Local Action Plan of Medway Council Ness, Fuel Poverty and a Large Number of Houses in by Rachel Britt of the Housing Team, Medway Council Multiple Occupation (HMO)

Home , Tallinn, Tyneside flat

This document of synthesis has been coordinated by the Lead Partner of the SUITE Project with the collaboration of all the partners who have been taking part in SUITE The Housing Project: the Free and Hanseat- ic City of Hamburg and the Lawaetz Foundation; the city of Iasi; the Kraków Municipality; Medway Council; Nantes Métropole; Newcastle Upon Tyne; Rennes Métropole; Santiago de Compostela City Council and EMUVISSA; the city of Tallinn; as well as the URBACT experts who worked jointly with the project since its beginning in 2008: Darinka Czischke and Heidrun Feigelfeld.

We would also like to show our special gratitude to CECODHAS and to the “Group of Counsellors”: International Union of Tenants, Feantsa and the EUROCITIES Working Group Housing. And, of course to all the members of the ULSG in the nine cities and those colleagues who have worked in the project in the past.

Thanks to all of you, this is your work!

Anita Leirvik and Belén Mendoza SUITE project coordinators Lead Partner Santiago de Compostela City Council 5

Table of contents

Preface...... 7

Introduction to SUITE The Housing Project...... 9

Local Action Plans SUITE An overview by the Lead Expert...... 11

Local Action Plan summaries:...... 16

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg...... 18

Iasi City Council...... 23

Social integration in Kraków...... 28

Medway Council...... 32

Nantes Métropole...... 35

Newcastle City Council...... 39

Rennes Métropole...... 42

Santiago de Compostela City Council...... 46

Tallinn City...... 50

Conclusions...... 53

Credits...... 59 SUITE The Housing Project Social and Urban Inclusion Through Housing 7

I sincerely hope, at the end of this experience, that to increase and improve our management capacity, the commitment undertaken by Santiago de Com- in the face of new economic, social, environmental postela to lead the SUITE project has lived up to your and demographic challenges regarding the future expectations. For our part, we have humbly endeav- development of our cities. oured to contribute the experience and knowledge acquired during more than twenty years governing In short, by working together we have found the the city, in oder to guarantee the objectives of social keys that may help us to overcome the crisis with- integration and access to housing. out compromising our future. The SUITE project has demonstrated such effectiveness in this first stage The spatial spheres into which the urban area of that, in my opinion, it would be a mistake not to con- Santiago is arranged are designed to integrate tinue. Those of us in Santiago offer to continue lead- neighbourhoods and peripheries, starting from an ing a second development phase, in which we look urban development model that lays special empha- forward to seeing you all again in order to continue sis on factors such as sustainable development, advancing together along the road we have under- historical, urban and environmental restoration, and taken. social integration. This model is based on the goals attained by rehabilitation and infrastructure policies, Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank by means of which we have strived to generate hab- everyone for their contributions and fine attitude at itable spaces around the city centre, where different all times. It has been a real pleasure working with the types of families, of different ages and ethnic groups, teams from all of the nine participating cities. Thank with different economic and educational levels, can you and see you soon. live together.

A decade ago we set up our own public housing company, EMUVISSA, which, in collaboration with Xosé A. Sánchez Bugallo other state and regional administrations, manages Mayor of Santiago de Compostela the urbanisation of land and development of social Lead Partner – SUITE Project housing for low-income families. Nevertheless, a solution was required for groups at risk of social exclusion.

The SUITE project has given us the opportunity not only to continue advancing in the study of multiple factors to be taken into account to undertake sustainable urban development, but also to incorporate solutions for overcoming the crisis and laying the basis for a different framework for the future.

The work method developed by the SUITE project network has proved to be an ideal system of analysis and exchange for the cities, since it enables us to approach the problem from a close-up, urban perspective; exchange experiences with other cities; and prepare a specific project, in which we have been able to get the private sector to understand our proposal and cooperate in the implementation of public policies.

