Provision of affordable housing in new large-scale housing projects in second-tier cities in Central and Eastern Europe. Comparing the cases of Lausanne (CH), Leipzig (GER), and Wrocław (PL)

Abstract The aim of this paper is to compare structures of affordable housing provision in new large-scale housing projects in second-tier cities in Central and Eastern Europe. The paper builds on the conceptual framework of structures of housing provision to highlight complexities stemming from spatial conditions, structural processes reflected by housing policies at national and local levels, and relations between different stakeholders. The context for the analysis comprises first, the affordable housing question, which has gained importance in urban areas recently affected by multiple crises. Second, large-scale housing projects are seen as a response to the affordable housing shortage in differing contexts of state-market relations. The paper builds on a comparative case study approach of three new large-scale housing projects in less often studied cities in Central and Eastern Europe (in Lausanne, CH–Plains-du-Loup, in Leipzig, GER–Leipzig 416, and in Wrocław, PL–Nowe Żerniki). It draws on document analysis and expert interviews to provide an in-depth comparative case description based on primary and secondary data. We discuss how new large-scale housing projects, produced to provide affordable housing, are embedded in and filtered through structural contexts and domestic policy motivations but also have socio-spatial implications. In each of these cases, the process of providing affordable housing revolves around different aspects (space, multi-scalar processes, and stakeholders). Our analysis reveals that the affordability of housing depends on the interaction between public, private and civic factors, embedded within a neoliberal framework.