UAH!

Dwelling is one of the most important and meaningful human actions. It lies at the intersection of multiple and diverse social practices and organizations, uses, and relationships. The many forms of dwelling are not only the product of specific social, political, and economic contexts, but are themselves generative of transformations and living conditions. From a scientific and academic perspective, the issues and challenges that affordable housing poses today to spatial design and urban policies should therefore be approached from multiple viewpoints, not with the ambition to be exhaustive, but with the clear conviction that only through dialogue among different forms of knowledge and action, and a deep engagement with local contexts, can we critically reconsider both the paths already taken and those yet to be explored. The project funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, PRIN 2022, UAH! Unconventional Affordable Housing, was promoted by Politecnico di Milano (Department of Architecture and Urban Studies), Università di Trieste (Department of Engineering and Architecture), Università di Bari (Department of Political Science) and Politecnico di Bari (Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Construction and Chemistry). UAH! brought together scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds – architectural and interior design, history of architecture, technical architecture, urban design and planning techniques, and sociology – to address several key questions. How has dwelling been transformed in contemporary postmodern and post-industrial societies? In what ways is it connected to changes in family structures and relationships, life courses, demographic configurations, population movements, and urban dynamics? Finally, how might the growing challenge of securing affordable housing be addressed by working at the intersection of spatial design and welfare policies, both within and beyond the housing sector?