Socio-ecological inequalities in housing consumption: How income, urban form, and tenure drive carbon footprints

EEM HUB NL shares this open-access study (Ecological Economics, 2026) on socio-ecological inequalities in housing-related carbon footprints in the Netherlands. Using CBS register data, mobility survey data and life-cycle inventories, the authors show that per-person housing footprints differ sharply by income and are heavily shaped by urban form and mobility: higher-income households tend to live in lower-density areas, which drives car-related emissions. The paper also highlights a justice angle: private rental housing has relatively high emissions linked to poorer housing quality and higher energy use, while owner-occupied efficiency gains can be offset by suburbanisation and mobility (“rebound” effects). For EEM HUB NL members, this is a strong evidence base for linking housing, planning, tenure and mobility to portfolio decarbonisation and for designing policies that avoid regressive outcomes (e.g., focusing only on owner-occupied retrofit subsidies). 

Socio-ecological inequalities in housing consumption- How income, urban form, and tenure d.

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