Summary

Housing is a source of wealth accumulation, intergenerational transfers, and social mobility. It is crucial not only for prosperity and welfare, but also for the structuring of inequalities within and across generations. In Southern Europe, housing holds a high cultural value, and the family plays a central role in housing tenure.

Rising housing wealth affects future housing opportunities for families and generations, impacting the Welfare State and the conditions of future elderly and pensioners.

Nevertheless, research on how restricted access to housing affects different generations and their welfare, particularly in Southern Europe, remains scarce. Although literature on Generation Z is extremely limited, this cohort is often considered the generation of hope. These young people, born between the late 1990s and the early 2000s, grew up in a contaxt marked by economic recessions, new wars, environmental crises, labor market uncertainties, a severe housing crisis, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and, in many cases, experiences of growing up in single-parent households. Confronted with such instabilities, the pursuit of security tends to assume a central role in their life trajectories.

Despite the differences between Generation Z and Millennials and the important implications for housing, no research has yet addressed this area.

The Project Housing4Z will answer four research questions:

1. How is housing reshaping intergenerational inequalities, and how will it affect young generations in particular?

2. How do changes in the housing system affect inequality and intergenerational welfare?

3. What are Generation Z’s experiences in terms of preferences, constraints, opportunities, and deprivation?

4. What recommendations should be implemented to mitigate new intergenerational housing inequalities?