The diagnosis about the situation of social housing in Europe, attained after this period of work and exchanges among the partners and other players not included in the project, has resulted in nine local action plans (LAP). Thanks to these valuable tools, we local governments can further proposals enabling us INTRODUCTION TO SUITE THE HOUSING PROJECT By The Lead Partner

We have come a long way since we started working periences and knowledge about sustainable urban on the idea of submitting this SUITE project to UR- development and, at the same time, to include quick BACT in 2007 for its approval in 2008. Many months solutions to help navigate the crisis and to establish of hard work and exchanges between partners and a different action framework for the future. other actors have gone by, and day by day the project has been enriched and enhanced, up to this moment The SUITE network gives us the opportunity to make for closure and summing up. practical progress in our way of dealing with the crisis of social housing construction in the cities. We This final project report includes a diagnosis on the must underline several important aspects of the situation of social housing in Europe; three reports on work done by the SUITE network: the working groups’ three lines of action established within the framework of the project (social, economic 1.- It allowed us to continue thinking beyond the and environmental); and finally, an executive sum- momentary situation of crisis. mary of each of the nine partners’ local action plans (LAP). This report intends to offer a brief summary of 2.- It helps us carry on facing the need for social the comprehensive work carried out by the partner housing, despite economic and social chang- cities’ LAPs and of the added value of SUITE for lo- es. cal governments. 3.- The experiences and projects of the partners The SUITE project involves a change in orientation improve social cohesion and mark the begin- and scale in the analysis of possible solutions for the ning of a strong commitment to sustainable challenges facing cities when it comes to promot- supplies in the area of housing, i.e. they deal ing sustainable urban development. It also repre- with areas of strategic interest to overcome sents a change in the speed and response capacity the economic crisis without compromising the of the European administration in the face of prob- future. They focus on structural policies, and lems. The economic crisis in Europe paralyzed to a not on temporary factors. certain degree the reflection of member states on non-immediate problems. The steps taken in con- In this way, the projects developed by the partners ceptual frameworks gave way to the urgent need for allow us to move forward with proposals which tack- implementing measures and actions aimed at get- le the threefold objective of the economic-social- ting around the crisis. However, programs such as environmental mix. The different projects put more URBACT II allowed us to continue exchanging ex- or less weight on each of these components, de- pending on the specific needs of the city, but all of In the framework of this platform for reflecting, on them contribute one or several elements to improve the right scale, about the problems faced by social 10 the steering ability of local authorities in the face of housing in cities, all the partners felt comfortable the new economical, social, ecological and demo- working together and being required to work con- graphic challenges posed by the future development stantly, in order to meet the difficulties posed by the of our cities. process of project drafting and designing. And we felt comfortable because we are all “cities,” Santiago de Compostela, with the SUITE objectives local administrations, and municipal governments, in sight, offered to lead the project because the local discussing our problems and working together with government does not want to stop thinking about other local actors that conform the URBACT Local future strategic areas, although, of course, like all the Support Groups established in each of the partners’ other cities, it is in urgent need of immediate solu- cities. tions to specific problems arising from the new economic situation. We have worked non-stop to prepare the exchange of ideas, solutions and practices carried out in all the Our priority is to find a better balance between the different general meetings that were held in some three pillars (economic, social, and environmental) of of the project partners’ cities. This series of meet- sustainable development policies, especially within ings will culminate with the official closure meeting in the framework of the structural policies necessary Brussels, with the support of the Urban Intergroup of for social cohesion, such as housing and town plan- the European Parliament and CECODHAS. ning initiatives. LOCAL ACTION PLANS SUITE The suitability of SUITE for addressing the cities’ An overview by The Lead Expert The government of Santiago has been promot- problems has therefore been proved. SUITE is a ing economic-social mix for two decades now, by useful tool thanks to its scale, form, work pace and means of town planning that is able to support social because it generates specific projects. The future mix from the base, as well as the development and improvement of this tool for inter-city learning and management of such planning to achieve the goals cooperation might depend on the support received of social integration and housing. Moreover, this has by the projects in future editions, to boost the practi- been done in collaboration with other administra- cal aspect of SUITE and evaluate its results. We can The role of Local Action Plans for tions, at both the national and regional levels. For only improve what we can measure, and we need an › › The LAP Development