The OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth gathered for their sixth meeting on 13 June 2023 at the Brussels Urban Summit. They endorsed the “Brussels Blueprint for Affordable Cities and Housing for All” to ease short-term pressures on the cost of living and to ramp up action on housing.

This paper highlights the systemic issues underlying the housing crisis in cities, and offers inspiring examples of how cities in OECD countries and beyond have been addressing these challenges.

©GettyImages

In Bogotá, 48% of households are headed by women, and yet those women face far greater challenges than men. Women require housing solutions that support them in finding work, caring for others and escaping domestic violence and the internal armed conflict.

Reykjavik, like so many other fast-growing cities, faces the challenge of ensuring sustainable growth while reducing its environmental footprint and meeting the needs of low-income groups. Over the past 40 years, around 700 apartments have been built each year. During the last five years that number has grown to 1,200.

In November 2020, Grigny was ranked as the poorest town in mainland France, with a poverty rate of 45%. At the heart of this battle against poverty lies a right to housing. The city and the state are putting in place exceptional measures to revive the city.

In 2012, Tel Aviv-Yafo was the first municipality in Israel to build affordable rental housing for its residents. Now under a new policy, every new residential project built on privately owned land must provide for 15%-20% of units to be allocated affordable housing.

Stockholm aims to create a fairer and more equal housing market. The city is planning for 140 000 new homes before 2030, providing different types of housing in regards to size, rental or owning, as well as affordable housing.

Riga has lost a third of its population since 1991. At the same time, the demands of its residents are rising. They are seeking high-quality services and energy-efficient housing. Riga is taking unprecedented and innovative steps to turn these challenges into opportunities.

Montréal has adopted the By-law for a Diverse Metropolis, which requires all developments of 5 dwellings to include 20% social housing, 20% affordable housing and 20% family housing.

Düsseldorf’s Housing Action Plan requires that private developments allow for at least 50% of units to be allocated to publicly subsidised and price-controlled housing. Priority access is given to affordable housing for trainees and unskilled workers, but the plan also promotes the construction of housing for a healthy social mix of people within the city.

In the past thirty years, the city of Bratislava has been losing its public housing stock, leaving the city with only 1% of the stock. Bratislava is striving to find new ways to enable new housing in areas that are in line with the public interest.

For Brussels, providing decent housing for new residents and combatting the effects of climate change must go hand-in-hand. The City of Brussels is aiming for 100% green energy consumption and carbon neutrality by 2050, with intermediate targets of 55% carbon emissions by 2030, and 75% by 2040.

Since 2015, house prices and rents in Milan have soared by more than 40%. This is partly down to the city’s success in attracting new residents. In addition to the 167,000 citizens under 15 years of age, around 700,000 people moved to Milan between 2008-22. Less than 40% of current inhabitants were Milanese 15 years ago.

Tallinn is deploying new infrastructure to provide its residents with affordable district heating based on renewable energy and taking realistic steps towards carbon neutrality.

Bonn is one of the cities in Germany where people have the highest average burden of rent. It set an ambitious goal: a maximum of 30% of disposable income should be spent on rent.

Renca is driving a new form of citizen-centred development that works with the culture and character of existing neighbourhoods. The city's approach seeks to make new developments work for both new and old residents alike and prevent the displacement and gentrification.

Buenos Aires aims to solve structural poverty in all its dimensions by focussing on housing, but also on health, education, work and engagement in community life.

Barranquilla is making a name for itself through its urban transformation.Today 93% of households in the city have access to green public spaces across its 188 neighbourhoods.

©GettyImages

Bristol helped to alleviate the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on its most vulnerable citizens by creating "Welcoming Spaces" located within a 10 minutes' walk for 86% of city residents.

©GettyImages

Glasgow has enhanced the energy efficiency of over 430,000 homes, cutting emissions and delivering warmer, more secure places to live for vulnerable citizens.

©GettyImages

The legacy of South Africa’s unjust past is etched on every town and city across the country. Cape Town is stepping up to deliver affordable and well-located housing for all residents.

©GettyImages

Chattanooga reduced the number of people living on the streets by 40% during 2022. Strong partnerships, ample resources and a focussed strategy made this progress possible.

©GettyImages

A population boom in Braga pushed up rent prices and left many families struggling to find affordable housing. The municipality decided it was time for a reset and implemented several successful measures to combat the crisis.

©GettyImages

Many workers in metropolitan areas now need more space to work from home. Thus, prices of housing in and around OECD cities rose sharply after the start of the pandemic. Policies to alleviate urban housing pressures are needed, such as incentives to convert unused commercial property into residential or co-working spaces.

©OECD

Rents and repayments alone are not the only expense attached to our buildings. Many are leaking energy, leaving a hole in our pockets as well as climate ambitions. And it’s high time to fix them.

©OECD

After decades of favouring market-based solutions, cities are increasingly deploying social housing as a means to address the worldwide urban housing crisis.

©OECD

The rise of remote working during the COVID-19 crisis significantly reduced activity in cities’ business districts, renewing policy makers’ interest in turning underused office buildings into much needed residential housing in cities. This creates a unique window of opportunity to shape more sustainable and inclusive urban development.

©OECD

The SimCity video game captures the basics of land-use planning well. But overlooked – both in SimCity and in reality – are the need for flexibility in zoning and land-use, and coherence in housing policies across governments.

©OECD