Dynamics and Challenges of Housing

The event will be livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube & Instagram

Housing: A Challenge Without Borders I Presentation

We are currently going through one of the most challenging periods in our history, where all social sectors have been invaded by successive interrogations. Housing, as a sector that defends a recognized cross-cutting right, has been placed in the face of constant stimulus in recent years, which have intensified with the constraints arising from the global crisis we face.

Most European countries have been assuming and strengthening the central role of housing and the materialisation of rehabilitation interventions on the building, as key factors for improving the quality of life of populations, for the revitalization and competitiveness of cities and territories and for social and territorial cohesion. The legislative package for a New Generation of Housing Policies is the way to this goal, which can be found in the other European countries.

The publication of the Community Renovation Wave Strategy is representative of the European Commission's focus and commitment to the objective “housing for all”.

The challenges posed by housing and rehabilitation policies - economic, functional, environmental and social - demonstrate the need for an integrated and cross-cutting approach to enable the materialization of projects in line with this multiplicity of objectives.

This integrated and transversal approach to housing policies must necessarily being seen as a humanized forum, a forum to share social best practices, a stage for the development of the daily dynamics of social actors to whom housing policies are intended.

In addition to these assumptions, the pandemic situation that the world is experiencing, which has made new housing challenges more evident and recognised in the cross-country of European countries. Prior to recent events, we found that people spend on average more than 50% of their time in housing, and the current challenges have accentuated this paradigm, through the combination of housing with the workplace, which can transpose us to values predictably higher than 80%.

The pandemic situation caused by COVID-19 has strengthened the role of housing as spaces for families to remain, not only to live, but also to work, study and for most of the daily activities of each household, including for their reciprocal coexistence.

This new reality, take us to another level, we must now, focus the notion around a construction or rehabilitation strategy with more requirements, ensuring an effective improvement of buildings and their surroundings, facing thermal discomfort and promoting social inclusion, more circular practices and energy efficiency. These goals require knowledgeable technical structures, capable and equipped with instruments that allow an effective perception of people needs in their houses, as well as the performance of buildings and their constructive solutions.

It is in this area that we must focus the importance of dialogue between constructive languages and behavioural ways when we discuss singularity of housing. Ways of building and planning cannot depart from pre-concepts. It is in this dialogue between the specialists, engineers and sociologists, that developing must be done. Housing to citizens and more inclusive of diversity.

On the other hand, this new reality faces other challenges related to the issue of access to housing by other social classes, due to the structural financial consequences by pandemic in the family’s economics.

Once again, access to housing and the definition of public policies play a very important role of social balance here, functioning as a lever for the social development of families.

For that, we must reinforce the need for concerted and oriented planning from a macro perspective, which influences and induces government and local housing policies for a consistent way with international and national dynamics. At the heart of this event is precisely the objective of an integrated and transversal vision where they are shared in different dimensions, practices, strategies, developments and challenges in mater of housing and their surroundings, from a local, national and international perspective.

Housing: A Organizing Challenge I Organizing Committee

Joaquim Moreira I Project Manager at Construction Institute (FEUP-UP)

Tiago Maia I Executive Board Member of MatosinhosHabit

Pedro Pinto Jesus I CEO of Gebalis

Abderrahim Khairi | Events Coordinator at Housing Europe

Housing: A Challenge of All I Event

Video conference (e.g. Zoom) | 23 June 2021

Live Streaming | Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, Website

Promoters I Municipality of Lisbon, Municipality of Matosinhos, Gebalis, MatosinhosHabit, Construction Institute - FEUP, Housing Europe.

Target Audience I Mayors, leaders and technicians of Local Authorities. Technicians of construction companies. Technicians of housing management and maintenance companies. Technicians in the area of materials and energy efficiency.

Housing: A Challenge with Ideas I Programme

23 JUNE I 2021