Time: 10:15-12
Place: Online – Zoom
In English
This seminar will give an outlook to the Nordic context through presentations on housing policy and housing markets in Denmark, Finland and Norway.
Chair: Martin Grander, Associate Senior Lecturer, Malmö universitet
Ragnar Bengtsson, Housing Market Analyst,
The Swedish Union of Tenants
Carrot and stick. (Why) Is Finland the housing mecca of the north?
Abstract
Finland and Norway are significantly more engaged in the housing market compared to Sweden. Both financially and with policies that concern the supply and demand for housing. Finland, spending 2% of GDP on housing issues stands out. Financial action, aimed at increasing construction is crucial, but other initiatives are of great importance, such the Finnish physical planning on a national level or the Norwegian municipal land tax that can be used to finance local infrastructure. Furthermore, both countries have adopted a government financial agency that supports the construction of new dwellings and in some cases municipal buildings such as schools and kindergartens. The presentation builds on two recently published reports, comparing the Finnish and the Norwegian housing policy to the Swedish.
Henrik Gutzon Larsen, Senior Lecturer, Lund University
Danish housing – lineages of decommodification and commodification
Abstract
While challenged in various ways by housing policies and other forces, Denmark is still characterised by substantial sectors of partly decommodified housing. Historically and currently, this has significant implications for housing affordability and accessibility – and for the social geography of Danish cities. Starting from an introduction to the Danish housing regime, Henrik will in this talk address the issue of housing commodification and decommodification focussing particularly on Copenhagen.