that promoting housing modification depends not only on older people's affordability emphasised by previous studies but more fundamentally, their recognition of the role of age-friendly housing and the proper timing of modification. Based on a longitudinal survey data of 5719 older people in 12 European countries from 2015 to 2017, we find that older people tend to take “last resort” actions, that is, housing modifications are rare (21.93%) and mostly happen when they are 80 years old and above. In addition, the ordered logit regression shows that the limited scope of housing modification is mainly induced by the poor housing conditions and physical disabilities of older people. Although the age-friendly housing modification has a preventive effect on older individuals, this limited, late, and passive action debases the preventive value of age-friendly housing to the aged population's health. To Europe and developing countries, measures to raise the older people's recognition regarding the benefits, proper time, and scope of housing modifications are suggested in the paper.

Abstract: Housing is a flash point in many European countries, with protests erupting and citizens voting to wrench properties from big investors. Inequality is driving the explosive debate, as households across the income distribution face very different kinds of challenges and opportunities in today’s unequal housing markets. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the risks and rewards already present across different subgroups. This housing-generated inequality creates a conundrum for governments that must balance the interests of competing constituencies with complex housing markets, and points to fundamental questions about how to order society.

Abstract: This study addresses the satisfaction of housing-related needs in single-person households across European countries. The primary objective is to assess the housing satisfaction of single-person households in European countries, specifically within the Visegrad Group. The study seeks to identify trends in housing conditions, create a ranking of countries based on these conditions, and categorize countries with similar levels of unmet housing needs. The study employs statistical measures and methods to achieve its objectives. Time series are constructed for European countries, and linear trends are analyzed to identify statistically significant changes in selected housing aspects from 2005 to 2022. Various research tasks, including ranking countries and grouping them based on housing conditions, are accomplished using established methods like linear ranking and Ward's cluster analysis. Key findings include significant variations in financial burdens related to housing costs, thermal comfort, environmental pollution, and safety issues across European countries.

Abstract: This commentary reflects on the potential of European Union institutions to address the continent’s crisis of housing affordability, which was well underway before the COVID-19 pandemic and has been exacerbated in its wake. Despite having no direct competencies in housing policy, European Union norms and policies shape housing conditions in significant ways. The greater level of public spending on housing renovation enabled by the 2021–2027 multiannual financial framework and NextGeneration European Union funding signals a welcome shift away from austerity. However, investment alone is not enough to advance the right to housing and may even reinforce existing inequalities. Plans like the Renovation Wave and the Affordable Housing Initiative must strive not only for climate neutrality but also for housing cost and tenure neutrality. Beyond pandemic recovery plans, this commentary argues that a more thorough departure from the market-based approach underlying the European Union’s institutionality is needed to tackle the roots of the current housing problematic.

Abstract: This data-paper presents and describes a consolidated, harmonized, internationally comparable database to quantify the impacts of the housing affordability crisis. Local harmonized indicators allow to examine the unequal spatial patterns of housing affordability across a selection of European cities. This study seeks at informing and mapping the increased and unequal affordability gap, a critical issue for social cohesion and sustainability in metropolitan areas in Europe. We characterize affordability with measures of price (property and rent) and income in a selection of European Functional Urban Areas (FUAs). The methodological goal was to cope with a data gap, i.e. a lack of harmonized spatial data to map and analyze affordability in Europe. This research, conducted in 2018-19 by a European consortium for the ESPON agency, covers 4 countries and one cross-border region: Geneva (Switzerland), Annecy-Annemasse, Avignon and Paris (France), Madrid, Barcelona and Palma de Majorca (Spain) and Warsaw, Łódź and Krakow (Poland). We bring insights on how institutional data (i.e. transactions data), can be bridged with unconventional data (“big data” harvested on line) to provide a cost-effective and harmonized data collection effort that can contribute to compare affordability within cities (between neighborhoods) and across cities, using various geographical levels (1km square-grid, municipalities, FUA). We present the structure of the database, how it has been constructed in a reproducible manner; we document the validation process, the strengths and limitations of the data provided, and document the reproducibility of the workflow.

