Housing, Homelessness and Capabilities

In this paper the work of Martha Nussbaum (in which 10 “essential” functions required for human life are identified) is used as a framework for using “moderate essentialism” in the study of housing – or more specifically, to introduce moderate essentialism framed through the capabilities and critical realism, to a theoretical interpretation of what housing represents, as both an enabling and constraining force by which to attain these 10 essential functions. Data from a recent qualitative study of transitions through homelessness conducted in the UK is used to illustrate the resonance that these 10 functions may (or may not) have for individuals to live a “well lived” life. A fit is found; it is clear that housing is closely related, although this is a complex relationship with the capability to attain one function at times being at the expense of another. It is postulated that the intersection of these functions (and their “essentialist” nature) provides an approach for future consideration of the role housing has in enabling a “well lived” life.