Promoting Rental Housing Affordability in European Cities: Learning from the Cases of Milan and Vienna (PoliMI SpringerBriefs)

This book investigates policies for the promotion of housing affordability in the rental sector of attractive cities in Europe. Affordability links the housing situation to the economic situation of households, referring to conditions of access to housing and to the role of housing in determining poverty or wealth. The book examines the current affordability crisis and frames it in the ongoing process of urban restructuring and devolution of welfare. From the perspective of the Foundational Economy, the book calls for a proactive and effective role of public administrations in making the rental sector an affordable and stable alternative to housing financialization and commodification. By intertwining theory construction and real-world data collected through case studies in Milan and Vienna, the book provides an original framework for the analysis of public policies that promote rental affordability in a multi-level setting. Through the analysis, it highlights critical nodes of the different (housing, urban, and social) policy domains at stake in the promotion of rental affordability in attractive cities. The book proposes a shift from the currently dominant supply-side argument to an integrated, intersectoral and multi-scalar policy system for making cities more affordable. Foreword Preface Contents Abbreviations 1 The Contemporary Affordability Issue 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Aims of the Book and Research Questions 1.3 Grounded Theory for the Study of Housing Affordability 1.4 Structure of the Book References Part I Making Housing (and Cities) Affordable 2 A New Theoretical Ground for Housing Affordability 2.1 The Scientific Debate Around Housing Affordability 2.2 What is Housing Affordability? A Critical Review 2.2.1 Below-Market 2.2.2 Cost-Rent 2.2.3 Cost to Income 2.2.4 Housing Accessibility 2.2.5 Minimum Residual Income 2.2.6 Location-Related Affordability 2.3 Towards a Broader (Urban) Understanding of Affordability References 3 Making Housing Affordable: A Foundational Framework for Policy Analysis 3.1 Where and Why is Housing Affordability a Problem? 3.1.1 Housing Affordability and the Housing Question 3.1.2 Housing Affordability in the Contemporary Urban Restructuring 3.1.3 Housing Affordability and the Capitalization of Urban Land Rent 3.1.4 The Urban Geography of Housing (Un)affordability 3.1.5 The Expenses-Quality-Location Conundrum 3.2 Affordability as a Foundational Character of Urban Housing 3.3 Realizing the Grounded City: Affordability and Housing Systems 3.4 Opening the Black Box of Affordability Governance References Part II Comparing Approaches in Affordability Governance 4 Vienna: A Strategic Welfare and Planning Approach Targeting Housing Affordability 4.1 Situating Vienna, from Decline to Growth and Acceleration 4.2 The Viennese Housing Governance System 4.2.1 Housing Policies 4.2.2 Social Policies 4.2.3 Spatial Planning and Land Policies 4.3 Housing Affordability in the Viennese Governance System References 5 Milan: Affordability in a Mix of Fragmented Policies and Market-Led Housing Developments 5.1 Situating Milan, from Suburbanization to Recentralization and Acceleration 5.2 The Milanese Housing Governance System 5.2.1 Housing Policies 5.2.2 Social Policies 5.2.3 Spatial Planning and Land Policies 5.3 Housing Affordability in the Milanese Governance System References Part III Policies and Conditions For More Affordable Cities 6 Affordability Governance in Vienna and Milan 6.1 Housing Affordability in the Two Housing Regimes of Vienna and Milan 6.1.1 The Mix of Policies, Actors and of Conceptualizations of Affordability Involved 6.2 Patterns of Institutional Change and Inertia in the Two Governance Systems 6.3 The Role of Land Policies in Tackling Housing Affordability in the Two Systems 6.4 How “Grounded” on Affordability Are the Governance Systems of Milan and Vienna References 7 Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis: Critical Nodes for Urban Policies and Research 7.1 Summary 7.1.1 Housing Affordability Between Outcome Indicator and Policy Objective 7.1.2 Conditions and Scales for an Effective Governance of Housing Affordability 7.2 Critical Nodes 7.2.1 Shifting the Affordability Issue from the Supply Debate to the Land Question 7.2.2 The Pivotal Role of Land Policies in Tackling Housing Affordability 7.2.3 Improving the Policy Mix of Housing Regimes to Target Affordability (Broadly Intended) 7.3 Perspectives for Further Research References