Process 10 years, through the public company EMUVISSA, implementation phase to check the results. Continu- an URBACT network the local administration has managed land urbani- ity is essential for this project, which should not stop The selection and definition of the partners’ sus- zation and the promotion of social housing for low at this planning phase. We need a second stage, and Local Action Plans (LAPs) play one of the main roles tainability focus was the starting point for them to income families. However, we still needed to cater that is why Santiago is prepared to continue working in the work programme of projects in URBACT II. choose their theme on the basis of the urgency of for a segment of the population that does not fit into and once again lead a project that is ready to take The fundamental idea is to create a more direct and the problem and their interests. This decision was the group of possible buyers of social housing: those a step forward and specify execution actions, for all effective link between experiences gained at trans- taken after an iterative process of discussion, ques- at risk of social exclusion. the projects developed by each of the partners. This regional and transnational levels and local concep- tioning and analysis. As a further step we consid- is the challenge facing everyone that has been a part tion, planning and implementation by anchoring the ered the inclusion of the theme as far as possible There is no steady framework for reflection to help of the SUITE project. EU exchange at the project partners’ local level. UR- in a currently running or planned activity of the city/ us move forward in the study and analysis of offers BACT Local Support Groups (ULSGs), associations agglomeration (a housing programme, a concept for aimed at such social groups. That is the reason why Mercedes Rosón of relevant actors on the spot, from city administra- the future, the departure point of a pilot project etc.) SUITE poses a unique opportunity. Councillor for Housing and Planning tion but also as far as possible from further afield, to produce synergies and increase the chances of First of all, it places the problem on the right scale Santiago de Compostela City Council develop a Local Action Plan on a theme that is part realisation. for study: town level. The problems we face call for Lead Partner - SUITE project of the project theme while exchanging experience a close-up analysis of the different situations, for re- and ideas as fruitfully as possible with the transna- This was also to be accompanied by limits, whether flection amongst partners with similarities and who tional level. according to target groups, the legal form of housing act at an urban level. (ownership, tenancy) or new construction or renova- Second, a commitment is made to work constantly, The Thematic Framework of the tion among others, in order to reach an adequate › level of concretisation. contrasting opinions, comparing actions, adding val- LAPs in SUITE ue to the proposals through the experience of other cities. A pilot project was also to be conceived in so far as In the case of this URBACT project, SUITE, of course, it made sense in the LAP’s approach. The timing and the LAPs developed by the nine partners revolve A third advantage is its pragmatic requirement to content of steps for realisation were to be defined. It around the subject of housing, or more precisely, develop a specific project with a programme for its was also indispensable to clarify funding possibili- around housing programmes of various sizes and on implementation. ties. various levels or closely connected housing-related analysis and planning. Housing and programmes And lastly, the inclusion of all the sectors involved in concerned with it are indeed a very wide field and The URBACT Local Support the action is made possible. The LAP have been an › the project approach of integrated development with extremely important step forward in the cooperation Groups ULSG the inclusion of both social and economic as well as between private and public sectors, in subjects that environment-related factors provides no limitation, After coming to a decision the URBACT Local Sup- the public sector has difficulty understanding. on the contrary. port Groups began local drafting work. Those who took part in the transnational exchange (and the par- and USLG concept and the fact should not be con- permits certain groupings according to interesting while providing good quality. Municipal housing pro- ticipation of more ULSG members of the partners cealed that this naturally also goes hand in hand criteria. On the one hand of course this reflects the grammes combined with accompanying measures 12 was expressly desired) reported their findings back with the difficulties and imponderabilities of a learn- three pillars of sustainability and the above-men- and targeted funding were drawn upon as tools. 13 to the ULSG, or conveyed questions to LAPs in the ing process which is additionally characterised by tioned primary focus selected in the LAP (e.g. focus exchange activities of the network. widely different national and local circumstances, on the environment), on the other hand the type of Because the Hamburg ULSG sees its main concern traditions, political situations and assigned areas of LAP is a motivation to comparisons. It is however chosen for the LAP as the early avoidance of nega- Note: the creation of so-called URBACT Local competence, as well as, in our case, also by forms obvious that in many fields there is already a close tive effects of gentrification, on the basis of an ex- Support Groups was an integral component of of housing which are often difficult to compare. This link between primarily the social and affordability isting implementation, it is testing how far models all URBACT II projects from