Informal Housing in 20th-century Europe: origins, transformations, divergences

Presentation and Session Chair, together with Noel Manzano (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) Informal urbanization/ housing was not merely a phenomenon of the Global South, but in fact widespread in many European capital cities until the second half of the 20th century, and in fact a significant factor of urban growth until recently. Our session proposes to establish a dialogue to show the European dimension of the phenomenon. We aim to historize the origins and transformations of informal housing at a transnational level, transcending localised narratives, and discussing commonalities and divergences in different countries. Our hypothesis is that at the beginning of the 20th century many European countries saw a two-fold process influenced by transnational experiences: on the one hand the adoption of modern hygiene laws and urban planning norms, and on the other hand the outlawing of precarious housing production. As a consequence, informal housing mutated and became clandestine, regulated by forces beyond the state, and subjected to varying degrees of tolerance and repression by national and municipal authorities. We particularly invite proposals that focus on the following themes: -urban policies and planning aiming at outlawing, eradicating or regularizing self-built housing, including the divergence between legislation and implementation, particularly from a transnational perspective. - collective action in defence of housing rights, and the influence of political or religious groups in the local and national coordination of resistance. - the architecture of informal housing and its transformation over time -The role of the real estate market the regulation of property and landownership, whether collaborative (neighbourhood associations) or coercive (mafias).