The project aims to build a cross-sectoral international research network, bringing together organizations in Europe, South America, and North America. Its overarching objective is to generate robust conceptual and empirical knowledge about sustainable, bottom-up approaches to tackling the current housing crisis and the growing inequalities in housing markets.

Across many countries, house prices have risen sharply, contributing to what the European Commission has identified as one of today’s most pressing societal challenges. At the same time, evidence points to a dual trend: an increasing share of households without property ownership alongside a growing group of households owning multiple properties. This dynamic indicates that housing is increasingly used by some market actors as a financial asset to generate and protect wealth, while simultaneously deepening inequalities between owners and non-owners. Younger generations are particularly affected, facing declining access to home ownership, stagnating wages, and rapidly increasing housing costs – developments with far-reaching consequences for their life courses.

Against this background, the project seeks to support the development and implementation of policies that reduce housing-related inequalities. To achieve this goal, the research program is structured around three complementary pillars:

1. Understanding market actors and their investment strategies in housing and wealth accumulation;
2. Analyzing the consequences for wealth inequality through an intersectional perspective;
3. Developing bottom-up alternatives and policy solutions that foster positive and sustainable change.

Housing is examined through an interdisciplinary lens, combining insights from geography, sociology, economics, public policy, and urban planning. A distinctive feature of the project is its close collaboration with grassroots collectives and housing organizations whose practical experience in community organizing and political engagement represents a crucial resource for the network.

Role of ITAS

Within this project, ITAS is the leading partner at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). ITAS is also responsible for the work package on market actors and their investment strategies, contributing key expertise on housing markets, financialization, and socio-spatial impacts.

Tel.: +49 721 608-22384
E-mail