Abstract: This article will explore the extent to which a focus on the ‘local’ can tell us something meaningful about recent developments in the governance of displaced migrants and refugees. Taking a multi-sited approach spanning cases in the south and north of Europe, we consider how the challenge of housing and accommodation in particular, a core sector of migrant reception and integration, can shed light on the ways local and city level approaches may negotiate, and sometimes diverge from, national level policy and rhetoric. While it can be said that despite variation, local authorities are by definition ultimately ‘always subordinate’ (Emilsson, Comparative Migration Studies, 3: 1-17, 2015: 4), they can also show evidence of ‘decoupling’ across geographies of policy delivery (Pope and Meyer, European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, 3: 280–305, 2016: 290). This article traces how possible local variations in different European cases are patterned by ground-level politics, local strategic networks, and pre-existing economic resources in a manner that is empirically detailed through the study of housing.

Abstract: Social mix through tenure mix is a policy tool to combat segregation in Sweden and elsewhere. We study if new construction of housing in Swedish cities, 1995–2017, has affected tenure mix in neighborhoods, and if this in turn affected social mix. Findings show that housing construction contributes to tenure mix, but effects on social mix are less clear. We show a negative association between new housing production and increased social mix; however, those living in new housing in higher income neighborhoods tend to have lower incomes than those living in older housing and vice versa in lower income neighborhoods. This shows that new housing production is a tool for creating social mix, but other processes may dwarf the effects. We conclude that while housing tenure mix is a blunt tool for creating social mix, there are positive effects of such efforts.

Abstract: Great differences are observed in the way of living, the quality of living, and the type of property ownership in individual countries of the world. However, housing affordability is currently a significant issue in every developed country. At the same time, it is also an important factor of economic development on both the national and regional level. The paper is focused on the comparison of housing affordability in the Czech and Polish regions. The presented research combines four different commonly used indicators of housing affordability (financial and physical) into a newly defined index and applies it to the Czech Republic and Poland regions for the period 2020-2022. The aim is the comparison of Czech and Polish regions according to the selected housing indicators and calculated standard housing affordability index SAI, which is a newly created index compiled by the authors. The result of the research is a calculation of housing availability in a total of 30 Czech and Polish regions and a comparison of the development of housing availability in 2020 and 2022 in these regions. The result of the research is the finding that the availability of housing in the Czech regions is on average lower than in the Polish regions and, in addition, that the availability has decreased compared to 2020 in both the Czech and Polish regions by 2022.

Abstract: Housing is increasingly treated as a source of capital gain and rent extraction rather than a source of shelter and security for the household. This is the outcome of financialised home ownership that has led to the concentration of real estate assets by the well-off while the lower socioeconomic strata have faced unaffordable house prices and rents. As is often the case with new research agendas, the analysis has thus far focused on the most advanced capitalist countries where these trends first emerged. This article aims to expand the analysis to the peripheral countries of the European Union focusing, in particular, on Portugal. It shows that in the periphery the accumulation of assets is increasingly driven by small-scale investors from core countries that contributes to widening the gap between housing prices and rents and the living wages of the resident population, deepening wealth inequality within and across countries. In so doing, it underlines the importance of bringing core-periphery relations into the analysis of housing rentierisation.

Abstract: Suburbanisation appears to be reviving in the beginning of the 21st century. It has once again become an important force driving suburban growth. However, in contrast with 20th-century suburbanisation, the current phase might be better understood through the spillovers of urban gentrification and suburbanisation of poverty that are happening while the core city continues to grow. Using a multilevel binomial regression model on all moving households in the metropolitan region around Amsterdam, this paper shows that movers from Amsterdam are clearly urban oriented when moving out of the city. High-income households dominate the suburbanisation towards neighbourhoods near the city and to relatively urban residential neighbourhoods from the pre-war period. These are also neighbourhoods with sharp house price increases. This reveals a spillover of the urban gentrification process beyond the core city borders. Suburban in-migration of low-income households from the city has also increased and is more oriented to neighbourhoods where affordable housing is accessible.

