Relational geographies of European housing policies

Abstract

Besides multiple pressing global crises, many European cities are facing a housing crisis – with various problems and different housing situations. On the one hand, there are a variety of local answers to the housing question. On the other hand, there are increasing calls for a common European housing policy. Contributions to Europeanization research in the 2000s found that the European Union (EU) exerts only limited influence on national and urban housing policies. The reasons for this lie not only the complexity of urban housing policies between social and economic tensions as well as spatial scales. Furthermore, the EU lacks a formal competence to counteract current housing market developments with measures that go beyond the objectives within the framework of social, economic and territorial cohesion. However, recent studies suggest that European housing policy is constituted implicitly, through the issues of sustainability, energy, and financial market regulation, as well as through the social and urban dimensions of European programs. This contribution takes a geographical look at the construction of urban housing policies in the EU by European and transnational actors such as experts, associations and networks. How and in which contexts is a European housing policy constituted in terms of a relational policy process? Based on the exploration of selected policy initiatives, the contribution traces an evolving European housing policy and elaborates different descriptions of housing as a spatial-material, social as well as economic practice. In particular, the contribution focuses on housing as a service of general economic interest, as a social right, and as a domain for energy efficiency. Overall, the contribution thus underlines how housing presents a spatial-material entry point for EU policies contribution to a greener and fairer Europe.