The article provides an overview on the development of popular or social housing in Trieste from the first private initiatives in the mid-nineteenth century, joint efforts of Trieste inhabitants through Società triestina costruttrice di edifici popolari (Building Association for the Erection of Popular Dwellings in Trieste), to municipal intervention with the founding of Istituto comunale per le abitazioni minime (Municipal Institute for the Erection of Minimum-Size Dwellings) in 1902. The focus is on the political and economic backgrounds of the key stakeholders, and the architectural typology used. On the other hand, placing Trieste within a wider European context shows that its deve­lopment followed the examples of other industrial cities in the nineteenth century.