In a landscape increasingly shaped by the intersecting pressures of an ageing population, growing housing insecurity among youth, and the mounting demand for integrated social services, the city of Fuenlabrada has quietly positioned itself as a blueprint for its approach on older adults in SHARE project.
In May 2025, the project received one of the coveted Índice DEC awards, a distinction granted by the Asociación Estatal de Directoras y Gerentes de Servicios Sociales de España, celebrating innovative public policies that promote autonomy and the ability of dependent individuals—particularly older adults—to remain in their homes with dignity and support. The award, received by Fuenlabrada’s mayor Javier Ayala during the national presentation of the 2024 Social Services Development Index, underscores the project’s growing reputation as a pioneering European model that not only addresses housing but also touches on intergenerational solidarity, participatory governance, and the integration of social services within urban development strategies.
The public endorsement of SHARE has also been supported by local outreach, and on May 19, Mayor Ayala presented the initiative to the city’s residents in a broad civic meeting, with the scope of fostering transparency, community engagement, and early ownership of what is anticipated to become a project pilot for the city.
This initiative received meaningful attention in a recent UNED “Ciudad de encuentro” televised documentary. The Canal UNED is the online learning platform offered by the Spanish National Distance Education University (UNED) which is among the partners of SHARE project. The documentary underscores SHARE’s potential as a template for the cities and featured reflective commentary from the project's actors. Among those interviewed was Antonio López Peláez, professor of Social Work at UNED, who offered a scholarly lens, observing that
stressing how schemes like SHARE signal a structural shift toward inclusive urban models. Mayor Javier Ayala appeared on screen reaffirming local commitment to innovation in social housing policy, while residents such as José Luis González, Eugenio Fernández Romero, Dolores Ruiz Martín, and Sergio Martín Muñoz—interviewed by the UNED channel—reflected on the social and emotional impact of SHARE’s premise, articulating unanimous hope that the initiative would foster a sense of belonging, reduce isolation, and reinvigorate neighborhood life.
While the public celebration of the project might suggest a seamless trajectory, the internal dynamics reveal a far more complex, adaptive, and collaborative process—one involving ongoing negotiation, timeline recalibrations, careful legal structuring, and active participation from a broad network of institutional and local stakeholders, complemented by transnational partnerships in Italy, Lithuania, and Greece.
In order to advance with the implementation of the project, which started with the architectural competition for the San Esteban school, it has been necessary to streamlined working groups to advance architectural, legal, and social dimensions, adjusting timelines in the wake of tender delays, and pressing ahead to meet a construction start in 2026 and resident move-in by February 2027, a schedule that, though ambitious, remains within reach ahead of the project’s mid‑2027 completion.
A cornerstone of SHARE lies in its participant selection design, which prioritizes elderly homeowners in Fuenlabrada who are at least 65 years old, have lived locally for a minimum of two years, and maintain sufficient autonomy for independent living, with additional evaluation for homes in central locations or lacking accessibility. Simultaneously, legal arrangements remain under active development, with legal counsel advising on a model whereby the city would be facilitating contractual agreements for the elderly in the cohousing and the young renters while ensuring maintenance and equitable terms.
Acknowledging the psychological and practical demands of relocation, SHARE has also initiated a preparatory phase spanning the year before move-in to support adaptation, and is planning workshops with social workers to identify evolving care needs for residents still living at home, collaborating with Matia to tailor design solutions accordingly.
Meanwhile, the renovation of the school—led by the winning architecture firm Entresitio—is being accelerated to meet project deadlines.
About this resource
The European Urban Initiative is an essential tool of the urban dimension of Cohesion Policy for the 2021-2027 programming period. The initiative established by the European Union supports cities of all sizes, to build their capacity and knowledge, to support innovation and develop transferable and scalable innovative solutions to urban challenges of EU relevance.
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