Emancipation of young people and housing policies in Europe

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to explore the relative weight of housing policies on youth transitional and emancipation processes, primarily focusing at the ages at which residential independence is achieved at different European countries. This work discusses some of the key issues regarding this topic, paying attention to both objective and subjective dimensions of transitions to adulthood and emphasizing their mutual relationship. Thus, the key issue addressed by the article is the central importance of widening opportunities, stressing that youth expectations are primarily determined by the welfare system framework. Nevertheless, the autonomous development of different social policy areas –and housing policies in particular- is decisively contributing to configure youth attitudes and cultural predispositions in both household and family transitions. The article advances referring to key bibliographical resources –most of them freely available on the Internet- and, when necessary, by travelling through secondary data analysis.