the beginning. Local was already shown by the initial discussion in the and that a sharp separation is neither possible nor for ‘community building projects’ (based on special work groups which, starting from the local office network to clarify the meaning of the term ‘social meaningful. We identified four groups, each with two funding frameworks) can be an efficient tool in the concerned with the project (mostly city council housing’ for the individual partners. or three LAPs. development of balanced neighbourhoods. The re- departments), were intended to include as wide sult will be a manual addressed towards local to Eu- a circle as possible of actors relevant for the The ULSG members set themselves the challenge of • More than mixing: balanced neighbourhoods ropean levels. LAP (stakeholders, institutions and other actors) bringing their activities related to a Local Action Plan and building communities. (from ‘social sus- develop the LAP together, ideally with intensive into line with their everyday work and obligations, se- tainability/social mix’ to a ‘synergy’) - Ham- The City of Iasi is developing a comprehensive exchange with the project’s transnational discus- curing support on policy and decision-making level, burg, Kraków and Iasi housing programme with the aim of reducing the sion level. reacting to changes of personnel in their own ranks high demand through extending the supply of social and fitting in with the composition of the ULSG ac- • ‘Improving access to housing: beyond ‘businss housing, targeted purchasing of building land, ben- In accordance with this, SUITE’s ULSG brought to- cording to the Local Action Plan concretisation. As as usual’. (from ‚economic sustainability /af- efits and supporting services for especially affected gether a wide circle of participants. The main groups an example, local experience and routine are widely fordability’ to a ‘synergy’) Santiago de Com- groups such as the homeless and Roma. to be included were several different city council different in relation to the inclusion of residents or postela and Nantes Métropole departments and similar institutions in the field of their representatives. The City of Kraków has the ambitious aim of tackling ‘construction, architecture and housing manage- • Sustainable housing: thinking ‘outside the several urgent tasks at the same time: formulating ment and administration’, residents’ representatives Overall however, national differences should not be box’. (from ’economic sustainability /afford- a new housing policy, facilitating social integration and relevant research fields (urbanism, technology, overestimated, as experience here shows. Commit- ability’ to a ‘synergy’) - Newcastle upon Tyne through support for residents, publicity campaigns sociology). ment, support and range of involvement are strongly and Rennes Métropole for better acceptance of social housing construction influenced by local situations and do not greatly re- by neighbourhoods, image building and a more ef- While the development of the plan was progressing flect the generally supposed differences of mentality, • ‘Beyond ecology’: holistic effects, with people ficient housing and benefits distribution system with the circles of participants were repeatedly checked new/old Member States, convergence or competi- for people. (from ‘environmental sustainability’ the emphasis on measures which can be applied and modified according to new aspects if neces- tive regions. In any case motivated individuals play to ‘synergy’) - Medway Council and Tallinn short-term and economically. sary. an important role, ‘motors’ who ‘carry’ the planning. On the special difficulties of obtaining access to Eu- Below are some remarks about these groups and All three managed to integrate each aspect of sus- ropean ERDF subsidies for projects to do with hous- tainability in the LAP in one way or another. Progress and Synthesis their LAPs. For details of the LAPs themselves, › ing, please see the comments towards the end of please see the brief descriptions. This report can Besides evaluation of the efforts towards social mix- this chapter. The partners and their local work groups received naturally give only a highly abbreviated insight into ing, keeping access open for households with spe- stimuli from the network’s concern with the three fo- the individual LAPs. Links are therefore provided for cial needs and low income (e.g. sole earners) and There have been targeted endeavours to ensure that cuses of the project (social, economic and environ- access to more detailed versions. Some of these comprehensive resident participation Hamburg also such a LAP should not wear itself out in an individual mentally related sustainability in housing) which were more detailed descriptions are also available in the took notice of the environmental standards achieved action prompted by an EU project but should also be approached step by step. The passing on of mate- national language, which makes a great deal of in the renovation. ‘sustainable’ over time so that mid to long-term im- rial, the questioning before the thematic workshops, sense because the fundamental level of communi- provements are set in motion. All the project’s LAPS the workshops themselves, comparisons between cation should be the local. Besides its attention to affordability and accessibility meet this requirement and are aiming to secure local the LAPS and the post-processing gave food for for priority groups (young households) and efficient and national funds for continuation. thought for the further development of the drafts. 