Space for the social question
Housing is many things at once: A basic need, a home for people, a means of investment, an asset—and a driver of generational (in)justice, says cultural and social geographer Ilse Helbrecht
With the federal debt package being passed in the Bundestag, there is much public debate about its effects. “However, topics like refugee accommodation, homelessness, and the lack of social housing barely register,” says Ilse Helbrecht, professor for cultural and social geography at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. “Yet the housing issue is arguably the social question of the 21st century.”
The researcher has spent many years working on cultural and social issues in urban geography. Among her specialised research topics are the developments on the housing market and the related gentrification found in major cities. Since autumn 2024, she has been leading a new research project—funded by the Volkswagen Foundation—addressing an issue of pressing social concern: intergenerational (in)justice in European housing markets.
As part of an international joint research project, Helbrecht is exploring how the strained housing markets in Europe affect intergenerational fairness. Her view is that housing is unequally distributed between the generations. Older cohorts across Europe typically have sufficient housing of their own, while younger people face very high barriers to entering the market.
The study focuses on major cities in four countries: Ireland (Dublin), Spain (Granada), Netherlands (Amsterdam), and Germany (Berlin). The selection was made based on how the housing markets are organised. Ilse Helbrecht points out the differences between them: Germany has one of the lowest rates of home ownership in Europe. On average, just 47 percent of Germans live in a property they own—meaning a narrow majority does not. In Berlin, more than 80 percent of people rent their homes. In contrast, it was long common in the UK for young adults to purchase a small property by the age of 22, often with borrowed capital and state support, giving younger generations an early stake in the housing market. This changed after the 2008 financial crisis. Banks tightened lending conditions, property prices rose. Because of that, today’s young adults are widely known as the “generation rent”.
In contrast, in Mediterranean countries like Spain, ownership rates have traditionally been high. But the current economic climate makes it difficult for younger people to find secure employment, with the result that many still live with their parents at age 30. This places strain on family life and is rarely without conflict—even though intergenerational households and strong family ties are more culturally embedded in the Mediterranean than in Northern Europe.
Helbrecht is keen to stress that her project is not just about markets and wealth distribution. It’s just as much about the relationships between generations: both within families and across age groups. The social sciences distinguish between intragenerational and intergenerational dimensions. “On the one hand, we’re asking how housing markets shape how different generations access housing today, on the other hand, how housing shapes family relationships,” Helbrecht explains. “One thing is clear: Families come under pressure when too many people live in too little space, or when a single home is inherited by several siblings.” Carried out with colleagues in both qualitative and quantitative studies, her research will focus on the role of the state in shaping and regulating housing markets and the role of families navigating those structures. Initial results are expected in three years.
Heike Gläser for Adlershof Journal
Prof. Dr. Ilse Helbrecht — Geography Department at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin