HouseInc: Inclusive, affordable and sustainable housing for marginalised communities

HouseInc

Inclusive, affordable and sustainable housing for marginalised communities

A HORIZON-funded project that will use innovative methodologies and approaches to analyse the interlinked dimensions of housing inequalities in 4 European countries.

The EU is facing a housing crisis with a lack of affordable, sustainable, and inclusive housing. Many EU citizens are currently faced with poor living conditions. According to Eurostat data, in 2022, 16.8% of EU citizens lived in overcrowded households, with higher rates in Eastern Europe. Energy poverty is also on the rise, with 9.3% of the EU population unable to keep their homes adequately warm in 2022. The recent surge in energy and fuel prices has worsened this situation. Other factors that impact the quality of housing include, leaking roofs, damp walls, floors or foundations, or rot in window frames or floors, which were experienced by 14.8% of EU citizens in 2020. The cost of housing is also a burden, with 10.8% of the EU population living in a household where housing costs represent more than 40% of disposable income, in 2022.

Housing inequality, defined as disparity in the access, affordability, quality of housing conditions and availability of housing between different groups of people, affects many in the EU, with those living in or at risk of poverty disproportionately impacted. The quality of housing goes beyond the physical structure of a building and has impacts on health and well-being, economic and working conditions, and social cohesion. Poor quality housing has a harmful impact on society and leads to social exclusion by depriving occupants of social and economic opportunities.

HouseInc will address housing inequalities by contributing to policy measures that will seek to increase access to affordable, inclusive and sustainable housing for marginalised groups in society.

The overall objective of the HouseInc project is to deeply analyse interlinked dimensions of housing inequalities, with a particular focus on marginalised communities – through innovative methodologies and approaches. HouseInc will assess and test drivers of and impacts on micro/meso/macro levels to identify interlinkages among ecological (environmental), social (labour, mobility, health and family), and economic (income, energy price) conditions and address the multidimensionality of housing inequality. By taking a holistic approach, HouseInc will provide solutions that aim to relieve the burden of housing inequality in 4 marginalised communities in Europe.

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More information about the project at https://ieecp.org/projects/houseinc/

Read more: HouseInc: Inclusive, affordable and sustainable housing for marginalised communities

Pragmatic socioeconomics: a new bridge between sociology and economics in housing studies

Housing price trends and their volatility have become one of the major determinants of wealth and social inequalities, and one of the major factors influencing sustainable economic growth. Despite this, mainstream housing economics has so far failed to capture important factors of price volatility. This project aims to demonstrate the utility of new conceptual framework, called pragmatic socioeconomics, for obtaining a better understanding of (housing) markets and price
trends. Specifically, we will study (using quantitative and qualitative sociology) the impact of (1) intergenerational resource transfers within the family and (2) investment behaviour of small residential investors on housing demand and housing price trend (volatility). We will also (3) empirically test different ways how to reliably measure (irrational) housing market sentiment and study its impact on housing demand. The incorporation of sociology into economics can reveal
the hidden causes of current and not yet understood trends in the market and housing price developments.

Grant project supported by the Czech Science Agency. The project started in 2023 and will be finished in 2025. The head of the project is Martin Lux, Ph.D.

Read more: Pragmatic socioeconomics: a new bridge between sociology and economics in housing studies