Mapping four decades of housing inequality research: Trends, insights, knowledge gaps, and research directions

Housing inequality is a pressing issue that affects the lives of millions of people worldwide. This study aims to determine trends, generate insights, and identify knowledge gaps in housing inequality research by systematically mapping and analysing the academic literature. As for the systematic literature review method, the PRISMA approach is employed to review literature published during the last four decades. The review is enriched with bibliometric analytics—e.g., research trends; influential publications, co-occurrence network of terms, geographical distribution—and content analysis techniques to provide future research directions. The analysis revealed four main research themes, comprising housing discrimination, housing market and urbanisation, the relationship of housing inequality with health and education, and housing inequalities among the young adult population. The majority of these studies centred their research on China. The findings in the following areas consolidate the understanding of housing inequality: (a) Housing inequality as a product of housing market dynamics; (b) Housing inequality as a condition affecting different segments of the population disparately; (c) Housing inequality as a socio-cultural concept; (d) Housing inequality as an outcome of public policy. This study advocates for multifaceted policy interventions, and the findings, which contribute to achieving relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), provide insights for urban and housing policymakers and urban planners in addressing housing inequality problems.