This project explores how subtle, often overlooked transformations of housing emerge and quietly reshape urban landscapes. By examining everyday practices of residents alongside the actions of public authorities and the pressures of housing markets, it traces where formality and informality, legality and illegality, regulation and creativity intersect in contemporary cities.
It examines how regulated, deregulated, and tolerant housing frameworks shape hidden housing strategies, capturing both local specificities and broader European dynamics, and offering insights to support more inclusive and responsive housing policies.
New publication: The book “Informal Housing in the Global North” edited by Jakub Galuszka is out now. The chapters include, among other things, general reflections on the transformation of the housing system and insights into the subletting market in Berlin, one of our case study cities. Click here for more information.
New Project: Starting in January 2026 the project team will participate in exchanges with colleagues from the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney as part of the DAAD-funded project "Housing affordability crisis, approaches and outcomes: Comparative Analysis of German and Australian Urban Contexts".
This site is a catalogue of housing practices and strategies. It presents stories and visual documentation of the transformation of housing in the cities studied in the project, making research findings visible and accessible. It also collects related material from outside the project to create an archive of how ordinary people are shaping the housing system.
