Across the UK, and internationally, housing has become framed through the language of crises and emergency, spanning issues such as affordability, accessibility, safety, homelessness, allocation and impacts on the climate. These framings are not politically neutral. They shape how problems are defined, whose experiences count and which solutions are deemed urgent, acceptable or possible. At the same time, housing has long been a potent site of populist politics, mobilised through narratives of scarcity, deservingness, national belonging and protection of property values.
This lecture examines how crisis narratives in housing are produced, circulated and instrumentalised, and with what consequences. It asks how appeals to emergency can both enable progressive interventions - such as renewed investment, stronger regulation and climate action - while also legitimising exclusionary or authoritarian responses, including welfare retrenchment, displacement and the stigmatisation of marginalised groups. Drawing on examples from the UK and beyond, the lecture explores the intersection of housing politics with populism, austerity and inequality, and considers the implications for housing research, policy, and activism.
The lecture will reflect on how research can challenge arguably simplistic crises framings, amplify lived experience and contribute to more democratic, just and sustainable housing futures.
Pricing: Members attend the Housing Studies Association Autumn Lecture for free, with non-members required to pay £35 to attend, or join the Association for £25 per year.
Members to access the tickets at £0, please log into the website before ordering your ticket.