Abstract: This article aims to examine the Lithuanian housing policy system, with a special emphasis on social housing issues. This study is based on 20 semi-structured interviews with the decision makers and recipients of social housing. The analysis reveals the issues related to access to social housing, management and administration issues, problems related to stigmatisation of social housing recipients, and their overall satisfaction with the provided support. The study shows that accessing social housing and living in social housing is not an easy task. Social housing recipients have to wait in queues for a long time, experience stigmatisation and constant fear that they may lose their social housing due to a strict income monitoring. On the other hand, the municipality tries to provide friendly strategies to solve individual cases and looks for the best solutions possible to meet the needs of social housing recipients. The findings show that massive privatisation in Lithuania created a dualistic housing market favouring home ownership and marginalising social housing as a safety net for the most vulnerable people. At the same time, a massive home ownership society formed a safety net for many, with family ties playing a crucial role. Housing safety is offered as a part of social assistance programs for the most vulnerable parts of the population.

Abstract: Ovaj rad istražuje učinke problema stambenog zbrinjavanja mlađe populacije na demografska kretanja u gradu Zagrebu. Stambeni problemi u gradu Zagrebu obilježeni su rastom cijena stanova te rastom najamnina uglavnom na nekontroliranom tržištu. U kontekstu izazova razvoja stambenih politika u tranzicijskim zemljama, analizira se standard stanovanja, stambeni statusi, tržište stanova te tržište najamnih stanova u Zagrebu. Glede metodologije istraživanja, rad se temelji na provedenoj anketi, analizi statističkih podatka te ostalih, relativno rijetkih, istraživanja. Analiza tržišta stanova te tržišta stanova sa slobodno ugovorenom najamninom govori o ključnom problemu stambene priuštivosti (eng. housing affordability). Socijalni programi u ovom području rezidualnog su karaktera i ne pomažu stambenom zbrinjavanju ranjivih skupina. Poseban doprinos rada je provedena anketa u populaciji u dobi od 18 do 39 godina.

Abstract: Employing an agent-based model of the Spanish housing market, this paper explores the main drivers behind the large amplitude of the Spanish house price cycle—as compared to most other European countries—, as well as the scope for macroprudential policy to reduce this amplitude.

Abstract: There is growing interest in the impacts of financialisation on housing affordability and insecurity in the private rental sector, particularly financialisation 2.0 and the increased role of global real estate funds. This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of these impacts on housing systems and housing marginalisation by conceptually and empirically exploring the relationship between the financialisation of rental housing and homelessness in the post-crash era. We identify the processes and pathways by which this has unfolded in Ireland. Our findings point to the financialisation of the Private Rental Sector (PRS) in Ireland, and particularly the emergence of institutional landlords, playing an important direct and indirect contributory role in the structural housing factors that create homelessness, including reduced affordability, rising housing insecurity, displacement and evictions. We argue there is a need for greater attention to be paid to the evolving real estate-state-finance relationship, particularly the central role of the state, conceptualised here through pathways and processes of action and inaction, in developing and facilitating financialisation.

Abstract: Over the last two decades, real estate developers have become key players in the housing sector in France. This evolution has several dimensions: developers’ share of the housing construction market has increased, their geographical areas of intervention have expanded and their weight in social housing construction has soared. Since privatization and financialization are not adequate frameworks to account for the rise of these actors in the French housing context, other explanations are here explored. This article shows that the rise of real estate developers is mostly the result of changes led by national and local governments to gain capacity for action in a constrained budgetary context. More precisely, it investigates two policy instruments that have favored the developers’ expansion. First, tax expenditures for rental investment and, second, VEFA-HLM – a regulatory tool enabling the construction of social housing by real estate developers. Both instruments seek to enroll real estate developers in implementation, while political actors try to maintain control over decisions, and more broadly over the main orientations of housing policies. This article thus contributes to analyzing how, i.e. by which instruments, public actors can foster the rise of private economic actors in the development of urban policies.

Abstract: Throughout Europe, reports of problematic housing situations for young adults have increasingly emerged during the last decades. This paper explores housing experiences among young adults living in a disadvantaged area of Malmö, Sweden, taking the concept of housing inequality as its point of departure. The results suggest how young adults become stuck in between a number of parallel housing markets, leaving them no choice other than the illegal rental market - characterized by steep rents, insecure conditions and precarious quality. The paper advances a multidimensional understanding of housing inequality, as the limited access and poor quality of housing that young adults experience reproduces inequality in a broader sense: It influences potential wealth accumulation, the possibility to lead independent lives, the access to work and education, and thereby, the young adults' health and well-being.

