INCLUSIVE, AFFORDABLE AND SUSTAINABLE HOUSING FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES

Project Information

HouseInc

Grant agreement ID: 101132513

DOI

10.3030/101132513

EC signature date 26 October 2023

Start date 1 February 2024

End date 31 January 2027

Funded under

• Culture, creativity and inclusive society

Total cost

€ 2 626 566,25

EU contribution

€ 2 626 566,25

Coordinated by

FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG EV
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HouseInc (INCLUSIVE, AFFORDABLE AND SUSTAINABLE HOUSING FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES)

Reporting period: 2024-02-01 to 2025-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The HouseInc project examines the interconnected dimensions of housing inequality in marginalised communities across Europe, focusing on vulnerable groups from or in Eastern Europe. It uses empirical analysis to examine the economic, social and ecological drivers and impacts of housing inequality in order to co-design high-quality, evidence-based policy recommendations. These recommendations will support local, national and EU policymakers in addressing the current housing crisis, which is evident in the following manifestations, among others: In 2023, 16% of EU citizens lived in overcrowded households, with significant variation across countries. Almost 9% spent over 40% of their disposable income on housing, and more than 10% were unable to keep their homes adequately warm (Eurostat, 2024).

By developing an integrated conceptual framework and innovative methodologies, HouseInc aims to understand the interlinkages of the drivers and effects of housing inequality. The project defines housing equality as access to available, affordable, and acceptable-quality housing for all. Quality housing is understood as meeting basic and culturally appropriate human needs in the context of ongoing global sustainability challenges. The project views housing inequality as a multifaceted concept that goes beyond housing as merely a dwelling, including wider neighbourhood infrastructures as well as context-dependent norms and practices. It encompasses three overlapping dimensions: (a) economic and financial affordability, (b) environmental sustainability, public health, and energy efficiency, and (c) social inclusiveness and participatory co-design to address the needs of the most vulnerable groups. HouseInc pursues six main objectives:
1. Adopt a holistic, shared, integrated methodological approach that combines micro-, me-so- and macro-analysis in order to study the interlinkages between the various dimensions of housing inequalities, as well as the socio-demographic characteristics of marginalised communities.
2. Assess the economic, social and ecological drivers of housing inequalities, and the related effects, examining the pathways and impacts of their interaction.
3. Analyse and assess the effects of different types of tenure and policies on housing ine-qualities.
4. Investigate the role of geographic scale and conceptualise proximity/distance in relation to fragilities in dimensions of housing inequality.
5. Map, co-design and scale up social, economic and ecological/digital solutions to housing inequalities in the context of marginalised communities.
6. Derive, co-design and empirically validate high-quality, evidence-based policy recommendations to address the interlinked dimensions of housing inequality at local, regional and national levels.

To achieve these objectives, the trans- and interdisciplinary HouseInc consortium takes a systemic, multi-level approach, combining quantitative analysis and modelling with qualitative co-design methods, and using integrated primary and secondary data.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During its first reporting period, HouseInc made significant progress towards achieving its core objectives. The consortium conducted two comprehensive literature reviews as well as a thorough review of available datasets to identify and categorise disparate insights into the causes and con-sequences of housing inequality. It also developed an integrated conceptual framework for future research (within and beyond the project), emphasising interlinked inequality pathways and the role of intersectionality in conceptualising vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, HouseInc examined variations in housing inequality across EU countries, published a meta-study on the impact of housing policies and investigated the potential of smart meters in alleviating energy poverty. The project also collected qualitative and quantitative primary data on the drivers and impacts of various dimensions of housing inequality through four case studies and a multinational survey across eight European countries (the latter is ongoing). The results of these efforts aim to support policymakers in understanding the interlinked economic, social and political drivers and effects of housing inequality at different geographic scales, which will be the focus of the project’s activities throughout the second reporting period.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Although a substantial body of high-quality research and initiatives on housing inequalities already exists, the literature remains fragmented across disciplines. The interlinkages between the various contributing and impacted dimensions of housing inequality are often under-conceptualised and rarely studied empirically. Moreover, existing insights are often inaccessible to policymakers and key stakeholders in the housing and related sectors. This hinders the development of effective housing policy frameworks and public initiatives. Furthermore, much of the existing research fails to consider the interaction between economic, social and ecological drivers of housing inequality. It also frequently overlooks marginalised com-munities and the intersection of socio-demographic factors such as age, race, gender, ethnicity, family circumstances, employment, and education.

HouseInc addresses these gaps by:
• Engaging marginalised communities, with a particular focus on those in and from Eastern Europe, throughout the project via case studies, Living Labs and a dedicated Practitioners Panel; this ensures that solutions are co-designed to meet the specific needs of vulnerable groups and can be adapted to different contexts.
• Embedding an intersectional lens in the project design informing data collection, analysis and community engagement. This enables a deeper understanding of how intersectionality shapes housing inequalities in marginalised communities. It also guides inclusive policy re-sponses.
• Generating new qualitative and quantitative data to assess the impact of recent crises, such as COVID-19 and the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on housing inequality.
• Using co-design methods to produce high-quality policy recommendations and scale innovative solutions that can be implemented by policy, societal and business actors. These efforts aim to improve the socio-economic integration of marginalised communities across Europe.

Results emerging from WP2 of the HouseInc project (example)

Results emerging from WP4 of the HouseInc project (example)

HouseInc project logo

Results emerging from WP3 of the HouseInc project (example)