Social Reproduction and the Housing Question: A London Planning Seminar

Contemporary social movements and critical theorists alike are grappling with issues surrounding social reproduction and the crisis of care. The concept of social reproduction raises fundamental questions about housing and urbanism. But critical urban theory has generally left social reproduction out of its analysis of processes like financialisation, commodification, and privatisation. This paper argues that the political-economy of housing needs to engage more directly with struggles over social reproduction. The crisis of social reproduction is not identical to the housing crisis, but the full impact of the latter cannot be understood without an analysis of the former. Drawing on social reproduction theory as well as the housing history of London and other cities, this paper explores how the crises of care and social reproduction are implicated in the contemporary housing problem, and argues that critically transforming the housing system requires a new politics of social reproduction.