Journal of Housing and the Built Environment

, Volume 31, Issue 3, pp 423–438 | Cite as

“Building hope: from a shack to 3E house”—Innovative housing approach in the provision of affordable housing for Roma in Slovakia

Article
First Online:

Abstract

The post-1989 objectives of the Slovak housing policy have resulted in the large-scale privatisation of state rental flats and the reduction in new rental housing. State-subsidised social rental housing programmes have been unable to meet the social demand for affordable rental dwellings. Socially marginalised groups, in particular Roma people, have been hit the most by the post-1989 changes and the lack of official social housing construction. Project Building Hope is an alternative integrated housing approach, offering Roma people better life conditions by integrating housing issues with other policies related to social empowerment. In order to implement the innovative project, a broad coalition between public and private sector actors is established, which is able to change the perception of Roma in the community and influence local policy-making processes.

Keywords

Social housing Housing initiative Innovation Slovakia Roma 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial assistance of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic through VEGA grant No. 1/0216/14. They also sincerely thank Martin Vavrinčík and Katarina Smatanová from ETP Slovakia and other partners for their valuable comments, advices and support.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Social Development and Labour, Faculty of National EconomyUniversity of Economics in BratislavaBratislavaSlovakia

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