Social housing initiatives

Public housing in the United Kingdom provided the majority of rented accommodation in the country until 2011. Houses built for public or social housing use are built by local authorities and collectively known as council houses. Before 1865, housing for the poor was provided solely by the private sector. Council houses were built on council estates, where frequently other amenities like schools and shops were provided. From the 1950s, blocks of flats and three- or four-storey blocks of maisonnettes were widely built too. Flats and houses were also built in mixed estates.

Public housing may be a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providing affordable housing. Social housing can also be seen as a potential remedy to housing inequality. Some social housing organizations construct for purchase, particularly in Spain and to an extent elsewhere.

The Fuggerei is the world's oldest social housing complex still in use. It is a walled enclave within the city of Augsburg, Bavaria. It takes its name from the Fugger family and was founded in 1516 by Jakob Fugger the Younger (known as "Jakob Fugger the Rich") as a place where the needy citizens of Augsburg could be housed. By 1523, 52 houses had been built, and in the coming years the area expanded with various streets, small squares and a church. The gates were locked at night, so the Fuggerei was, in its own right, very similar to a small independent medieval town. It is still inhabited today, affording it the status of being the oldest social housing project in the world.