HABITAT is founded on a groundbreaking research hypothesis: socioeconomic inequality in major European cities is not only an economic phenomenon but the result
of systemic failures in urban legal systems. Over time, certain legal structures have actively contributed to the concentration of wealth while failing to protect vulnerable residents from increasing disparities.

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HABITAT investigates how laws and judicial decisions have shaped urban inequality, with a particular focus on their impact on middle- and lower-income groups, underprivileged populations, and vulnerable individuals. Through a comparative study of Berlin, London, Milan, Paris, and other European cities, the project examines the ways in which urban legal systems have reinforced structural inequities.

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HABITAT introduces an unprecedented legal research framework, integrating rigorous data analysis with an interdisciplinary methodology that combines:

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• Evolutionary analysis of legal orders, with a focus on the legal determinants of the built environment.
   

• Comparative analysis of urban legal systems, identifying shared regulatory patterns and their consequences.
   

• Regulatory impact assessment, employing econometrics, statistics, and advanced policy
  impact assessment methods such as difference-
  in-differences, regression discontinuity design,
  and instrumental variables, to measure the effects
  of legal frameworks on urban inequality.
   

• Normative modeling for just cities, using evidence- and process-based approaches tested through
  scenario analysis.