Global Emergency, Local Policies: Building Long-Term Public Responses to the Housing Crisis

Housing affordability has become one of the defining political and economic challenges of our time, affecting cities across Europe and beyond. Addressing it requires moving beyond emergency responses towards more structural, coordinated, and rights-based housing policies. At the same time, moving from emergency responses to more structural action requires stronger public leadership, coordination, and a clearer understanding of housing as a social, urban, and political priority. Bringing together international, local, policy and civil society perspectives, the session will reflect on how cities can respond to housing pressure with more ambitious, long-term, and systemic strategies, examining how different governments are advancing policy innovation, institutional reform, and regulatory action.