Welfare Transformation and Demographic Change in Europe: Challenges for the Social Housing Sector

With changing social-demographic patterns and welfare systems in Europe, the way of life for many European citizens is now in a state of flux. Social housing is at the core of these changes and this report provides a timely insight into the impact they will have.

This report contains full papers of speakers and discussants who participated in the second colloquium on the future of social housing in the EU, organised by the CECODHAS European Social Housing Observatory and held in Barcelona on 20th September 2007. The colloquium is the second in a series of three and gathered high level experts in the field of housing in Europe, both researchers and practitioners, who came together to have an open, critical and rich dialogue on the recent developments on social housing in relation to processes of welfare state transformation and demographic change. The thinking that emerges from these meetings will form the basis for strategic thinking on a European scale, as well as facilitating the sharing of good practice for both practitioners and academics.

The key sections in the report relate to:

• The transformation of welfare and society: Issues for social housing provision
• Welfare transformation in Europe: A comparative analysis
• Social and demographic change: Issues for housing provision from a Spanish perspective
• The transformation of welfare and housing: Reflections from a British perspective
• The future of social housing in the EU: Reform challenges in the Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania

Contributors include Giuseppe Roma, Fondazione Censis – Centro studi investimenti sociali, Jesus Leal, Universidad Compultense de Madrid, Peter Malpass, University of the West of England, Sasha Tsenkova, University of Calgary, Livio Pilot, Architect, Pablo Aretxabala, General Director of Housing and Land at Euskadi and Darinka Czischke, Research Director of the European Social Housing Observatory at CECODHAS (Housing Europe).

A copy of this report can be obtained free of charge from CECODHAS (Housing Europe).