The overarching research questions of the project are as follows: What are the effects of ongoing demographic, sociocultural and structural changes on the utilization of existing single-family home stocks in Germany and other industrialized countries? Which resulting economic, ecological, urban-structural and social challenges can be identified, how can they be approached and solved by society and policy alike? The project seeks to scrutinize these issues out of an interdisciplinary perspective. The investigations on the situation in Germany will be supplemented by comparative studies inside Europe, as well as on the situation in Japan and the United States. This will provide the basis for in depth international comparative work, extending beyond the confines of the project itself.