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Horizon 2020 - Challenge 6 - Innovative
spatial and urban planning and design,
Brainstorming stakeholder workshop, Rome, 28 March 2013
Contribution of CECODHAS Housing Europe – the European Federation of Public,
Cooperative and Social Housing
M. Julien DIJOL, Policy Coordinator

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The challenges for affordable housing providers and
European research (1/3)
 The financing challenge: The lack of long term financing
instruments, not contingent with the economic situation
(on the contrary there is a need for contra cyclical
instruments) but rather contingent with the housing needs
(number of households and demography are not related
with economic situation);
 The double integration challenge: The difficulty to house
increasingly heterogeneous households (in terms of
income, employment status, ethnic background, age…) in
places that are often deprived neighbourhoods that need
reconnection with mainstream urban fabric. Those
situations often generate crime, vandalism, poor quality of
life and a sense of marginalisation;

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The challenges for affordable housing providers and
European research (2/3)
 The climate and social justice challenge: Already now new
build and renovation are carried out at a high level of
energy performance. There are increasing doubts about the
possibility to combine the ecological imperative with the
necessity to build new housing at low cost and great
quantity in order to meet the current and future housing
needs;
 The housing exclusion challenge: In most Member States
for which recent data are available, homelessness seems to
be on the rise. In this context housing policy makers will
assign housing providers new tasks that will require new
skills and new resource. In a time where the demand for
affordable housing is growing from many segments of the
society, this represents a new challenge;

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The challenges for affordable housing providers and
European research (3/3)
 The declining city challenge: The “abandonment” of other
cities, very often former industrial centres: What can be
done to help these cities to maintain a good quality of life
and services and to find appropriate solutions to their
problems, at a time when, as a reaction to demographic
decline, public policies are reducing their housing efforts
by neglecting the need for energy rehabilitation and also
the need to provide housing that is truly social?;
 The sectorial fragmentation challenge: the absence of
sectorial actors (in that case social housing organisations
be they public, cooperative, private non for profit)
managing a critical mass of the housing stock makes
housing policy virtually impossible. At a time where
housing markets need to be carefully monitored and
regulated to avoid further housing led crises, this sectorial
fragmentation is an obstacle to optimal housing policies.

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How can Horizon 2020 contribute to
address these challenges?
 Understanding the demographics: Need research on
housing shortage/housing needs, both in general (at national
level: do MS carry out an analysis of expected housing needs
compared to population trends?) and in particular in
economically attractive urban areas (Where is it most
needed and how to deal with it? Access to affordable
housing is needed to make sure people can move to where
the jobs are. But how to do it in areas where costs tend to
make new housing provision really expensive?.
Examples:
The necessity to forecast the evolution of households in terms of
number, size, age, regions… (in UK)

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 Measuring the broad societal impact of long term
investment in affordable housing and proposing new ways for
the public accountancy to integrate those costs and gains (i.e.
investing in affordable housing should not only count as expenditure
but should also count as gain-generating / cost-saving activities)
more concretely: need to carry out cost benefit analysis of changing
expenditure flows e.g. investing in adapting housing for the elderly
to reduce care costs, reducing rent allowance bills by investing in
housing, reducing energy bill subsidies by investing in efficiency
homes
Examples:
Every £1 spent adapting 100,000 homes where a serious fall is likely to
occur saves the NHS £69.37 over 10 years
Every £1.20 spent on decent homes saves the taxpayer £1.80 on the
cost of youngsters not in education, employment or training (Neets)*
Source: House proud campaign, inside housing (UK)

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 Researching new forms of land/home/energy
ownership/use: The question of legitimacy and efficiency of
the ownership and use of goods and services (like housing
and energy) in a globalized and complex world push some
actors to call for more community based ownership (theory
of commons/community land trust) and use of land and
homes and off the market production and consumption of
energy.
How would this be possible in a integrated market such as
the EU bearing given :
- The requirements of freedom of choice, contribution to the
grid and safety related to energy market
- The growing housing needs in the EU that may advocate for
national strategies and actors

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In conclusion: beyond new research, need to capitalise
on the existing one
 Already several FP7 projects tackled some of the issues
mentioned: TEN LAW – NEU JOBS – PACEISH…
 But also forms of research-actions (within URBACT II for
instance)
 Transforming all this knowledge into a know-how is a (huge)
job itself  needs budget for capitalisation!
Julien Dijol
Policy Coordinator, CECODHAS Housing Europe
julien.dijol@housingeurope.eu
www.housingeurope.eu