Housing the "Others" : Migrant and gender disparities in housing cost, satisfaction, and opportunity

Summary

Housing inequality is rarely shaped by a single factor; it emerges through the interplay of social identities, access, and systemic constraints. This dissertation examines how housing inequalities are experienced and reproduced at the intersection of nativity, gender, and socioeconomic structures in two geographic contexts with comparable urbanization rates and growing migrant populations: the Netherlands and Nanjing, China. It focuses on two migrant groups often overlooked in housing research—migrant homeowners and migrant women tenants—to explore how these “others” navigate housing markets, perceptions, and constraints in their everyday lives. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines statistical modeling, platform data analysis, and in-depth interviews, the study offers a comparative and multidimensional analysis of disparities in housing costs, satisfaction, and real opportunities. Rather than treating housing outcomes as merely the result of individual choices or market supply, this research asks how migration experiences, gendered dynamics, and socioeconomic structures interact to shape what people can access, afford, and feel secure in. In the Netherlands, the analysis reveals that migrant households—especially those residing in predominantly native neighborhoods—face a consistent price premium when purchasing homes, pointing to subtle exclusionary dynamics and reduced bargaining power. Migrant households, as well as the migrant members within mixed households, also report heightened safety concerns alongside a stronger appreciation for neighborhood population composition. These patterns suggest that neighborhood perceptions are not simply reflections of residential context but are deeply embedded in migrant identity and experience. In Nanjing, the study examines the rapidly expanding shared rental sector and highlights how the platform-based housing market—shaped by algorithms—reveals and reinforces pre-existing gendered inequalities in access. All-female shared rental units command a modest but significant rent premium compared to all-male and mixed-gender ones, and migrant women often turn to house-sharing as a strategy to enhance perceived safety. Data analyses identify the types of housing complexes women find more appealing, while interviews reveal trade-offs in cost, perceived safety, and logistical convenience between renting through digital platforms like Ziroom and more traditional methods. These complexities reflect constraints on women’s real housing capabilities within the shared housing market, even where apparent choice exists. Theoretically, this dissertation bridges the welfarist approach, which emphasizes quantifiable outcomes like cost and satisfaction, with the capability approach, which centers on people’s real opportunities and constraints. By integrating these perspectives, the research not only captures the extent of housing disparities but also reveals the structural and perceptual mechanisms through which they are produced and sustained. This dual lens enables a more nuanced understanding of housing inequality—one that accounts for both metric-based outcomes and the deeper, socially constructed dimensions of lived experience. Ultimately, this work contributes to housing studies by centering migrant individuals and groups whose experiences remain systematically disadvantaged. It calls for a research agenda that actively engages with the roles of migration, gendered experience, perception, and platform technologies in shaping access to housing and urban opportunity. The findings carry important implications for policymakers and planners committed to creating more just and inclusive housing systems in diverse and rapidly evolving cities.