Following social development trends since the beginning of the 20^th century, social housing has evolved from its former minimal standard to an upper middle-class standard of housing. Safety concerns regarding norms and legislations, optimizing sources of energy loss as well as higher finishing standards continuously increase construction costs and thus the rental costs of housing that for some groups of society will soon no longer be affordable. Alongside economic change and recent financial market crises, the number of people living under unstable conditions is growing. In Europe alone, the number of unemployed, freelancers, home workers as well as part-time and short-term employees is increasing enormously. At the same time, housing and living costs, consumer pressure, and quality demands are constantly increasing. Our cities are also a reflection of this widening social gap.

The publication, which is part of the series of publications at the Institute of Housing at Graz University of Technology, is based on the socio-politically relevant research questions that are addressed at the Institute of Housing. Chronik 2020 is a collection of contributions that are dedicated to ensuring the long-term affordability of housing for increasingly unstable living situations and that address spatial and organizational aspects of living together in such forms of housing.