Sustainable Social Housing and Eco-Social Policies: Exploring the Linkages in the Portugal Case

This article explores the relationship between social housing and eco-social policies, a topic that has recently gained attention as it seeks to redefine well-being from an ecological perspective by addressing human needs and planetary limits. Portugal is one of the EU countries most vulnerable to energy poverty, largely due to poor housing quality and low energy efficiency, particularly affecting low-income families. Rising energy prices and a lack of building rehabilitation exacerbate the problem. While energy poverty is increasingly recognized, energy costs are not fully integrated into social housing policies. Current measures, such as energy cost subsidies, only target low-income households, and clear guidelines for measuring energy poverty are absent in Portuguese laws and literature. Although a National Long-Term Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty exists, there is limited data on its effectiveness.

The article investigates the link between eco-social policies and sustainable social housing in Portugal in the last decade, using a systematic review of literature and a content analysis of housing laws, combined with measures to combat energy poverty and promote the rehabilitation of residential buildings. Efforts to address energy poverty in Portugal have largely focused on rehabilitating buildings for tourism rather than for social housing. Furthermore, energy policies aimed at reducing energy poverty often rely on public awareness for their successful implementation. The Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), funding for the rehabilitation and construction of social housing mandates improvements in energy efficiency. However, these policies have proven more effective in new constructions than in the rehabilitation of existing buildings.

This article provides valuable insights for Southern European countries, such as Spain, Italy, and Greece, which have similar social housing systems, and highlights the urgent need for immediate action to promote sustainable social housing.