2025
urbaMonde-France and others
The policy brief titled "Collaborative Housing in Europe - Living Laboratories of the Future," published by the CO-HOPE research consortium in 2025, explores Collaborative Housing (CH) as an innovative solution to pressing social and environmental challenges in urban living. Funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, the research involves experts from various fields across five European countries and highlights CH's role in promoting social integration and sustainability, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the key findings emphasizes the benefits of CH, showcasing how shared spaces foster social connections and collective decision-making, leading to enhanced trust and mutual support among residents. During the pandemic, CH communities demonstrated remarkable resilience, quickly adapting to challenges and reporting lower levels of stress and isolation compared to traditional housing. The brief also notes significant health improvements among older adults living in CH, delaying the need for institutional care through increased social interactions and a sense of community. However, the document identifies challenges in scaling up these initiatives, including legal barriers, high workloads for project initiators, and limited public awareness. To address these issues, the brief proposes several policy recommendations, such as creating public databases for CH information, incorporating legal frameworks to support collective ownership models, and securing access to land and funding. By advocating for these changes, the brief positions Collaborative Housing as a viable alternative to conventional housing, offering a roadmap for policymakers and practitioners aiming to enhance urban living across Europe.
The document titled "Policy Brief: Collaborative Housing in Europe - Living Laboratories of the Future" was published by the CO-HOPE research consortium in 2025. The consortium includes researchers and practitioners from Austria, France, Spain, Sweden, and Finland, with expertise in urban planning, architecture, geography, social work, and health. The project was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research program and co-funded by other national and regional entities. It was led by urbaMonde-France and involved interdisciplinary research conducted from 2022 to 2024.
Context
The document examines Collaborative Housing (CH) as an alternative housing model that combines private living spaces with shared common areas to foster social integration, mutual support, and ecological living. It particularly focuses on the resilience of such communities during the COVID-19 pandemic through surveys and case studies across five European countries. The findings highlight the potential of Collaborative Housing to address societal challenges like loneliness, housing affordability, and environmental sustainability.
Key Findings
1. Benefits of Collaborative Housing
- Social Integration and Support: Residents benefit from shared spaces and collective decision-making processes, which foster trust, mutual care, and solidarity.
- Resilience During Crises: During COVID-19 lockdowns, CH communities adapted quickly through collective decision-making and creative use of shared spaces. Many residents reported reduced stress and isolation compared to conventional housing.
- Health and Well-being: Older adults in CH reported improved physical and mental health due to daily social interactions, better nutrition, and a sense of purpose. Collaborative Housing delayed the need for institutional care for many seniors.
2. Diversity in Collaborative Housing
- CH projects vary widely in structure:
- Initiation Models: Bottom-up (resident-led), top-down (developer-led), or partnerships.
- Demographics: Projects cater to intergenerational groups or specific age groups like seniors.
- Urban vs Rural Settings: While most case studies are urban or suburban, CH is also common in rural areas.
3. Challenges in Scaling Up
- Legal Barriers: Many countries lack legal frameworks recognizing CH, making land acquisition and funding difficult.
- High Workload for Initiators: Starting a CH project requires significant unpaid effort in planning, securing resources, and navigating bureaucracy.
- Limited Awareness: Misconceptions about CH persist among policymakers, developers, and citizens.
4. Policy Recommendations
To scale up Collaborative Housing across Europe, the document proposes:
- Raising Awareness:
- Create public databases and local information centers for guidance on CH.
- Support awareness campaigns through events, media projects, and educational programs.
- Legal Frameworks:
- Incorporate CH into national housing laws with specific legal statuses for collective ownership or rental models.
- Recognize CH as a public-interest developer to provide access to tax incentives and subsidies.
- Access to Land and Funding:
- Preallocate land for CH projects in municipal development plans.
- Provide public land leases or sales to non-speculative CH initiatives.
- Encourage banks to offer tailored financial services for CH groups.
- Support for Common Spaces:
- Fund the development of shared spaces that are central to CH communities.
- Subsidize professional facilitators to guide groups through the planning process.
5. Examples of Best Practices
- Cities like Vienna have integrated CH into urban development through concept tenders for municipal land.
- Financial innovations include long-term collective loans (e.g., Rabobank in the Netherlands) and grants for process facilitation (e.g., Carinthia in Austria).
Conclusion
The document positions Collaborative Housing as a "living laboratory" for sustainable urban living that can address pressing issues like affordable housing shortages, social isolation, and environmental challenges. However, scaling up requires political will, legal reforms, financial support mechanisms, and increased public awareness.
This policy brief serves as a roadmap for policymakers, practitioners, and citizens interested in advancing Collaborative Housing as a viable alternative to conventional housing models across Europe.