TU Delft
This paper examines socially oriented cooperative housing as an alternative to housing speculation, which exacerbates economic inequality. By comparing Denmark, The Netherlands, and Spain, it highlights the role of public policies and collective action in fostering housing cooperatives. The findings emphasize the potential for cooperative housing to enhance socio-spatial cohesion and offer insights for developing alternatives to the costly private housing market, promoting mutual learning in urban housing solutions.
2022
Abstract
National housing systems increasingly combine three main types of housing: the private property sector (home ownership and private rental), social and public rental (public and non-profit sectors) and cooperative (social or civil economy). The dominant private type has facilitated housing speculation, which in many countries has become a critical source of economic inequality and instability. The cooperative housing type can be a viable alternative with a socio-spatial cohesion effect. This article compares the phenomena of socially oriented cooperative housing in three European countries (Denmark, The Netherlands and Spain). The analytical focus is on the public policies and regulations, and the societal and collective action factors that foster the development of housing cooperatives. The three cases present different institutional settings and ways to develop a socially oriented cooperative housing sector. The research findings contribute to mutual learning processes in searching alternatives to the commercial and very expensive private urban housing provision.