Urban legal systems have played a causal role in exacerbating the concentration of wealth. Consequently, these systems have proved inadequate in tackling growing socio-economic inequality in the major cities of the European Union. Against this backdrop, the EU-funded HABITAT project explores an innovative research hypothesis: that the main cause of socio-economic inequality in major European cities lies in the failures of urban legal systems. HABITAT examines the main forms of urban inequality from a legal and economic perspective. It analyses the evolution of legal systems and assesses the impact of laws and court rulings which, according to the research hypothesis, have accelerated urban inequalities. The analysis draws on case studies of Berlin, London, Milan and Paris.