About The Conference

Housing policy in Poland was subject to considerable changes shaped by historical events related to the destruction during the Second World War and the reconstruction afterwards, under the influence of ideological premises of the socialist period, system transformation and the opening of the free market after 1989. Each of these changes in the approach to housing policy contributed to changes in the level and nature of residential segregation in Warsaw and its metropolitan area.

During the conference the current results of the project “Social segregation and isolation of space. Housing policy in the metropolitan areas of  France, Germany and Poland” will be presented. We will discuss contemporary housing policy in Polish, German and French context. In Germany and France social diversity promotion is one of the fundamental tasks of the housing policy. The aim of the conference will therefore be to indicate good practice for housing policy, especially in the context of the phenomenon of residential segregation and the formation of enclaves of wealth and poverty, and identify recommendations on housing policy to the Strategy of Warsaw – Warsaw 2030.

According to the definition housing policy is recognized as a policy activities ensuring the functioning of the housing market taken by the state administration and local government units in the areas in which they are able to provide construction output and correct any failures of the market. According to a broader definition housing policy applies to all state activities that have an impact on the functioning of the housing market (e.g. number of dwellings, their price, rental rates, quality of housing).

The right to housing is one of the fundamental rights of the citizen, which was sanctioned in the declarations of global regulations of the European Union and national legislation functioning since the end of the 40s the twentieth century. In many countries, including Poland the right to housing is enshrined in the Constitution. In Poland, the authorities are obliged to pursue policies conducive to satisfying the housing needs of citizens, counteracting homelessness and support the housing and promote activities for citizens to obtain their own housing (art. 75 paragraph 1 Constitution)

Research on the residential market in Poland relates primarily to changes in the transformation period and the changes taking place today. In most reports, the authors emphasize the constant shortage of the number of housing and limited access to them and the lack of strategic planning to counter social exclusion. Another problem is the shortage of housing policy tools to increase the availability of housing for middle-income people. During the conference, so we will look for good practices and solutions for these problems, using the experience of two European metropolises. The final result of the debate will be the material that will serve as a contribution to the work on the strategy. # Warszawa2030.