Strasbourg: Affordable housing, a challenge for European cities and metropolises
Co-organised by the City and Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, the Social Union for Housing and Housing Europe, the seminar “Affordable housing: a challenge for European cities and metropolises” brought together European housing stakeholders at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 17-18 January 2019.
Six months before the European elections, the seminar and the exchanges it hosted put housing at the heart of the European agenda, along with its articulation with other European policies (innovation, transport, energy). Inadequate housing was also addressed during the meeting, as well as the need for a strong European policy focused on housing and habitat. The seminar resulted in the adoption of the resolution attached below.
Roland Ries, Mayor of Strasbourg; Cédric Van Styvendael, President of Housing Europe; Jean-Louis Dumony, President of the Social Union for Habitat, and Catherine Trautmann, Vice-President of the Strasbourg EuroMetropolis, opened the conference. They highlighted the priorities to be adopted at Europe level in order to respond to inadequate housing, incoming migration, building affordable housing, reducing electricity costs…
MEPs Karima Delli, Guillaume Balas and Edouard Martin, and local elected representatives Josep Maria Montaner (Barcelona), Rui Neves Bochmann Franco (Lisbon), Kieran McCarthy (Cork), Ulrich von Kirchbach (Freiburg in Breisgau), Patrick Braouezec (Plaine Commune) and Syamak Agha Babaei (Eurometropolis of Strasbourg), enriched the seminar’s discussions. Other housing stakeholders from Europe were also very active, such as Marie Baléo (La Fabrique de la Cité, author of the report on affordable housing in European cities); Alice Pittini (Director of Studies at Housing Europe); Barbara Steenbergen (Representative of the International Union of Tenants), Colin Riegger (Secretary General of the Family Trade Union Confederation), and Monique Maitte (representative of the homeless collective).
The seminar recording is available here.
Final resolution on affordable housing
Source: translation from strasbourg.eu