Affordable housing production for low income groups by land use zoning plans in harbor areas of Copenhagen

Housing expenses have the highest share in household budgets of low-income groups in Copenhagen leading to affordability problems. To provide affordable housing (AH) for low-income groups, the municipality developed a zoning plan in 2015 aimed to reserve up to 25% of land for new AH production. This qualitative case study compares the affordability of homes produced by private sector and nonprofit housing associations for low-income young groups at the risk of poverty and families in North and South Harbor areas of Copenhagen. Also, this paper explores local housing partnership agreements since 2009 and zoning plan developments in Copenhagen since 2015. Findings present the role of local governments in shaping socio-economic structure and partnership agreements that led to the development of AH by land use zoning in Copenhagen. In North Harbor, there were no AH units for families and young groups until 2020 when they were produced according to this zoning plan. The discussion presents the AH development in the higher property value harbor areas as a small but promising solution and a leading example for other Scandinavian countries