The dispute about housing that has flared up again takes the form of a political experiment regarding the play of forces in a society that was for too long complacent in the certainty that the housing economy could be regulated by the market alone. It is not just about fair distribution, but also about to what extent housing is allowed to become a commodity and, more importantly still, about what can be defined as housing in the first place. Housing is a fundamental aspect of society, and taking an interest in it is part of the basis of political selfdetermination. In light of this, Ware: Wohnen! looks at the history of the controversial debates in which housing has taken on the status of a mere commodity. However, Christopher Dell also shows that these conflicts should not just be seen from a negative point of view, as it is the tension between politics, the economy, and urban development that has shaped our current understanding of the urban.