1️⃣ A place-based approach is essential to ensure EU social policies reflect local realities and reduce disparities across Europe
2️⃣ Promote integrated, person-centred approaches to tackle poverty and exclusion.
3️⃣ Revise the EU Social Scoreboard and European Semester to provide relevant information on territorial and social realities.
4️⃣ Tackle poverty in all its forms, from homelessness to energy poverty.
5️⃣ Strengthen the focus on the housing crisis in the Action Plan
6️⃣ Strengthen the equal opportunity agenda to fight discrimination at all levels of governance.
7️⃣ Reinforce the EU Child Guarantee through stronger multi-level governance.
8️⃣ Put people and places at the centre of EU education, skills, and employment agenda.

Across Europe, cities are grappling with an intensifying housing crisis.

This handbook presents practical approaches addressing key housing challenges, highlighting strategies that combine affordability, social inclusion, and sustainability. The case studies focus on supporting vulnerable populations such as the elderly, single-parent families, and low-income homeowners, as well as essential workers and people experiencing homelessness.

Renaud Payre, Vice-President of Lyon Metropole and Eurocities Shadow Commissioner for Housing, together with the Mayor of Zagreb, Tomislav Tomašević, Shadow Commissioner for Social Inclusion of Eurocities, handed over the handbook to Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing.

The mayors call on the EU to establish an emergency financing stream to enable cities to tackle the lack of social and affordable housing supply, thereby recognising cities as key partners in implementing EU housing-related initiatives.

The mayors also request the creation of fast-track EU funding for cities to accelerate the deployment of EU-funded programmes on the ground, reform State Aid rules to boost public investment in social and affordable housing, and activate the national escape clause to enable greater investment in sustainable social and affordable housing.

At the recent Eurocities Social Affairs Forum in Amsterdam, politicians, city officials, and EU policymakers gathered to ask the hard questions: How can cities remain engines of equity and innovation in the face of ageing and economic disruption? What does it mean to design urban life that ensures the dignity of older adults, a fair future for younger generations and inclusive opportunities for new arrivals?

The forum may not have all the answers, but it achieved a common agreement on the ‘how’ – putting people at the forefront.

How are cities adapting to profound demographic shifts, including population ageing, migration, and evolving family structures?

This piece highlights the need for inclusive policies that promote intergenerational justice, support migrant integration, and address the disproportionate caregiving burdens on women. It emphasises the importance of co-creating strategies to ensure equitable and resilient urban environments for all residents.

This year’s Social Affairs Forum focuses on how cities can mitigate demographic change. It will address the challenges cities face in areas like housing, labour markets, and social cohesion as populations evolve.

The forum will explore urban transitions in ageing, labour, and intergenerational justice, drawing from Amsterdam’s experience. Through keynotes, workshops, and site visits, attendees will learn how cities can build resilient, inclusive communities with innovative policies and practices for the future.

Eurocities, in collaboration with the Housing First Europe Hub, has launched the podcast “Let’s Start with a Home”.

The podcast explores the Housing First model, featuring voices of people with lived experience of homelessness. It highlights strategies, challenges, and the ambition to make decent housing a reality for all by scaling and implementing Housing First in cities across Europe.

Eurocities has released a policy report titled “A New Urban Compass for the European Pillar of Social Rights and its Renewed Action Plan”, advocating for a stronger urban dimension in EU social policy.

The report calls for integrating territorial impact assessments, addressing urban poverty and housing crises, and enhancing cities’ involvement in initiatives like the Child Guarantee. It emphasises the need for a place-based approach to ensure inclusive and equitable social outcomes across Europe.

At the third Eurocities Social Summit, mayors called on the EU to prioritize social issues like affordable housing and inclusive services. They emphasized the need for greater involvement in shaping the European Pillar of Social Rights and direct access to EU funding.

The cities also highlighted that investing in people is crucial for Europe’s future, with over €15 billion already invested in social initiatives.

In the Housing First model, housing provision is combined with intensive but voluntary support to ensure an individualised approach to exit homelessness. Across the world, many Housing First programmes have demonstrated a success rate of over 80%.

This report explains how Brno, Glasgow, Lisbon, Lyon Metropole, and Vantaa implemented this model. Also available in French here.