1 More than mixing: balanced neighbourhoods delivery, Iasi is also taking on the responsibility of and building communities. (from ‘social and eco- putting energy efficiency in the foreground, especially in new construction. The next important step in the LAP development was › The Broad Variety of the LAPs nomic sustainability’ to a ‚synergy’) the joint analysis of how far the various LAPs had already achieved an ‘integrating’ quality, i.e. having On account of the previously mentioned wide spec- • Hamburg, Germany (Hamburg Region): Social- Kraków on the other hand continued its raising of also sufficiently taken account of the other two fac- trum, both in the chosen theme of ‘housing’ as well ly Compatible Refurbishment (SCoRe) environmental standards under affordable condi- tors as well as their respective sustainability focus in as the set challenge of aiming for a synergy of all tions already begun in social housing pilot projects. order to create a synthesis. three pillars of sustainability as well as the different • Iasi, Romania (Nord East Region): ‘Affordable basic local housing situations, the result accord- Housing’ - Policies regarding the provision of 2 Improving access to housing: beyond ‘business This is the most fundamental requirement for the aim ing the type of LAPs turned out, as expected, to be affordable housing as usual’. (from ‘economic sustainability’ to a ‘syn- of the project. Ultimately this was mainly provided by widely different. We see this as a special quality be- ergy’) the Synthesis Workshop with preliminary question- cause it demonstrates in how different a way and • Kraków, Poland (Malopolskie Region): Lo- ing. This is where the final stimuli for as ‘integrative’ under what different conditions this synergy can by cal Action Plan for social mix in housing • Nantes Métropole, France (Pays-de-la- an orientation as possible for the LAPs was achieved all means be achieved. This impressively confirms (KRAKÓW-MIX) Loire Region): Affordable housing in Nantes before completion. that the project achieved its aim. Métropole (LCH - Low-Cost Housing) What these LAPs have in common is that they are primarily concerned with the question of how afford- • Santiago de Compostela, Spain (Lead Partner) › Challenges › A Grouping able housing for low earners can be provided or safe- (Galicia Region): Increased offer of rental hous- guarded with the acceptance of the neighbourhood ing (To Rent) New ground was broken in URBACT with the LAP However, examination of the new LAPs nevertheless The aim – better access to affordable housing – is As different as these plans may be both of these However, both LAPs are also strongly entwined grammes (e.g. in peripheral areas). shared by both LAPs but the paths towards this LAPs have a special approach – the direct imple- with other sustainability criteria. Tallinn is targeting 14 are very different due to widely different histories in mentation of an innovative concept and a strongly low-income groups for whom affordable small flats It can be seen that all three structural funds can by 15 housing and the various forms of organisation and experimental character. In Newcastle the experimen- should be made available and they are also creating all means be drawn upon for the implementation of allocation of responsibility. This makes a comparison tal element lies in a concept for the development of provision for a special target group which takes first various aspects of SUITE’s LAPs. They have also all the more interesting. a clearly socially mixed community with the inclusion place in the priorities in the social field – orphans. been discussed in the project and, as provided for in of heavily disadvantaged groups. It is ultimately sec- the structure of URBACT projects, efforts are being The contents of the LAPs are contributions to hous- ondary whether new construction or the refurbish- Medway Council will not only be able to make a made to set up contact to the regional or national ing programmes which open up new ways of access ment of old building substance is the basis. Despite considerable reduction in energy requirement in old authorities managing these funds, the ‘Managing to housing. a tense financial situation a pilot project is under building stock on the basis of its database, analy- Authorities’. development. Cost arguments are dominant but the sis and coordinated actions but also address many Santiago de Compostela is dedicating itself to a social components, including support services are other measures to improve the housing situation. By However, our short experience has shown that for paradigm shift which is still not widespread in Spain also very closely interwoven. bringing together initiatives and resources (including numerous reasons access to application for such in that it is changing over to providing lower earn- an approach to include residents) it has a strongly funds for LAPs could not be established. These in- ers with affordable housing to rent rather than as In its urgent search for affordable housing Rennes integrative character. Furthermore, in the pilot field clude the novelty of the material for all participants owner-occupied. This is intended to be tested as a Métropole, also an agglomeration administration of access is being sought to a new group of migrants (also for Managing Authorities in the relevant re- pilot project on the basis of new construction with a newer kind, is aiming for a significant reduction in from Slovakia, presumably Sinti or Roma. gions), the sometimes lacking relationship to the accompanying examination. building costs and therefore experimenting with new Operational Programmes, difficulties in definition, building material, norming and variability. Containers Funding by the European contact problems, a lack of national co-financing Nantes Métropole, an administrative unit which are to be included as basic elements. As in Nantes › possibilities and the advanced point in time of the stretches far beyond the city and which implements Métropole the target groups are young families of Regional Development Fund