Addressing housing inequalities in a sustainable, inclusive and affordable way
Access to affordable and social housing as well as homelessness remain challenges to foster social inclusion and tackle entrenched poverty across Europe. Energy poverty affects nearly 34 million Europeans who are unable to afford keeping their homes warm. Housing prices have been steadily growing every year and faster than disposable income. Housing is now the highest item of expenditure for European citizens.
The top 1% wealth shares have risen again recently in Europe, and the gap between asset owners and pure income earners and social transfer recipients is increasing further. During the COVID, high-income workers suffered limited income losses and often increased their savings compared to low-income workers for which the opposite holds. These trends are likely to bring about house purchases (sales) from high-income (low-income) households, reinforcing wealth inequalities in the housing component. Research may provide a mapping of recent household wealth dynamics and their segregation implications.
The European Green Deal will affect housing markets notably through the Renovation wave and its Affordable Housing Initiative as well as through the revision of the Energy Efficiency and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directives. Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings helps tackling energy-poverty. Research may inform policy measures that ensure energy efficiency and affordable housing go hand in hand and are accessible to all socio-economic groups. Interlinks between housing inequalities and carbon inequalities as well as mobility poverty are of interest too. Research may focus on the relation between housing inequalities and the labour mobility from regions facing job losses to regions generating new jobs in the context of the twin transition. With regard to social and affordable housing, research may shed light on the role social, green and digital innovations can play in addressing housing inequalities.
Interlinkages between the digital and green transition, sustainable spatial planning, economic regeneration and housing inequalities merit more attention. Links between workplace and housing inequality are multidimensional, with structural conditions, working conditions and family conditions playing important roles. Housing inequalities should not lead to new forms of discrimination in labour markets. Research may inform policy actions to ameliorate the organisation of work from home, notably for vulnerable households. New forms of work could also impact preferences for rental housing compared to homeownership. Research may also look at the role of social economy actors in addressing housing inequalities while stimulating inclusion, economic and social development.
Research should make a granular assessment of these issues for different geographical areas, degrees of urbanisation, tenure statuses and different household’s compositions. The gender and intergenerational dimensions are essential. Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this call and other relevant projects are strongly encouraged.