DAY 1 – Changing the story of housing in Europe, one district at a time

Across Europe, skyrocketing rents and a severe lack of affordable options are pushing families towards housing precarity. Between 2010 and 2023, residential property prices in the EU rose by 50%, while rents increased by 23%. At the same time, the EU has committed to climate neutrality by 2050, requiring a massive scale-up of building renovations. The challenge is threefold: renovate our ageing building stock at scale, ensure these efforts are socially inclusive, and do not exacerbate the affordability crisis. 

The Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI) was designed to bridge these agendas—supporting social and affordable housing providers in delivering also the Renovation Wave without deepening affordability pressures. The core lesson is that we must move beyond siloed policies. A district-level approach treats neighbourhoods as interconnected systems where housing, energy, mobility, and public space are addressed together. This integrated vision aligns with the New European Bauhaus (NEB), which emphasizes citizen participation, co-creation, and the intersection of sustainability, inclusion, and quality of experience. 

After four years, the AHI is now reaching its end. This final conference will take stock of its achievements—model approaches, needs analyses from Lighthouse Districts, and strategies to overcome financial and coordination gaps—and explore how these pioneering efforts can be scaled into a mainstream European standard, as the means to address the three aforementioned challenges. 

On Day 1, we will take stock of the Affordable Housing Initiative and explore scaling up district-level approaches, while on Day 2, we will deep-dive into two critical dimensions—mobility and electrification. 

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DAY 1 – 3 December 2026
Committee of the Regions (room JDE52)

 Master of Ceremony: Diana Yordanova, Housing Europe 

Session #1: Four years of the Affordable Housing Initiative: what was achieved, what did we learn

As the Affordable Housing Initiative concludes its four-year period, this session takes stock of what has been accomplished—including real-world model approaches, needs analyses from the Lighthouse Districts, and strategies to overcome coordination costs and financial gaps that still hinder district-level renovation. It then explores key principles for integrated approaches with researchers and practitioners, examining what makes district-level renovation work in practice, from district scale technologies to social integration. Finally, representatives from the Lighthouse Districts share their experiences, covering the support needed, the challenges encountered, and the solutions that emerged, with the role of residents as a cross-cutting theme throughout.

9:00 | Welcome addresses and keynote speeches

Andres Jaadla (Committee of the Regions member and Chairman of EKYL)
Stefan Moser (Strategy and Coordination of EU Task Force)
Marco Corradi (President of Housing Europe) 

9:30 | The Affordable Housing Initiative in review: Results and impact

This session will take stock of the Affordable Housing Initiative after its four-year period, summarising what has been accomplished, the lessons learned, including insights from the work with the Lighthouse Districts, and what impact. 

João Gonçalves (Innovation Director, Housing Europe) 

9:50 | Key Principles for Integrated Approaches

This session will explore the core ingredients of comprehensive projects at the neighbourhood level, examining what makes renovation a success in practice, from district-scale technologies to social integration. Practitioners from the field help clarify how technical, social and environmental goals can be balanced within a single project. 

Holger Wallbaum (Chalmers University of Technology)
Martha Giannakopoulou (Housing Expert for the European Urban Initiative)
Christoph Lechner (Cehl Architects)
Paul Stegers (Woon Compagnie)

10:50 | Coffee break

11:00 | AHI Districts: What support was(is) needed

This session will hear from a few Lighthouse Districts about the support required, encountered challenges and the solutions that emerged, with the role of residents as a cross-cutting theme throughout. Attendees will draw practical lessons on local capacity, support needs and what is required to replicate similar approaches elsewhere.

Fernanda Rodrigues (Matosinhos Habit)
José Ospina (Carbery Housing Association) (tbc) 
Arisztid Ditzendy (MR Community Fund)

Moderator: Klodian Gradeci (SINTEF) 

12:00 | Lunch Break & Meet the Districts (interactive walk-around and conversations with district representatives)

Session #2: What’s next? Scaling up lighthouse districts

With funding gaps and rising costs persisting, the current discourse on affordable housing faces a critical tension: the vision of integrated, proximity-based districts—moved by the New European Bauhaus—versus the reality of rising costs and siloed policymaking. Arguably, market forces have been pushing affordable housing to the peripheries and favouring one-off household-level renovations, whereas integrated district-level renovation—more expensive and complex—remains the exception rather than the rule. 

Notwithstanding recent policies and funding arrangements, a structural disconnect persists between climate objectives and implementation at scale. Current instruments tend to be dispersed across institutions, financing channels, governance, and delivery arrangements. Many initiatives succeed in backing individual projects, yet they are not delivery systems capable of scale and stable investment. 

Confronting this dichotomy, this session will connect governance, finance, and democracy—and seek to frame the next steps of the housing agenda. Participants will debate questions such as: how can isolated “lighthouse” districts become widespread models and regulatory frameworks to be replicated across diverse local contexts? How can fragmented funding streams be structured and blended to carry both upfront costs and long-term stewardship of affordable districts? And, finally, how to move from consultation as an afterthought to genuine resident co-decision, so that they are designed by and for the communities that live in them.  

13:30 | Institutions & Mayors: What is needed at EU level to change the story of housing in Europe?

Haris Doukas (Mayor of Athens)
Mohamed Ridouani (Mayor of Leuven and President of Energy Cities) (tbc)
Matthew Baldwin (Housing Task Force)(tbc)
Marie Linder (International Union of Tenants) 

Chair: Sorcha Edwards (Housing Europe) 

14:00 | Keynote: Designing Liveable Neighbourhoods for Everyday Life

This keynote speaker will offer the vision of a liveable, inclusive and well-suited to everyday life neighbourhood, connecting to the quality of experience emphasised by the New European Bauhaus. Their work is meant to inspire subsequent sessions. 

Andreas Michelsen (Gehl Architects)

14:15 | HOW can Europe finance and support holistic housing projects and overcome the housing crisis?

We will examine how different funding streams—EU, national and regional grants, subsidies, tax credits, repayable financing, or alternative models —should be structured to finance integrated district-level renovation. With the aim of identifying practical ways to finance and support holistic housing projects, the panel will discuss how funding can effectively reach local actors and whether holistic projects can be financially viable at scale.

Marcos Ros Sempere (MEP, Group of Socialists and Democrats)
Sanja Jerkovic, Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets, Croatia (tbc)
Eduard Puig (GNE FInance)
Kamil Dörfler (EIB)

Moderator: Julien Dijol (Housing Europe)

15:15 | Coffee break

15:30 | WHAT to replicate and scale up for affordable, thriving districts, and what to avoid?

At the moment when the National Building Plans are being drafted, policymakers, housing providers, researchers and the New European Bauhaus team will discuss the elements of integrated, affordable districts that merit replication or scaling up, and the pitfalls to be avoided. Attendees will take away which models have worked, which have not, and what should be taken forward. 

Elena Montani (Head of Unit New European Bauhaus)
Bent Madsen (BL)(tbc)
Bjorn Mallants (Director of social housing company Woontrots & Vice-chair of Housing Europe Energy Committee)
Dali Malnoury (Community Land Trust Belgium / Upcycling Trust project)
Ivana Katuric (Urbanext)(tbc)

16:30 | Networking drinks

Marco Corradi (Housing Europe)
Marie Linder (IUT)
Mohamed Ridouani (Mayor of Leuven and President of Energy Cities) (tbc) 

17:00 | End of DAY 1

REGISTER FOR THE EVENT     DAY 2 AGENDA