funding period. At that time only one of the LAPs, the common policy, including housing policy, of the low-income buyers in first-time home-ownership. A (ERDF) Tallinn, has achieved a high level of concretisation in whole agglomeration, is extending its already ambi- prototype and a pilot project serve as the test ob- relation to ERDF funding. tious housing programme in order to cover the still ject. Possibilities to receive ERDF funds for plans con- existing great demand for affordable home owner- nected with housing have developed very dramati- However, since all the plans have at least a medium- ship for young first-time buyers. This is intended to Despite the aim of large cost reductions both LAPs cally during the duration of the programme, which term horizon, there are opportunities to be well pre- stop young households moving away from the ag- also meet the demand for social and environmental means also during the SUITE project period. Overall pared to apply for funds in the next funding period. It glomeration. The core is the testing of pilot projects sustainability in order to provide ‘integrated quality’. there are three existing forms of funding. However, is therefore all the more important, also for the SUITE in compact individual housing operations and the In Newcastle through the permeation of the cohabi- they brought no new funds with them but were con- network, to establish a clearly structured future Co- promotion of such developments in professional af- tation concept with holistic environmentally-friendly ceived as a redistribution of existing resources. hesion Policy which accounts for the importance of fordable home ownership workshops. principles, in Rennes Métropole with great attention housing in its integration in urban developments and to technically high environmental and energy-saving At the beginning of the project there was already one which recognises components of housing which go The achievement of integrated sustainability was standards in the construction design as well as inform of funding, the ERDF Programme 2007-2013 beyond national borders into a common European also visibly the aim in this group. Accompanying tended residents’ participation. which provides the opportunity to include housing- responsibility and which provides relevant funds. the new provision Santiago de Compostela is tying related funding for regions in New Member States in easily accessible rental flats with preparatory and 4 Beyond ecology: holistic effects, with people, (the EU 12) up to an amount of 2% of the total ERDF Please see these brief descriptions of Local Action accompanying housing related social services. High for people. (from ‘environmental sustainability’ to a allocation. In particular, this funding is intended to Plans of the SUITE network’s partners which we environmental standards have been set as an aim in ‘synergy’) promote the refurbishment of the common parts of hope are informative and provide stimulus for your new construction. residential buildings, measures to increase energy- own innovative action. • Medway Council, UK (South East Region): efficiency and the transformation of buildings owned Nantes Métropole: The orientation of the LAP and Developing a focussed property-specific DATA- by non-profit or public bodies into affordable hous- the chosen pilot project towards densification, eco- BASE (Medway In Focus) ing. construction principles, a greater mix in the types of housing and the connection to the numerous already • Tallinn, Estonia (Eesti ‘Region’): Triggered by the crisis in Europe, urgent social priori- Heidrun Feigelfeld existing social services related to housing guaran- Energy saving in social housing (ESIS) ties and by discussion on Climate Change, two fur- Lead Expert tee attention to all sustainability criteria. The city of ther forms of funding were added from April 2009, SUITE Prroject Nantes, the core of ‘Nantes Métropole’, has recently Here are the two LAPs whose primary approach is now for all Member States. been allocated the Green Capital Award 2013 as in environmental concerns. Tallinn, the capital of Es- a pioneer in matters of environmental quality and tonia has set itself the aim of demonstrating energy- In the first of these forms expenditure on energy brings its experience into the LAP. saving solutions in the field of social housing and efficiency improvements and on the use of renew- introducing them into the private sector as part of an able energy in existing housing is eligible (up to an 3 Sustainable housing: thinking ‘outside the box’. ambitious overall strategy for the promotion of local amount of 4%). The proposal was intended to pay (from ‘economic sustainability’ to a ‘synergy’) energy-saving policies. Two low-energy standard so- special attention to the most vulnerable households cial housing buildings as well as semi-detached and who too often suffer from fuel poverty. • Newcastle upon Tyne , UK (North East Region): detached homes for orphans serve as pilot projects. Urban Village - An inclusive and mutually sup- Finally, in April 2010 the funding spectrum for all portive community Medway Council has developed a detailed house- Member States was extended to housing-related by-house database for the whole area on the basis expenditure for marginalised groups, such as Roma • Rennes Métropole, France (Bretagne Region): of which housing standard, choice and affordability communities and others. This should also make it ‘Container housing’ in Rennes Métropole (B3 - of housing is intended to be improved along with possible to put in place measures against exclusion Built By Boxes) health and well-being. Fuel poverty should also be (up to 3%) outside integrated urban renewal pro- reduced. LOCAL ACTION PLAN SUMMARIES 16 A synthesis of the Local Action Plans of the partners of SUITE The Housing Project

