The (hidden) role of the EU in housing policy: the Portuguese case in multi-scalar perspective

Abstract

Full reference: Allegra M., Tulumello S., Colombo A., Ferrão J. (2020), "The (hidden) role of the EU on housing policy: the case of Portugal in multi-scalar perspective", European Planning Studies, online rst.

Divergence in planning for affordable housing: A comparative analysis of England and Portugal

“…The volume of mortgage loans grew from €5 billion in 1990 to €104 billion in 2008an increase of more than 2,000% in national spending, when the demographic increase was only 10%. Approximately half of all mortgage contracts signed in that period were supported by the state, through subsidized mortgage loans and tax deductions (Allegra, 2020). In 2011, owner-occupancy became the dominant tenure in Portugal by far, accounting for 76% of the total housing stock, and covering all strata of the population, but mostly those of middle to high incomes (Azevedo et al, 2019).…”

“…In this regard, Harris and Moore (2013) claim that processes of policy diffusion and policy transfer are "deeply structured by enduring power relations, policy norms, and local politicoinstitutional contexts" (1503), and Touraine (2007) emphasizes the relevance of discourse as "a mode of domination that incorporates speech, rules and classifications in a system of domination or a 'microphysics of power'" (Idem: 5). Discourses are particularly important in the current age of globalization 1 , in which cities and regions are increasingly interconnected, ideas flow, and global policy models have significant normative power across national and local borders (Allegra, 2020;Peck, & Theodore, 2015;Theodore, 2019). This paper focuses on two countries suffering from similar problems of housing shortage and affordabilityand specifically on their capital cities.…”

The “Souths” of the “Wests”. Southern critique and comparative housing studies in Southern Europe and USA

“…On the one hand, funding and regulation are competence of states and, in Italy and Spain, regions and autonomous communities. On the other hand, however, the European Union (EU), despite never having been endowed formal competence over housing, has had a role, through indirect and implicit policies and regulations in other areas, in pushing (Southern) housing systems toward specific outcomes like homeownership and liberalization (Doling, 2006;Allegra et al, 2020)-a role that has become more evident and direct during and after the economic crisis, as we shall see below.…”

“…More specifically, a concrete role has been played by the EU. Before the crisis, this role has been implicit and indirect (Stephens, 1999;Doling, 2006;Allegra et al, 2020): deregulation and integration of financial markets have long promoted debt-fueled homeownership; fiscal austerity has been crucial in pressuring states to cut housing expenditure; and, more generally, the pressure for European integration has stimulated liberalization. This role has become more direct and explicit during the years of crisis (García-Lamarca, 2020;Tulumello, Cotella & Othengrafen, 2020): EU institutions have explicitly requested the liberalization of rental markets to Portugal and Greece in the context of the financial bailout of the two countries; measures to ease the acquisition of repossessed housing stocks by large investors have been included in the bailout of the Spanish financial sector; and implicit conditionalities have been used to promote similar reforms in Italy.…”

“…This article is based on a critical review of discussions of regional urban and housing frameworks, as well as recent attempts at adopting a "southern" grammar in the European South and, to a lesser extent, the US South. I broadly build on findings from previous researches, above all the comparison of urban security policies in Lisbon and Memphis (Tulumello, 2018), critique of culturalist explanations of "underdevelopment" in Southern Italy (Tulumello, 2016), and discussions of uneven developmental relations in Southern European housing and urban dynamics (especially Tulumello & Picone, 2016;Allegra et al, 2020;Tulumello, Cotella & Othengrafen, 2020;Tulumello & Allegretti, 2021;Tulumello & Dagkouli-Kyriakoglou, 2021).…”