Housing in small towns: Current challenges in research and practice

Around one third of the population in Germany lives in small towns, making this type of settlement a key issue in spatial development. A sufficient and adequate housing supply in small towns is essential for equivalent living conditions and sustainable spatial development. Despite their diverse structures and processes - which in housing-market terms manifests itself in the form of supply surpluses as well as shortages and displacement processes - housing-related questions in small towns are often viewed in an overly simplistic manner in research, politics and planning. Thereby considerable gaps in knowledge and spatial management options remain. This position paper identifies current housing-related challenges and problems that are specific to small towns and uses these to derive research needs and recommendations for practice. Small-town living is characterized by owner-occupied housing markets and a typological narrowing to a few housing patterns. These structures are accompanied by ongoing designations of building land on the outskirts of settlements, as well as limited personnel and financial resources of municipal administrations and thus restricted municipal influence. We conclude that small towns require differentiated, data-based analyses to develop tailored strategies, depending on specific problem constellations of their housing market, economic and socio-demographic developments. Research is needed in terms of systematic and comparative analyses of housing markets, as well as of housing needs, preferences and practices. Furthermore, empirical data on small-town-specific development and policy options are needed to create a practical knowledge base for municipal action.