Housing Precarity as a Sociological Problem. Review of the Book “Precarious Housing in Europe: a Critical Guide” Edited by S. Muench and A. Zide

Housing precarity (precarity of housing) is the modern issue of insecure/unstable living arrangements, which has only recently begun to be widely discussed in scientific circles. The first extensive experience with and research results on this multidimensional phenomenon were obtained by European scientists representing various scientific fields. Instability in the labor market, financialization of housing, more intense migration processes, the threat of eviction and/or displacement, the development of informal living practices and other factors contributed to the precarization of the housing sphere, the development of a domestic culture of precarity and the formation of the so-called housing precariat. The book “Precarious Housing in Europe: A Critical Guide” edited by S. Münch and A. Side, which has already received positive reviews from other scientists, is the first to summarize the results of many years of research into housing precarity in EU countries. The work pays special attention to various manifestations of housing precarity and its extreme form - homelessness, vulnerable social groups (youth, migrants, etc.), as well as state policy in the housing sphere. Despite the fact that the book is the result of interdisciplinary collaboration, it is a landmark publication in the field of housing sociology, and therefore is of interest to researchers from other countries.

sociology of housing, precarization of housing, housing precarity, housing precariat, right to housing, informal housing, homelessness