Examining the publicness of spaces on European social housing estates: a position paper

The concept of ‘publicness’ addresses the intersection between people and their physical surroundings, and the ways in which they affect each other in an ongoing process. This point of relational exchange is the core concept behind ‘Public Space in European Social Housing’ (PuSH), a three-year HERA-funded project conducted by a transnational, multidisciplinary team of researchers. By investigating publicness in relation to social housing, PuSH aims to better understand how cultural encounters happen, and to reflect on how integration can be better sustained. The paper is a collaborative output among different researchers on the project who present their theoretical developments and positions, identify the analytical categories and theoretical vocabularies on which they daw, and reflect on potential ways in which these concepts can be operationalised.