Social Housing in the Aftermath of COVID-19

Conference of Irish Geographers
18-20 May, 2022
University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
www.conferenceofirishgeographers.ie

CALL FOR PAPERS

Access to adequate housing is now, more than ever, a matter of life and death. Approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide live in homelessness and “grossly inadequate” housing, often in overcrowded conditions, lacking access to water and sanitation, making them particularly vulnerable to contract the coronavirus. Over two years into the pandemic, very few lessons have been learned. Governments measures across the world on the right to adequate housing can, at best, be described as uneven and short term and, in many cases, simply cruel and reckless. It is the time to promote systemic reform for new housing policies that put dignity at the centre and avoid going back to the “old normal”.

It is within this uncertainty that we want to raise the discussion on how to strengthen the significant role of social housing providers at local, national and global level, particularly as we are hopefully walking toward a post-pandemic recovery agenda.

Theoretical analyses, empirical research and housing activist perspectives are all welcome.

Potential themes could be:

• Adaptation and everyday support strategies: the voices of people experiencing housing poverty and inequality as well as community care arrangements in social housing

• Social Housing rights and activism, resistance and new perspectives on how to improve access to affordable housing

• Social Housing policy reviews with emphasis on policy innovations created during the pandemic

• Collaborative advocacy projects led by academics and civil society leaders

• The financialisation, commodification or assetisation of social housing

To be part of this session, please send abstracts of no more than 250 words via the CIG website by Friday 29th April 2022.

E-mail enquiries are also welcome before that date to Rory Hearne rory.hearne@mu.ie and Lidia Manzo lidia.manzo@unimi.it