‘‘We are people too!’’. Experiencing housing precariousness and poverty in rural Greece

Rural housing precariousness calls for spatial and multi-scalar research. Understanding the mechanisms behind these challenges —and identifying how rural families build resilience— is critical for developing effective housing policies that promote social protection and inclusion. The paper examines the lived experiences of rural households in Greece, facing both visible and invisible forms of poverty and housing exclusion, through a comparative three-case study approach. Participants’ narratives identify four aspects of housing precariousness in rural areas: i) substandard housing and living conditions, ii) spatial segregation/exclusion, iii) facing foreclosure or reliance on relatives, and iv) high rents and declining housing stock. The research also sheds light to the structural and institutional dimensions of contemporary rural housing precariousness, and underscores the limitations of familial and community solidarity in rural Greece amidst multiple crises. The paper advocates for a different mode of governance in rural housing—one that takes into account local geographies and sociocultural specificities, as well as gender, ethnicity, ageing, and intersecting social identities.