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.
