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5th ISA Forum of Sociology - 6. Juli-11. Juli 2025 - Rabat, Marokko
Intergenerational Housing Inequalities in Europe
Arundel, R., Köppe, S., Ronald, R. & Sepúlveda Vásquez, G.
The presentation shared preliminary findings from the THICE project and explored how growing housing inequalities and family-based support practices are reshaping intergenerational cohesion across Europe. Drawing on multiple international datasets, patterns of housing-related transfers (e.g. co-residence, inheritances, gifts) were mapped and visualized using GIS analyses to highlight regional disparities and their implications for social justice within different welfare and housing systems.
ENHR Grand Paris: Affordable housing in greening cities - 30. Juni-4. Juli 2025 - Paris, Frankreich
Intergenerational housing and homeownership support across Europe: recent trends and inequalities
Sepúlveda Vásquez, G., Arundel, R., Köppe, S. & Ronald, R.
This presentation introduced early results from the THICE project and analyzed how intergenerational housing arrangements and support practices are evolving across Europe, based on multiple international datasets. The focus lay on growing housing inequalities, various forms of family assistance (e.g. co-residence, inheritances, gifts), and their relevance for the renegotiation of the intergenerational contract in the context of different welfare and housing regimes.
The role of intergenerational housing support in shaping kinship relationships: a scoping review
Yessengarayeva, G., Fernández Herrera, S., Köppe, S. & Duque-Calvache, R.
The presentation offered a comprehensive overview of the role of intergenerational housing support in Western societies, with a particular focus on kinship relations. It highlighted how housing functions not only as a material asset but also as a symbolic and emotional resource within family dynamics, reshaping solidaristic, economic, and moral obligations between generations.
An inequality-amplifying mechanism: private landlords and tenants in the Spanish rental market
Fernández Herrera, S., Torrado, J. M., Duque-Calvache, R. & Yessengarayeva, G.
Based on data from the Spanish Survey on Income and Living Conditions (2012–2023), this presentation analyzed how the structure of the private rental housing market in Spain affects income distribution and social inequality. It focused on the socioeconomic characteristics of landlords and tenants, showing that landlords tend to be wealthier, older, and regionally concentrated—contributing to heightened inequality compared to the general population.
Intergenerational transfers and housing inequality across Europe: a cross-sectional analysis of the gender and generations survey (GGS)
Sepúlveda Vásquez, G., Arundel, R., Köppe, S.
Drawing on recent data from eight European countries, this presentation examined how parental financial transfers influence young adults’ access to homeownership. It analyzed the extent to which such support, depending on socioeconomic status and national context, may either reinforce or reduce existing housing inequalities.
Featured in the Latest Adlershof Journal
The international research project, led by Ilse Helbrecht and funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, is featured in the latest issue of the Adlershof Journal. The article highlights the project’s timely focus on how unequal access to housing affects generational justice in European cities. With case studies in Berlin, Dublin, Amsterdam, and Granada, the research sheds light on growing disparities between younger and older generations in terms of housing ownership, affordability, and security.
First project retreat in Granada
From March 10–14, 2025, the kick-off meeting of the project THICE – Transformations in Housing and Intergenerational Contracts in Europe took place in Granada. The focus: methodological questions, first insights into the doctoral research projects, in-depth discussions, getting to know one another, and international networking with the fantastic team from Canada, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Chile, Kazakhstan, Spain, and Germany.