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European housing systems have faced significant challenges, including rising socioeconomic inequalities, demographic shifts, welfare cuts, the financialisation of housing markets and ongoing affordability crises. The publication by the ARL - Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association aims to highlight the structural differences and similarities in the provision of social and affordable housing. In a period of renewed European focus on affordability, this publication demonstrates how diverse histories, institutional frameworks, and local initiatives converge around the pressing need to secure social housing as a fundamental component of fair and sustainable urban growth.
In recent decades, European housing systems have faced significant challenges, including rising socioeconomic inequalities, demographic shifts, welfare cuts, the financialisation of housing markets and ongoing affordability crises. The Deliver sAfe and Social Housing (DASH) project, conducted by a consortium of institutions from Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Serbia, addresses these issues by comparing the social and affordable housing policies and practices employed in the medium-sized cities of Aalborg, Tübingen, Braga and Čačak.
This publication, edited by Sónia Alves, Hans Thor Andersen, Els Keunen, and Zlata Vuksanović-Macura, aims to highlight the structural differences and similarities in the provision of social and affordable housing. The findings reveal the diversity of European housing systems. For example, Denmark’s universalist, association-based model contrasts with Serbia’s ad hoc, residual approach. Meanwhile, Germany blends limited social housing with broader rent controls, and Portugal has traditionally focused on homeownership but now recognises the need for a regulated, publicly owned rental sector to serve low- and middle-income families.
The influence of factors such as postsocialist privatisation, economic crises and welfare reforms on these paths demonstrates the high degree of dependency of social housing on context. Nevertheless, there remain several issues that require attention. Firstly, the supply of housing must be matched with changing demographics and mobility. Secondly, the financing of provision must be addressed within the context of fiscal constraints and increasing construction costs. Thirdly, the challenges posed by urban pressures from gentrification, tourism and migration must be addressed. Contested policy debates have included Denmark's "parallel societies" laws, which have been the subject of significant controversy; Portugal's EU-funded reforms; Germany's efforts to increase supply amid inflation risks; and Serbia's limited political focus on housing.
At the local level, innovative municipal strategies have been posited as a potentially effective solution. In a period of renewed European focus on affordability, this publication demonstrates how diverse histories, institutional frameworks, and local initiatives converge around the pressing need to secure social housing as a fundamental component of fair and sustainable urban growth.
Dr. Katharina Kapitza
katharina.kapitza@arl-net.de
Alves, Sónia; Andersen, Hans Thor; Keunen, Els; Vuksanović-Macura, Zlata (eds.) (2026): Social Housing Opportunities and Challenges – Perspectives from Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Serbia. Hanover. = Arbeitsberichte der ARL 40. https://doi.org/10.60683/49v1-jz17
Arbeitsbericht der ARL 40 (Working Papers of the ARL 40)
Copyright: ARL - Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association
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