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Research briefs
Titles and abstracts from the most recent research briefs.
The Politics of Housing - Introduction
Tarik Abou-Chadi, Björn Bremer, Silja Häusermann
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The Social Housing Comeback? Explaining its Decline and the Political Barriers to its Revival
Martin Vinæs Larsen
Abstract
Over the past forty years, social housing in Europe has sharply declined, despite its historic role in providing affordable homes for low- and middle-income residents. While often attributed to conservative or neoliberal reforms, this retreat also stemmed from mainstream social democratic parties. Once strong advocates, Social Democrats reduced support from the 1990s onward as their electorates grew more affluent and less connected to the increasingly marginalized and immigrant populations living in social housing – groups with limited political mobilization. This shift dissolved the old coalition that had underpinned broad investment in inclusive housing. Today, rising housing costs have revived debates over social housing as a means of securing the “right to the city” for wider publics. Yet four obstacles loom: anti-immigrant sentiment, restrictive means testing, high construction and land costs, and local resistance to density. Renewed progress requires center-left parties to re-invest in social housing as part of a broader housing supply strategy.
To what extent can housing as a social right be realized in contemporary housing markets?
Lindsay B. Flynn, Giuseppe Montalbano
Abstract
The dual role of housing, a fundamental right for all and a financial asset for some, creates policies that often work at cross-purposes. While policies such as the public provision of social housing advance a social right approach, deregulatory policies reinforce a housing-as-asset logic. Policies have been more closely aligned with the asset approach since at least the turn of the 21st century, though signs are emerging of a potential paradigm shift towards housing-as-a-social-right. This brief summarizes key findings on the features and consequences of European housing markets. It then examines the potential paths to achieving more equal housing markets for current and future generations, while identifying the most likely sticking points in the short-to-medium term. Parties building on recent housing reforms may leverage the high salience of housing policy to enact further changes, while being mindful of competing interests that can absorb progressive reforms within largely status quo arrangements.
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Housing in the ideology of the radical right
Dorothee Bohle, Lina Ehrich
Abstract
Are radical right parties pursuing ideologically consistent or merely erratic socio-economic policies? Are they promoting economically left- or right-wing ideas? We address these questions through the lens of housing. Based on party manifestos of five European radical right parties, and housing policies under Hungarian and Austrian radical right (coalition) governments, we show that there is an ultraconservative housing ideology that is specific to these parties. These parties are redefining housing not as a social right, but as a question of national identity, family values, stability, and private ownership. Their housing policies target middle classes and select deserving poor, the nuclear family, and often the rural population.
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Beyond Affordability: Bringing Housing Space Inequality on the Political Agenda
Sebastian Kohl, Max Steinhardt and Simon Voss
Abstract
The public housing debate in European countries is mostly focused on affordability issues and the panacea of new housing construction, but overlooks questions of living space, even though both overcrowding and under-occupation in the existing housing stock are on the rise. As shown for the German case, overcrowding is especially common among immigrants, young adults, single parents, and urban renters, while under-occupation is even more widespread, especially among older populations. This is similar in other European countries. Perceived overcrowding rates are even higher. Socio-demographic factors are stronger predictors of overcrowding than income or housing costs, which feature prominently in affordability debates. A key implication for policymakers is to prioritize reallocating space within the existing housing stock—through housing exchanges or downsizing incentives—as an alternative to carbon-intensive new construction, which is not always in tune with demographic trends.
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How can Homeownership Be a Progressive Policy? Rethinking Affordability, Finance, and the Politics of Housing
Aidan Regan
Abstract
Housing affordability is now one of the defining policy challenges across advanced economies. For two decades, house prices and rents have outpaced wages, fuelling discontent and reshaping elections. While homeownership remains the dominant aspiration, access has become increasingly unequal, deepening class and generational divides. This brief argues that homeownership is only progressive if it is affordable, accessible, and detached from speculative asset inflation. Outcomes vary widely across countries depending on mortgage finance regimes and the strength of public and non-profit housing. To reclaim homeownership as part of a progressive agenda, governments must treat housing as infrastructure, expand public and cooperative provision, reform mortgage systems, bridge the renter–owner divide, and reframe housing as a public good. Success rests not on new ideas but on state capacity to deliver at scale. For progressives, the prize is political as well as economic: rebuilding trust and uniting low- and middle-income voters around affordable homes.
How to Make Urban Densification Acceptable: Lessons from Public Opinion Research
Michael Wicki
Abstract
Urban densification is a key policy strategy for addressing climate change, housing shortages, and limited land availability; however, it often encounters strong political and public resistance. This research brief examines the political and procedural conditions under which densification gains public acceptance. Large-scale survey experiments in European and US cities suggest that acceptance is not shaped solely by proximity or general opposition but rather depends on the substantive and procedural features of densification strategies. Resistance frequently stems from concerns about the loss of neighborhood amenities, green space, and changes to the built environment. Acceptance increases when these concerns are explicitly addressed through participatory governance, affordability measures, and design-sensitive planning. The findings underscore the importance of regulatory and procedural frameworks that make densification socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable, offering insights for democratic urban governance and the political conditions for expanding housing supply.
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Affordable housing in Austria and Vienna: Key policy instruments, challenges, and lessons to learn for other countries and cities
Gerald Koessl
Abstract
In recent years, the affordability crisis affecting many countries and cities has sparked growing interest in discovering solutions and implementing effective housing policies. Austria and, in particular, Vienna have received a lot of international attention in this context. One in four Austrian households lives in rented homes that are either provided by limited profit or public housing providers, which is the second-highest share in the EU. In Vienna, the share is even higher and amounts to around 40%. This means that a significant share of the housing market provides homes that are affordable and secure in the long-term and are non-speculative in nature. This research brief provides an overview of the institutional setup of Austria’s and Vienna’s housing system and critically assesses the different policy instruments. The research brief asks how these instruments contribute to the provision of affordable housing, what other countries can learn from them, and what the main challenges are looking into the future.
How Popular are Wealth and Inheritance Taxes?
Ben Ansell
Abstract
In the wake of Thomas Piketty's celebrated work on wealth inequality, many centre-left thinkers and policymakers have turned to wealth taxes as one apparently obvious answer to dealing with constrained fiscal circumstances. Apparently obvious because the wealth-to-national-income ratio has increased substantially in recent decades, particularly residential wealth in housing. The problem facing the advocates of wealth taxes is that they tend to be highly unpopular. This research brief demonstrates the range of public opinion about wealth taxation across the UK and Europe. It shows that inheritance tax is particularly unpopular and unlikely to provide a politically feasible way to increase revenues. However, net wealth taxes are more popular, and the research brief argues that, accompanied by credible promises to spend the revenues on popular public investments, they could be politically viable.
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