Barcelona's housing policy under austerity urbanism: a contribution to the debate on degrowth and urban planning

The housing policy of Barcelona, the Plan for the Right to Housing (2015-2020), implemented by the anti-austerity local government of Barcelona en Comú, relates closely to degrowth imaginaries and norms. It incorporates vacant housing to the public housing stock, develops a special unit for attendin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Local environment 2022-04, Vol.27 (4), p.487-501
Main Author: Martínez Alonso, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affordable housing
Austerity urbanism
Barcelona
degrowth
Emergencies
Evictions
Global cities
housing
Housing authorities
Housing policy
Local government
Norms
Power
Public housing
Urban areas
Urban planning
Urbanism
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Summary:The housing policy of Barcelona, the Plan for the Right to Housing (2015-2020), implemented by the anti-austerity local government of Barcelona en Comú, relates closely to degrowth imaginaries and norms. It incorporates vacant housing to the public housing stock, develops a special unit for attending evictions and other residential emergencies, and introduces support for promising yet marginal tenure forms such as co-housing or leasehold estate. However, a critical analysis of this policy reveals strong contradictions and limitations. Given the existing uneven socio-spatial dynamics of a global city such as Barcelona, the well-established power relations in the production of urban space, and the still-dominant discourse of austerity, the local government's actions remain precarious. However, albeit both promising and contradictory, Barcelona's housing policy proves to be a useful case for developing degrowth planning principles and tools for urban housing policy and beyond.
ISSN:1354-9839
1469-6711
DOI:10.1080/13549839.2021.1931075