Housing market bubbles and urban resilience: Applying systems theory

Cities. 2020 Nov:106:102925. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2020.102925. Epub 2020 Sep 10.

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to connect the academic discourses of housing market and urban resilience. For this purpose, we discussed the housing market and its performance within the broader housing system, with a specific attention to the transient state of the housing market bubble. Through a systematic literature review, the housing system is framed based on the involved actors and their interactions. This systems theory based view is then used to provide a broader definition of the variations in the market performance within the urban resilience literature. In this sense, the theoretical underpinning of the literature of resilience within the systems and the observed variations in the housing market performance is discussed in view of shocks and stressors to the system, as well as equilibria and responses to disturbances. The aim is to provide a foundation for an alternative theoretical framework that focuses on interactions within the market and can be used to understand the impact of the housing market's financial drivers on urban resilience.

Keywords: Housing market; Market bubbles; Market structure; Systems theory; Urban resilience.