Background and Aims
Currently, academics and practitioners observe an increase in precarious housing conditions across Europe. Precarious housing refers to housing that is either unaffordable or unsuitable, for example, because it is overcrowded, in poor dwelling condition, unsafe or poorly located.
Even though informal, illegal, or unsafe housing poses a threat to social inclusion, and hinders the mobility of citizens and the integration of third-country nationals, the issue has not been taken up systematically in curricula in higher education across Europe. While there is much literature on the strong link between employment and housing insecurity and abundant investigations in different aspects of precarious housing, hardly any attempt has been made so far to provide a consolidated overview of the whole topic and to thereby put these different facets into the joint perspective of housing-related poverty. Due to this lack, precarious and informal housing in Europe is largely perceived as anecdotal and limited to particular pockets of poverty rather than a systemic and growing phenomenon linked to more general economic inequality.
Against this background, PusH aims to provide a solid knowledge base of the different elements of precarious housing in Europe and raise awareness of this issue. For this purpose, PusH is collecting evidence on this phenomenon and is creating accessible and engaging learning materials for students and practitioners across Europe, including a textbook as well as corresponding e-modules relating to the following topics:
- Precariousness and The Right to Housing
- Commodification of Housing and Affordability
- Eviction and Displacement
- Migrants and Precarious Housing
- The Housing of Asylum Seekers and Refugees
- Informal Settlements
- Homelessness
- Solutions and Responses
These materials were presented at three multiplier events, in order to discuss and engage with associated partners such as local authorities, policy-makers, CBOs and NGOs. Moreover, PusH organized two summer schools for students and lecturers from within our institutions.
In offering a comprehensive account of precarious housing in Europe, PusH advances the understanding of a critical challenge facing European societies and provides resources for education, policy change, and public debate.