Abstract

By way of introduction, this book explains the main differences and convergences in housing provision paradigms in European and Chilean cities. From housing as part of Welfare State models, both societies have seen the replacement of the right to housing by the financialization of housing. The chapter highlights a red thread in this book, namely the presence of “cultures of the collective” in the provision of housing, which responds to different traditions and contexts in cities in the global north and in the global south. However, despite these differences, both relate to the essential question on how urban dwellers decide on how they want to live.