The problem of housing has returned in the last few years, following the financial and economic crisis triggered by the subprime in the USA and by the excesses of the housing production economy, especially in Spain, Ireland and Portugal. Since then, the so called “wobbly pillar of the welfare state” has been under vigorous public scrutiny. From one side, it is commonly argued that models of public promotion of housing have reached their limit, due to the growing financial and budgetary imbalances observed in several economies. Often, these arguments are built upon the doctrine of market deregulation and liberalization rising since the 1980’s, suggesting that free market and the drive towards home ownership alone solve residential deficits and access to housing.
On the other hand, several voices claim the right to housing for all as a guiding principle, demanding more state intervention and regulation regarding land policies and housing markets, in order to suppress speculative temptations. Also, these measures should positively combat these harsh times of growing unemployment and precarious employment, credit crunching and other foreseeable difficulties.
In such a context stemming from a crisis which has the problem of housing in its epicentre, the proposed debate aims to discuss a wide array of questions, such as:
Which housing policies and social trajectories have been followed by the different countries? In which ways have been the neoliberal models and the universalist models applied? Which socio-spatial patterns arise in the prosecution of such models? How should the state intervene in the housing sector in short and long terms? Which role for the other agents (private agents and civil society organizations) in this new context? What is the role played by rehabilitation in urban regeneration processes and in the renewal of the housing stock availability?