# City strategies for affordable housing: Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, and Gothenburg (Feb 2017) * **City strategies for affordable housing: the approaches of Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, and Gothenburg** * By Anna Granath Hansson. Published online in the International Journal of Housing Policy on 6 February 2017 * [https://doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2017.1278581 ]() * **Abstract**: * Affordable housing has emerged as a key concept in housing policy in a wide range of countries. * Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, and Gothenburg are all experiencing population growth and changing demographics; housing construction has lagged demand, leading to housing shortage and to increased housing costs. * **This article provides a detailed case study on institutional prerequisites and political strategies to increase affordable housing supply**. * The four cities focus on traditional housing policy tools: **organisation, urban planning, land allocation, and subsidies**. * Affordable housing is promoted through targeted tools as well as policies aiming at increased housing supply elasticity. * **The German cities have come further than their Swedish peers in creating an active housing policy** as they have clearer goals supported by influential politicians, and use more tools. * A tentative explanation of the difference between the German and Swedish cities explored in this paper is that politicians in Berlin and Hamburg have greater incentives to promote housing construction because of the structure of their cities’ housing markets. * **Keywords**: affordable housing, housing policy, urban planning, land allocation, subsidies, Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Germany, Sweden --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://housing-base.journalismarena.eu/access-to-housing/academic-reports-and-papers/city-strategies-for-affordable-housing-berlin-hamburg-stockholm-and-gothenburg-february-2017.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.