Abstract: The Austrian capital of Vienna is widely acknowledged as one of the most livable cities, featuring a unique model of council housing that accounts for roughly 25% of all residential dwellings. This paper studies whether the broad provision of council housing is linked with a higher social mix in the neighbourhood. The analysis is based on administrative wage tax data at a small-scale raster grid of 500 × 500 meter with neighbourhood income inequality as an indicator for the social mix. While council housing is widely spread across the city, we find distinct spatial clusters of high and low income and inequality. Spatial econometric models show that council housing in Vienna is associated with lower income areas but slightly correlates with higher neighbourhood income inequality. These findings suggest that well-designed public housing policies may contribute to a higher social mix in a city.

Abstract: In this study, we analyse the significant changes in housing policies and social welfare in Portugal and Ireland. Acknowledging the transformation of housing into a commodity, which has led to significant changes in the provision of social housing to low-income families, we show how these two countries, with distinct welfare systems and different patterns of retrenchment, had similar housing trajectories and pressures after the 2008 economic crisis. Using a comparative approach, our analysis shows Ireland and Portugal are not necessarily converging towards the same policy but evidence does suggest that both countries are moving their housing policy further towards financialisation. These results contribute to the understanding of how neoliberal housing policy has focused on state retrenchment and how financialisation has shaped social housing provision.

Abstract: This paper contributes to research on the migration studies and homelessness, bringing to the fore the severe forms of deprivation among homeless European Union (EU) citizens. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews with homeless Romanians in the city of Madrid and an extensive ethnographic observation study, the paper places the homeless themselves at the core of the analysis, highlighting their precarious ways of life as they attempt to access their right to housing as homeless European citizens. In aiming to advance new theoretical perspectives, I emphasize notions of resistance against surveillance and active engagement as forms of agency, in the search for solidarity and access to housing assistance. The conclusions highlight that the practices and feelings of the people affected could harmoniously intersect with the attention to mobility in poor urban spaces.

Abstract: Local amenities capitalize into housing values and form the foundation for income and preference-based sorting of residents into communities. Ellickson’s single-crossing property establishes how household sorting leads to correlation between income and preferences for amenities. For amenities including urban green, metro stations and centrality, income-based sorting describes the process by which higher-income residents choose to locate in close proximity to higher levels of amenities. Using Vienna as an example, we empirically investigate the role housing policies have on this expected pattern of sorting. We find that the provision of municipality housing and capped rents reduces income gradients between block groups adjacent to amenities and those further away while we do not find a significant effect associated with limited-profit housing. For policymakers, this suggests that policy design plays a critical role in ensuring availability of local amenities across income groups while simultaneously confirming the single-crossing result holds despite the existence of significant market regulations.

Abstract: This article examines the role played by assisted loans in the access to homeownership and in the residential segregation of low-income households in France. During the 1996–2006 period, no-interest loans affected 1.4 million households and were the main policy tool favoring homeownership. We rely on French housing surveys (INSEE) and administrative records on no-interest loans (SFGFAS) to compare the position of social groups in the housing market before and after the introduction of no-interest loans. We show that, in a context of increasing housing prices, no-interest loans have limited the exclusion of lower- and middle-class households from the new-build housing market, especially outside the Paris region. Nevertheless, households with no-interest loans tend to relocate to peripheral areas characterized not only by a lower proportion of professionals and managers relative to central areas, but also by lower access to public transportation, the childcare system, high schools, and job opportunities. Moreover, in-depth interviews at the individual level suggest that low-income households had no clear perception of the social and physical disconnections they would experience when purchasing their new homes.

Abstract: In 2021, Germany launched a national emissions trading system (ETS) in its road transport and housing sectors that increases the cost burden of consumers of fossil fuels, the major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. A promising approach to secure public acceptance for such a carbon pricing would be to entirely reallocate the resulting “carbon” revenues to consumers. This article discusses three alternatives that were discussed in the political arena prior to the introduction of the national carbon pricing: a) a per-capita reallocation to private households, b) the reduction of electricity prices by, e.g., decreasing the electricity tax, as well as c) targeted financial aid for vulnerable consumers, such as increasing housing benefits. To estimate both the revenues originating from carbon pricing and the resulting emission savings, we employ a partial equilibrium approach that is based on price elasticity estimates on individual fossil fuel consumption from the empirical literature. Most effective with respect to alleviating the burden of poor households would be increasing housing benefits. While this measure would not require large monetary resources, we argue that the remaining revenues should be preferably employed to reduce Germany's electricity tax, which becomes more and more obsolete given the steadily increasing amount of electricity generated by renewable energy technologies.

