Searching for sustainable alternatives in a time of crisis

The aim of this project is to discuss housing alternatives in relation to the provision of socially sustainable housing and, crucially, to assess the viability of said alternatives.

The project will focus on identifying and examining socially sustainable alternatives from the perspectives of class and gender. We will focus on three core dimensions of housing provision: tenure forms, housing construction and housing finance. Through engaging with a variety of key stakeholders, we seek to interrogate the socio-economic, political and legal challenges currently facing residents with the aim of elaborating pathways towards a more socially sustainable and equitable system of housing, and a more stable, inclusive, and just housing future for all in Sweden.

This will be the first major research project that will systematically examine sustainable housing alternatives in Sweden.

The project seeks to

1. answer the broad call for changes that are increasingly articulated in Sweden
2. understand which alternative tenure, construction and finance models could be implemented in Sweden by creating a deeper understanding of said alternatives, and also by analyzing them in relation to gender and class
3. question the existing hegemony of the Swedish housing regime, exactly by introducing such alternatives
4. contribute to participatory action research methodology by including stakeholders in the co-production of knowledge within the project.

Project start

2018-01-01

Funding

Formas

Researchers

Dominika Polanska, researcher, IBF (project manager)
Timothy Blackwell, post doc researcher, IBF
Ståle Holgersen, researcher, IBF
Bo Bengtsson, professor, Department of Government