How the other half lives: coronavirus, housing and justice

Céline Janssen; Arend Jonkman; Boram Kimhur; Jolien Kramer

doi:10.47982/1mh.9

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Céline Janssen TU Delft
Arend Jonkman TU Delft
Boram Kimhur TU Delft
Jolien Kramer TU Delft

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47982/1mh.9

Keywords:

coronavirus, 1MHomes, justice, housing inequalities, values, one million homes

Abstract

Covid-19 and especially the extreme measures of the lockdown in response to the virus, have exposed existing housing inequalities. They revealed how, in the 21st century, households still live in poor and insecure housing conditions exposing them to increased physical and mental health risks. In the Netherlands, where we as authors are based, similar inequalities and injustices in the housing sector can be observed. How can the wide variety of impacts of the coronavirus be understood, and what should be done to address them? Justice theories offer a valuable framework. By spotlighting the impacts of the coronavirus crisis on four households who are differently affected, we explore different critical perspectives to analyse the current crisis more coherently.

Author Biographies

Céline Janssen, TU Delft

Céline Janssen is a PhD researcher at the Chair Urban Area Development. Her PhD project is about the implementation of social sustainability in urban development projects, which she analyses through the lens of the capability approach.

Arend Jonkman, TU Delft

Arend Jonkman is a postdoctoral researcher for the 1M Homes-initiative and obtained his PhD at the University of Amsterdam on distributive justice in housing.

Boram Kimhur, TU Delft

Boram Kimhur studied on urban poverty and development at the University of Manchester, is a PhD researcher at the Chair Housing Institutions and Governance and she works on housing justice and inequalities.

Jolien Kramer, TU Delft

Jolien Kramer is a research associate at the Chair Urban Area Development, graduated at the University of Antwerp in 2019 on the subject ‘The sprouting of just public debate in the field of sustainable mobility’.