Community-led housing in Europe – tools for cities beyond markets

There is growing interest among governments and other stakeholders in exploring complementary housing approaches that can provide stable, adequate and affordable housing options. Community-led housing represents a promising solution as they prioritize long-term affordability and collective stewardship. These models ensure that housing remains affordable over time through mechanisms such as separating land and building ownership, capping resale values, using long-term land leases, or adopting cooperative ownership structures. They also support active participation by residents in housing provision and management. As projects are typically developed in response to local needs and often include shared spaces and amenities—such as green areas, community rooms, or workspaces—that contribute to broader neighborhood cohesion and belonging.  The most common forms of community-led housing in Europe and North America are Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and housing cooperatives. These models use different legal and financial arrangements to protect housing from speculative pressure and to ensure it remains aligned with community priorities. While community-led initiatives have shown potential, they often remain limited in scale because of challenges in navigating regulatory and legal frameworks, securing land, and accessing finance. Increasing awareness of these models, adapting policy and regulatory frameworks, and improving access to funding are key in enabling a wider uptake and impact. This event will share experiences from different community-led housing initiatives in different parts of Europe and the Americas and will explore  how cities, governments and the EU can do to support this segment through financial, regulatory and institutional support.

Moderator: Annika Lenz or Francesca Lionetti; 

Speakers: 

1. Anna Dzokic, MOBA; 
2. Tarcyla Fidalgo Riberio, Catalytic Communities; 
3. Penny Kerrigan, elder from the Haida Gwaii nation in British Columbia, Canada; Marianna Gallo, World Habitat; 
4. Marcos Ros Sempere, Member of the European Parliament (tbc)