Housing as commons? A scoping review (1990-2023)

Abstract

Initially restricted to the analysis of institutional arrangements regulating the use of common-pool resources (CPRs), the conceptual scope of the commons was considerably extended over the last decades. Translated to the housing field, the notion of commons is used to frame a wide range of phenomena, from the management of collective amenities in multi-owned housing, co-housing, and cooperative housing projects, to various forms of informal settlements and squatting movements. This heterogeneity results in a “fuzzy” concept with no clear boundaries, and ambiguity on its use as a conceptual tool or a normative ideal. Based on systematic retrieval and screening methods, this scoping review synthetizes the available literature (1990-2023) to clarify how the concept of commons is applied in housing research. In the first step, the various uses, definitions and applications of the concept of ‘commons’ among the main corpus are analyzed and mapped using descriptive statistics, bibliometric analysis and narrative synthesis. In the second step, sub-corpuses are identified and reviewed to synthesize the available evidence on the effects of commons arrangements on three salient housing characteristics identified within the corpus: (i) affordability, (ii) inclusivity, and (iii) sustainability. This review contributes to the conceptual development and clarification of the burgeoning commons’ literature on housing