Abstract: Housing inequality is one of the central topics in urban studies, and in the social sciences more broadly. It is also one of the most significant and visible aspects of socioeconomic inequality. Over the last three decades, the process of housing commodification has accelerated across western societies and, consequently, the public housing sector has contracted and become more closely associated with the poorest sections of societies in many cities. Over the same period, the political changes in Central and Eastern Europe have contributed to the dismantling and monetizing of state housing sectors at the forefront of broader social and economic transformations. Unfortunately, most recent studies on housing commodification and inequalities in Europe are confined to the national scale. The aim of this article is to detail the linkages between the position and functioning of public housing in Lodz (Poland) and the evolving socioeconomic profile of individuals and households that rely on public housing. This study relies on microdata (statistical information on individuals and households) from two national Polish censuses (1978 and 2002) and from household budget surveys (2003–2013). The main finding of our study is that ‘residualization’ is present in the public housing stock in Lodz and that the process gained momentum in the first decade of the 2000s.

Abstract: Many countries use demand-side housing subsidies to support low-income households. Unlike public or social housing programs, demand-side subsidies require recipients to enter the private market to use their benefits. The focus of this study is the experiences of assisted households in the private housing market and the outcomes they achieve. Given the link between policy design and program outcomes and because all housing subsidy programs are not created equal, one might expect the experiences and outcomes of recipients to also vary. To examine this relationship, using data from national housing surveys, this study analyzes cross-national variation in housing support programs and compares the housing and neighbourhood outcomes of subsidized households in the US, the UK, and the Netherlands. The findings of this study highlight that market context and policy design are associated with housing outcomes. In particular, the strong tenant supports and favourable design of housing assistance in the Netherlands is associated with favourable outcomes for subsidized households. In the US and the UK, subsidized households, in general, underperform their unsubsidized peers. This article underscores the importance of institutional context and program design when public assistance programs require recipients to enter the private market to use a benefit.

Abstract: Este trabajo pasa revista a una variedad de cuestiones asociadas al diseño de los subsidios a la vivienda dirigidos a los hogares de renta baja. Se discuten los programas basados en la oferta (i.e., vivienda pública y vivienda construida o rehabilitada por el sector privado con ayudas públicas) y los orientados a la demanda (i.e., vales de alquiler y certificados de alquiler), así como la evidencia empírica sobre sus efectos.

Abstract: Le projet de loi sur le logement « abordable », dans un contexte de chute de l’offre immobilière, développe le marché du locatif intermédiaire au détriment du logement social. Il occulte ainsi les besoins sociaux et néglige la régulation du logement « inabordable ».

Abstract: Many policymakers concerned about high housing costs argue that easing development through altered land-use regulations can increase building, thereby boosting affordability and reducing segregation. I develop a framework to explain links—sometimes contradictory—between upzonings and construction, prices, and demographics. I evaluate scholarship and compare findings with research on downzoning's impeding development. Evidence indicates that upzonings offer mixed success in terms of housing production, reduced costs, and social integration in impacted neighborhoods; outcomes depend on market demand, local context, housing types, and timing. Research on regional upzoning impacts is nascent but outcomes appear positive. Downzonings limit construction and worsen affordability.

Abstract: Housing affordability is one of the most pervasive social determinants of physical and mental health in many parts of the world. To date, some housing scholars have looked at public housing interventions as a mechanism for increased affordability. However, their findings have not been synthesised and it is still unclear as to whether these interventions improve mental and physical health. The present study is a systematic review of quantitative studies conducted over the past 25 years that assess the impact of publicly subsidised housing on mental health. In total, 1886 studies were identified from a structured search of four databases. Included articles were peer-reviewed sources that quantitatively measured the relationship between mental health and publicly subsidised housing interventions. In total, 6 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Evidence on mental health benefits from publicly subsidised housing was inconsistent, and depended on the specific housing subsidy programme, type of housing assistance, housing stability, and neighbourhood quality. This review identified a need for more rigorous studies to gain a better understanding of the conditions needed for housing affordability policies and programmes to positively contribute to mental health.

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