TRACK 4 HOUSING: Aspects of affordability, inclusion, and alternative futures  
Prof. Dr. Peter Ache (Radboud University, Netherlands) 
Mennatullah Hendawy (TU Berlin, Germany and Ain Shams University, Egypt)
MSc Karin Torpan (University of Tartu, Estonia and University of Turku, Finland) 

The central topic of the track is housing developments. We will be discussing increasing problems with segregation and gentrification, environmental issues, economic and social inequalities, but we will also look at alternative future developments in the field. 

The housing market is a driving force in societal inequalities. Especially housing costs have been increasing rapidly in recent years, putting the most vulnerable groups into difficult situations. The track will look comprehensively at the housing situation (incl. markets, non-market), housing preferences, housing options, and overall residential mobility of various groups: young people, elderly people, families, ethnic groups, including second generation migrants, LGBTQIA+, or other social, cultural, or economic groups. 

The track invites to look for affordable solutions for new housing, as well as general housing policy and related planning or governance. This track welcomes theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions.  

The track supports a transdisciplinary approach to housing and related urban and rural issues, considering for example: 

• Dynamics in housing sector for different groups, segregation and integration; 

• Dynamics in housing sectors across spatial scales (or scalar configurations);  

• Innovative solution to tackle homelessness, overcoming housing segmentation and overcoming housing shortages;  

• Alternative market and non-market solutions to ‘housing’, e.g. understood as ‘dwelling’; or 

• Which lessons did we learn from the Covid 19 pandemic for the housing sector? 

Above list is not exhaustive and the track is open for further thematic suggestions. 

Keywords: housing mobility, segregation, housing policy, spatial inequalities, urban planning, housing conditions, gentrification, migration, private investment, public and social housing, quality, renovation, social cohesion, housing preferences, supply and demand, tenure, housing market, co-housing, housing associations, dwelling