The housing crisis has emerged as one of the most pressing societal challenges in recent decades. Global organizations—including the UN, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, and the IMF—along with national policymakers, housing experts, and researchers, widely acknowledge the severity of this crisis. Rapidly growing regions face acute housing shortages, soaring costs, rising homelessness, and increasing segregation. As differences in housing provision have become one of the most visible manifestations of social and political injustice, housing is arguably increasingly being detached from the welfare state.
Research within the Housing and Welfare theme seeks to redefine the housing crisis in Sweden and beyond, framing it as a crisis of inequality and injustice, aligning with IUR’s overarching theme of Urban Justice. Grounded in the interconnectedness between housing provision and the broader welfare state, our research includes—but is not limited to—studies on housing policy, tenure systems, public and social housing, housing precarity and homelessness, segregation, land policy, the role of private landlords and institutional investors, and the financialization of housing markets. Additionally, the ongoing green transition has significant implications for housing provision—not only in terms of accessibility and affordability but also in shaping the liveability of dwellings and neighbourhoods.
Rather than viewing the housing crisis as a mere shortage that can be resolved through increased construction under favourable market conditions, we interpret it as a deeper issue of inequality, intrinsically linked to the erosion of the welfare state. This perspective compels us to rethink the root causes of the housing crisis – and to develop innovative solutions.
