Housing for All
Better EU policies for more and better homes
Brussels, 22 February 2016 | Published in Urban, SocialBetter EU Policies for More and Better Homes! A Housing Europe campaign that builds on what works.
After evaluating the “State of Housing in the EU” in 2015, Housing Europe has launched the campaign “Housing for All” that served as an invitation for cooperation at EU level between the European Union institutions, the member states, the local authorities and the housing providers with the overall aim to boost the supply of affordable homes for liveable communities.
At a time when many European countries have to adapt their housing policies to the changing needs we call for EU institutions, EU member states, local authorities and housing providers to work together to boost the supply of affordable homes for liveable communities bearing three key principles in mind:
- Producing more flexible and evidence-based policies
- Protecting the increasing numbers of the vulnerable groups of the population
- Making space for emerging alternatives, such as Community Land Trust, Shared Ownership etc.
The campaign generated concrete policy suggestions on issues that directly or indirectly affect the housing policies of all member states
What can be done? Overview of the campaign asks
The campaign aims to initiate a participatory process that will link up practitioners with policy makers. The conclusions of the campaign will be announced at a joint conference with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in September in Geneva. However, Housing Europe has already highlighted three main measures that can change the course of the housing policies:
1. More public, cooperative and social homes should be built
2. Increase the quality of existing homes
3. Make the cities more inclusive
Check out the Campaign Asks in detail
Read MoreThe campaign will conclude at the Habitat III in Quito in October, feeding into the final resolution of the UN world congress that will set out the New Urban Agenda for the next 20 years.
The European Responsible Housing Awards
A key component of the campaign is knowledge sharing that will provide with examples that work well on the ground. The second edition of the European Responsible Housing Awards showcases 62 best practices from 9 countries that have been submitted to the 4 categories that correspond to the core elements of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):
- Local Social Sustainability
- Environmental Sustainability
- Good governance and fair relations with stakeholders
- Responsible human resources management
Housing associations from France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are now waiting for the jury's verdict.
The Award Ceremony will take place in Brussels, on November 23rd, hosted by the Committee of the Regions.
Save the dates
- 17 March, Prague: Joint event by Housing Europe & IUT at the Habitat III regional conference
- 15 September, Geneva: Joint Conference with the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on Housing Policies
- 17-20 October, Quito: Habitat III
- 23 November, Brussels: European Responsible Housing Award Ceremony