Call for papers
International Workshop
Home Ownership in Europe:
policy and research issues
23/24 November 2006, Delft
Almost two-thirds of European households are now home owners. With the continuing expansion of home ownership sectors in most member states of the European Union, often promoted, implicitly or explicitly, by national policies, the European Union itself also seems to favour this trend.
Yet, debate about the extent to which more home ownership would be a good or a bad thing, or about the ideal numbers of home owners is largely muted. Do we already know the answers, or do we not know enough even to ask the questions?
Moreover, on the horizon there are many new challenges that will come to face housing policy makers: ageing populations; changing household structures and lifestyles; flexible labour markets, home–working and insecure incomes; pressures on energy consumption and sustainability; and changing forms of social provision.
What questions should policy makers be asking, not only about the present but also about the future? And, what questions should the scientific community be seeking to answer? This workshop is planned to present existing evidence and knowledge about the
characteristics of home ownership and its wider impacts on European societies. It will also explore the future social, economic and political context of home ownership and consider an appropriate agenda for the housing policy and research communities.
The plenary sessions will be presented by leading housing researchers and will involve senior policy makers as discussants. The parallel workshop sessions will provide a forum for the presentation of current research on aspects of home ownership. All sessions will be designed to facilitate dialogue between researchers, policy makers and others concerned with housing issues.
