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Why are housing cooperatives successful? Insights from Swiss affordable housing policy

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  • Ivo Balmer
  • Jean-David Gerber

Abstract

Housing policy is primarily regulated at the municipal level, especially in view of the international trend towards the withdrawal of the national state in this sector. This article examines recent developments in Swiss housing policy in five large cities, and the counter-reactions that are emerging due to an acute housing shortage. Relying on critical literature on housing, we present the main instruments of the Swiss housing policy and empirically analyse the political debates about their implementation. Results show that housing cooperatives are the housing support mechanism that the whole political spectrum can agree on. As the vast majority of cooperatives are non-profit, we observe the puzzling situation where neoliberal processes of state withdrawal in social policies lead to the promotion of a form of housing that is mostly common property-based and decommodified. The reasons behind their success are complex, but basing policies on private initiative rather than public property and targeting the middle class contributes to their popularity.

Suggested Citation

  • Ivo Balmer & Jean-David Gerber, 2018. "Why are housing cooperatives successful? Insights from Swiss affordable housing policy," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 361-385, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:chosxx:v:33:y:2018:i:3:p:361-385
    DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2017.1344958
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    Cited by:

    1. Bouwmeester, Josje & Hartmann, Thomas & Ay, Deniz & Gerber, Jean-David, 2024. "Making room for affordable housing: Project-based negotiations between planning authorities and landowners in Dutch and Swiss densification," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    2. Emmanuel Joseph Odoyi & Kirsikka Riekkinen, 2022. "Housing Policy: An Analysis of Public Housing Policy Strategies for Low-Income Earners in Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-27, February.
    3. Waleed Alzamil, 2024. "A Conceptual Framework for the Activation of Sustainable Cooperative Housing Production in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-20, October.

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