Abstract
This article examines how social housing policies have contributed to urban segregation patterns in Central European cities during the post-socialist transformation. Through comparative analysis of housing policy reforms in Budapest, Prague, and Bucharest, the study traces how market-oriented restructuring has reshaped urban social geographies.
Key Findings
- Privatisation of public housing stock has created new forms of socio-spatial inequality
- Residualisation of social housing concentrates disadvantaged populations in deteriorating neighbourhoods
- Market-based housing allocation mechanisms exacerbate existing ethnic and class-based segregation
- Municipal responses to housing inequality vary significantly despite similar structural pressures
Methodology
Comparative case study analysis combining housing policy document review, GIS mapping of social housing distribution, and neighbourhood-level demographic data analysis.
Implications
The findings demonstrate that market-oriented housing reforms without adequate social safeguards can deepen urban inequalities, and highlight successful policy innovations from individual cities that might inform more equitable approaches to housing provision.
