Rethinking employee housing: An evaluation of an old tool for tackling recent challenges in urban development

This article invites more substantial attention to the renaissance of employee housing. At a time when a wide range of people struggle to find affordable and adequate housing in urban areas close to their places of work and learning, the housing question is no longer only an individual challenge but threatens to undermine the functioning of intricate urban economies and social ecologies. The lack of affordable housing has thus reached a point where employees have to search for housing in remote locations and deal with long commutes and, simultaneously, employers struggle to find skilled workers in urban areas. Here, employee housing could offer a forward-thinking solution. While the concept itself is not new, it has been overlooked for decades, leaving municipalities unprepared for the demand from employers and companies for housing as they try to attract skilled workers by offering a job with housing. We argue that these dynamics are not only timely in providing affordable housing in central locations and ensuring economic and social stability in urban areas, but also in possibly tackling questions of sustainability by reducing commuting and car traffic while strengthening walking, cycling, and public transport in cities. By integrating residential and business zones, employee housing could become a tool in tackling questions of social, economic, and ecological resilience. The goal of this article is thus to start a debate about the potential and risks of employee housing in the 21st century and invite fellow researchers to join.