Access to affordable housing as a basic human need and a decisive element to the wellbeing and personal growth of citizens has become increasingly difficult in many EU cities. EU Cohesion Policy recognises affordable housing as a fundamental to the social dimension of sustainable urban development, crucial for social cohesion and inclusive growth. Ensuring all citizens can access adequate, safe and affordable housing is not a only a fundamental right, but also reduces disparities, promotes social inclusion, and enhances quality of life across the city.

While provision of quality affordable housing is a challenging and multi-faceted problem that involves sectoral cooperation, there is an inordinate number of resources that recognise the complexity of the matter, while providing solutions to remedy this. To help achieve this, EU towns and cities develop diverse housing models, such as co-housing and housing cooperatives that touch on the concept of social housing that is an example of a sustainable approach to housing.

This section explores aspects including homelessness prevention, social and supportive housing programmes, and sustainable and affordable housing solutions including cooperatives. It equally promotes the right to housing for all, while dealing with challenges such as gentrification and housing market speculation.