Everyone should have the right to housing-that’s a basic rule in international human rights law. But, in reality, vulnerable groups like immigrants often find it harder to get decent housing. This study published in the Journal of Public Policy looks at how local housing policies might act as “gatekeepers,” a topic not studied enough so far. We suggest that some municipalities may use exclusionary rules to control who can settle in their areas, especially limiting access for those vulnerable groups. To dig into this, we did a systematic review of global academic papers, using three different bibliometric methods. First up, statistical analysis shows the field is growing and often features studies with rich data and diverse methods. Next, network analysis points out that just a handful of important journals shape most of the knowledge shared here. Finally, thematic analysis reveals recurring themes showing how exclusionary policies hurt people across various places. These main themes include:
Explicit exclusionary policies aimed at migrants
Patterns of residential and ethnic segregation
Economic factors tied to housing and related policies
Local housing efforts driven by grassroots movements and governance
Housing issues connected with internal migration within China
The stats tell us this research area is expanding quickly, led by a few major journals that mix different types of data and approaches. Geography-focused journals play a particularly big role here-not just social sciences overall but specifically geographic angles within them-often looking at urban living and housing topics. The strong citation links within these journals back up this trend.
Our theme-based look also finds clear evidence that both intentional and accidental exclusionary policies cause harm no matter where you look or what kind of housing system is in place. So even though we reviewed studies from very different countries with varying markets, gatekeeping shows up everywhere with similar negative results. This highlights ongoing tensions between what individuals are expected to do versus what society owes them-current rules tend to put too much pressure on individuals instead of supporting them collectively. The materials show local governments using legal frameworks to apply these gatekeeping tactics selectively, which mostly affects future population patterns unfairly. Instead of following universal welfare ideas, these rules add extra barriers for vulnerable people struggling with housing problems already. There’s also a clear difference between deliberately designed exclusion practices versus ones that unintentionally end up excluding people anyway.
Besides highlighting key findings from the literature we looked over, our study also points out some important gaps needing more work.
Discrimination Patterns: It’s surprising how few studies tackle direct discrimination based on visible traits head-on. When mentioned at all, it’s usually seen as an indirect effect caused by local officials interpreting policies rather than being addressed openly.
Geographical Gaps: We noticed there’s hardly any research coming from parts of Asia (besides China), South America, or Africa-leaving big regions pretty much unexamined.
Political Angles: How politics shapes local policy decisions still gets little attention too-for example, how zoning laws or building plans influence who can live where isn’t explored much yet; neither is the role political parties play when pushing exclusionary rules.
These missing pieces offer great chances for new research that could really deepen our understanding about how local housing rules affect vulnerable groups differently across places. Filling these gaps might help reveal more about how gatekeeping actually works around the world.
– Gustav Lidén, Mid Sweden University
– Emma Holmqvist, Uppsala University
– Joel Jacobsson, Mid Sweden University
– Kristoffer Jutvik, Linköping University
– Jon Nyhlén, Stockholm University
– The authors’ article is published open access in the Journal of Public Policy.
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