Measuring Housing Inequality with the Value of Freedom in the Capability Approach: Proposal and Demonstration

An ongoing question in capability research is how to incorporate the value of freedom into the measurement of inequality. This article proposes an approach to answering this question in the housing domain and its operationalisation. The approach places an evaluation focus to the conditions constraining or expanding housing choices in the...

Housing Justice as Expansion of People's Capabilities for Housing: Proposal for Principles of Housing Policy and Evaluation of Housing Inequality

Housing inequality is a growing concern in our society. In recent decades, this inequality has been exacerbated by the phenomenon of housing being financialized and commodified as a means for wealth accumulation. Management of financial institutions and housing markets has become the centre of attention in policy discussion. The questions of how...

Approach to housing justice from a capability perspective: bridging the gap between ideals and policy practices

When correcting policies to tackle rising housing inequality, certain principles of housing justice are necessary. Recently, the capability approach to justice has attracted the attention of housing scholars, as promising guidance to compensate for problems in conventional policy approaches. However, the practicality of its policy application...

A Capability Approach to Evaluating well-being and Equality in Housing: Clear Conceptual Difference but Unclear Practical Difference?

This study empirically examines the difference of the capability<br/>approach to evaluating well-being and equality in housing, with<br/>data from the Netherlands. Conventionally, well-being/inequality in<br/>housing have been evaluated by measures of economic/material<br/>means for housing or satisfaction. In theory, these evaluation<br/...

How the other half lives: coronavirus, housing and justice

Covid-19 and especially the extreme measures of the lockdown in response to the virus, have exposed existing housing inequalities. They revealed how, in the 21st century, households still live in poor and insecure housing conditions exposing them to increased physical and mental health risks. In the Netherlands, where we as authors are based,...

How to Apply the Capability Approach to Housing Policy? Concepts, Theories and Challenges

Housing has played a significant role in increasing inequality. It has been financialised and losing its human and social dimensions. A critical review of housing policy directions is needed to explore a new housing approach. This article revisits the underpinning perspectives of housing policy discussions through the lens of the capability...

Author's reply

Housing Justice with the Capability Approach

The paper explores an idea for framing housing justice with the capability approach, and how the housing justice framework can guide for the inequality reduction in housing. The changes in the world – such as the growth of wealth inequality, housing financialisation, and the rise of the precariat – indicate that the traditional welfare state...

How to apply the capability approach to housing policy?: Concepts, theories and challenges

This paper investigates to what extent the capability approach can contribute to housing studies and policy development. The capability approach, pioneered by economist-philosopher Amartya Sen and philosopher Martha Nussbaum, is built upon critical reviews on the norms of welfarism and utilitarianism, and argues that social policy and its...

Comparative case studies of housing and welfare outcomes by using the capability approach

This presentation summarises the research proposal for developing a model for applying the capability approach to housing studies, and testing the model through a case study in Manila. The conceptual framework of this research lies in a comparative analysis of key theoretical approaches to well-being in the field of welfarism, planning and...