Unintended outcomes of the marketized housing agenda in Sweden: - the trolls that never were invited who we now have to deal with
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Date
2019
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AESOP
Abstract
This paper discusses how the housing agenda in Sweden has been handed over to the municipalities, under the EU instructions. The marketized housing sector has resulted in unexpected local outcomes, or trolls, as for example private slumlords, exploiting their properties to a maximum but with no local responsibility to the tenants. Also, a black market of temporary housing -or beds- is found, which often target vulnerable immigrants. Thirdly, private-public partnerships has emerged, often termed business improvement districts (BIDs), who collaborate locally in order to serve long time interests for the property owners, the tenants, the local business-owners and the wider community. In sum, the neo-liberal agenda is found to strengthen the local communities and partnerships, but the tools to deal with the anomalies still lies at the central state. The neo-liberal agenda needs to be anchored by place and local actors in institutional long-term relations in defined places. Results imply that the planning processes need to address this new landscape of actors, and processes.
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Keywords
housing agenda, Sweden, housing sector