The Housing Policies of the future
How to make them work
Brussels, 1 September 2016 | Published in Energy, Urban, Economy, Social
Europe’s public, cooperative and social housing providers come together with decision makers of the UNECE region and the Slovak Presidency of the EU for an international conference on 15 September in Geneva with the ambition to showcase the impact of successful housing policies.
Many countries in Europe are at the crossroads of reforming their housing systems under pressure of an extended housing crisis; more affordable homes are needed. How can the policy makers respond to these changing needs? What is the right policy mix? The conference “The Housing Policies of the future: How to make them work” is taking place on September 15th at the UN European Headquarters, the Palace of Nations in Geneva and will bring together more than 180 stakeholders, including housing providers, representatives from a wide range of housing ministry representatives from the UNECE region, local authorities, international institutions, academia and from the civil society.
Better EU policies for more and better homes should just be based on what works and this is why this capacity building event will share these ideas that are already in place and will generate concrete policy suggestions on issues that directly or indirectly affect the housing policies of all member states.
The President of Housing Europe, Marc Calon explains why Housing Europe joined forces with the UNECE Committee of Housing and Land Management, the Slovak Presidency of the EU and the Cooperative Housing International:
“The sooner we accept the new reality and we start acting with it in mind in a collective manner the more chances we have to come up with the right mix of inclusive housing policies of our future. This conference and our “Housing for All” campaign is our call for a change of course”.
Peter Cachola Schmal, the Curator of the German Pavilion of the latest Venice Biennale of Architecture will be the keynote speaker, making the case that “We don’t have a refugee crisis, we have a housing crisis.”
The programme will unfold in three sessions that will focus on the wider social impact of housing, on the key question of funding and all other key conditions that could boost construction and renovation as well as on Urban Development and Social Inclusion. Panellists will present their ideas and experiences and will have the chance to discuss both with each other and with all delegates in the room, so that they can collectively produce a set of recommendations per session.
Additionally, two Pecha Kucha sessions at noon will provide with an overview of the emerging responses to housing needs and of the actions taken by cities for the integration of the numerous and diverse newcomers. Inspiring stories in 20 images in more than 20 seconds per image.
