Access to affordable, good-quality housing is a growing challenge across the Nordic Region. In many places, housing costs rise faster than incomes and competition for rental housing is increasing. Well-located urban land is also becoming scarce.
At the same time, Nordic municipalities and national actors face a set of interconnected challenges: how to deliver affordable and good quality housing for different income groups; how to ensure socially mixed and cohesive neighbourhoods; and how to align housing development with environmental and economic goals.
Balancing economic, social and environmental objectives requires a clearer view of how housing systems and land-use systems interact. Understanding these interactions helps to assess how they shape the conditions for affordable and socially mixed housing development.
Project focus
This project examines the institutional and regulatory connections between housing and land-use systems in the Nordic countries. In particular, it looks into how these connections influence the capacity of public authorities to steer housing development in socially and environmentally sustainable directions.
The Nordic countries share strong welfare traditions and similar planning principles. However, they differ in their approaches to addressing housing affordability and social mix. They also apply different land policies and urban development governance models. By comparing the Nordic housing and land use systems, this project identifies how interactions between them affect the production of affordable, good-quality housing and the prospects for socially mixed communities.
Project structure
The project is structured in three phases:
1. Mapping Nordic housing and land-use systems
First, the project takes stock of how housing and land-use systems operate and interact in each country. This includes comparing definitions of affordable housing and social mix, the roles of key actors and institutions, and the integration of social and environmental objectives in urban development policies and planning practices. This phase clarifies the key governance arrangements and policies shaping housing outcomes.
2. Evaluating land policy tools
Second, the project assesses the strengths and limitations of different land policy approaches. It compares active land policy (public land acquisition, municipal allocation, negotiated development) with more passive or reactive approaches where private developers drive the planning process. The analysis draws on municipal case studies and cross-country comparisons. It also highlights how different land policy tools perform under varying market conditions and institutional contexts.
3. Synthesising lessons for policy and practice
Finally, the project brings together lessons from across the Nordic countries. This synthesis identifies policy-relevant strategies that can strengthen the capacity of municipalities and national authorities to promote housing affordability, steer land-use decisions, and support socially sustainable and mixed neighbourhoods.
This project aims to strengthen the shared Nordic knowledge base on how housing, land-use planning, and sustainability objectives intersect. The findings may inform concrete policy choices on land policy, planning instruments, and housing governance that can help reconcile affordability, social mix, and environmental ambitions in Nordic cities.
This research project is a part of the Nordic thematic group for land use, prioritisation and planning. The Nordic thematic groups contribute to the Nordic co-operation Programme for Regional Development and Planning 2025-2030 under the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Committee of Senior Officials for Regional Policy (EK-R).
