Overview

Informal Housing in the Global North proposes analytical and conceptual approaches to investigate the progressing ‘informalisation’ of contemporary housing in the Global North and beyond. Amidst the ongoing housing crisis, the reading of informalities in the so-called North has increasingly disrupted the conventional understanding of local cities as fully regulated, well-structured and formal. By juxtaposing contested, successful and ‘under- the- radar’ ordinary housing phenomena across various income levels, this volume seeks to unpack and document the embeddedness of informality in mid- and high-income cities. This investigation reveals the pervasive and hybrid nature of local housing systems, in which formal frameworks defining modes of utilising spaces and architectural design are continuously reinterpreted by users, public sector actors and market entities alike. It reflects on everyday housing pathways and the agency of those who, by preference or necessity, engage with solutions conventionally labelled as informal. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of housing studies, planning, architecture and urban sociology as well as practitioners working in the field of housing.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jakub Galuszka
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.530kg
ISBN:  

9781032645254

ISBN 10:   1032645253
Pages:   186
Publication Date:   19 September 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

List of figures List of tables List of contributors 1. Introduction – Perspectives on housing informality in the ‘North’ Jakub Gałuszka Part I: Encroachment 2. Formal/informal continuum? Secondary dwelling production and digital rental markets in Sydney, Australia Zahra Nasreen, Pranita Shrestha and Nicole Gurran 3. Navigating Hong Kong's informal housing: Stakeholders’ interactions on spatial quality in subdivided homes Maggie Ma Kingsley and Jen Lam Part II: Solidarities 4. Otherness and informality: everyday tactics of social inclusion among Oxford boating community Jakub Gałuszka 5. Refugee access to housing in fermany: (In)formal restrictions and opportunities Nihad El-Kayed Part III: Struggles and appropriation 6. For a spatial politics of dwelling. Awareness, contestation and homemaking in the individual occupations of public housing in Naples, Italy Emiliano Esposito 7. Making a platz in the city: How Roma families appropriate urban space to have a home in Paris suburbs Céline Véniat Part IV: Gatekeeping 8. Unpacking everyday management in a City Improvement District: property caretakers as street-level bureaucrats in Ekhaya, Hillbrow, Johannesburg Thembani Mkhize 9. Living in someone else’s place: an exploration of subletting practices in Berlin in Times of Housing Crisis. Lucas Elsner, Minou Boucheri, Olga Łojewska and Anna Potanina 10. Concluding remarks and way forward Jakub Galuszka Index

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Author Information

Jakub Galuszka is Junior Professor of Sustainable Cities and Climate Change at the HafenCity University Hamburg. His research focuses on housing, informality, co-production and urban sustainability. Currently, he leads two research projects: ‘Inconspicuous Transformations: the Socio-Spatial Reconfiguration of Formal Housing in Europe,’ funded by the DFG, and ‘Passive Solutions in Self-Build and Incremental Housing: Towards Inclusive Socio-Ecological Transformation in Rapidly Urbanising Areas,’ supported by the Volkswagen Foundation.

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