Social Sustainability
Social Housing
Definition
Social housing is housing provided by public authorities or non-profit organisations at rents or prices below market levels, allocated according to need, to people unable to afford adequate housing on the market. Models vary widely — from Vienna's large municipal stock and Singapore's public housing to residual safety-net systems in the UK and US — but share the principle of decent housing as social infrastructure rather than pure commodity.
References
Source imported for editorial provenance.
This reference provides supporting context for how “Social Housing” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures housing policy, energy retrofit programmes targeting social stock, SDG 11. 1 monitoring of adequate housing, and urban equity analysis.
Why it matters
Housing is the largest single determinant of household emissions, health and financial security; social housing is the main instrument societies have to guarantee it.