Introduction to the Special Issue: Varieties of Housing Regime Approaches

Housing regimes are a key concept in comparative housing sociology. This issue of the online publication CHA contains seven articles which, in line with the publication’s aims, all contribute short outlines of original insights on this topic. The broader literature of housing regimes includes a variety of sometimes conflicting approaches, which poses a serious challenge. I would like to highlight five methodological/research problems which differentiate these theories/approaches: the problem of structure and agency; the extension of welfare regime theory to housing; whether housing regimes are to serve as a theory or a framework; the convergence versus divergence approach; the “time and scale” of regime theories. The writings in this special edition take different positions regarding these questions.