Perceptions of Power in English Social Housing: A Systems Thinking Approach to Housing Politics

The erosion of affordable and secure housing in England prompts questions about power and its role in the “housing crisis”. While crucial for understanding housing politics, theory-grounded, actor-based power analyses remain rare. This study combines theories of power and systems thinking to examine perceptions of power in the English social housing sector. Using 38 interview-based systems maps, we trace instrumental, structural, and discursive power, and their material and social outcomes. Selected maps exemplify power dynamics in the decision to demolish or refurbish social housing estates. Our findings show how actors’ responsibilities and capacities are embedded in a complex web of (perceived) housing politics, (re)producing dominant discourses. Acknowledging the need to deconstruct “systems-maintaining” power structures, we conclude with an invitation to rethink power constellations for housing provision in a way that prioritizes residents’ health and wellbeing, ecological sustainability, and justice.