Living

it was only in the mid-nineteenth century that the term “housing”, together with the term “urbanisation”, rose to the surface of the discourse in European languages. Up to that point, usage and tradition had embraced the issue of dwellings in the city and countryside, indicating a tacit presence. It was then that the “housing question” burst onto the scene. The housing question is not related to all houses; it focuses in particular on workers’ houses, low-cost and public housing; their shortage, insalubrity and cost contribute to establishing the guidelines of a social theory concerning the relationships between classes within the production process and the distribution of wealth. The essay focuses on the importance of what happened in the first three decades after the war, especially in England. The English situation was crucial to not only dismiss previous theories (which nevertheless survived, but were broken down into big thematic blocks), but also share the commercial and political action produced on a global scale by the United States. The European configuration of knowledge about living began to show signs of wear and tear in 1973–1974 during the first international oil crisis, testifying to the collective doubt regarding the development model that had been pursued up to that point. The configuration breaks down completely in the 1980s, followed by the worldwide victory of neoliberalism, the multiplication of the international movement of goods, persons, and information, and the overall increase of the effects produced by the anthropisation of the planet.