Prisons that are small-scale and community-integrated seem to have the best chances to ensure human rights, to normalize the living conditions, and to support a successful reintegration. But an in-depth understanding of how and why these prisons perform better, is still lacking. Moreover, in some specific situations, research highlights unforeseen problems with these prisons or houses. Finding the answers to these complex questions will require interdisciplinary and international collaboration. Interdisciplinary collaboration will provide insights into the interdependence between prisons and their structural, social, legal, and environmental context. International collaboration will enable us to collect knowledge already available in different jurisdictions, and to point out the gaps in this knowledge. Indeed, international research on this topic has mainly focused on the Nordic and Anglophone countries, but widening the scope will deepen our insights.