This section represents an overview of the Local Action Plans of the nine partners that have been working together in SUITE The Housing Project

City of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

City of Iasi (Romania)

Newcastle Upon Tyne (United Kingdom)

Medway Council Nantes Métropole (France) City of Hamburg (Germany) (United Kingdom)

Tallinn CIty (Estonia) Rennes Métropole (France) City of Kraków (Poland) modernization of housing, influx of high-priced shops, migration of the resident population. 19 › Actions taken (Local Action Plan) Main Focus

The Local Action Plan of Hamburg that is going to be carried out within the framework of the SUITE project aims at making a contribution to preventing the negative effects of gentrification.

A special form of housing that has become increasingly popular during recent years is housing projects which are carried out by so-called “Baugemeinschaf- tenII”. Relating to the experience gained from a large number of building community projects in Hamburg, LAP of the Free and Hanseatic there is strong evidence that these projects are able to cause a positive impact on all three areas of sus- City of Hamburg tainability on which the SUITE project is based: By the Johann Daniel Lawaetz Foundation on behalf of the Ministry for 1. Creation of an appropriate social mix that Social and Family Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection with the contributes to a stabilization of the local collaboration of the ULSG members neighbourhood. 2. Provision of affordable housing through a Both the Federal Government of Germany and the creative combination of various financing › Socially Compatible Senate of Hamburg have ambitious climate protec- models (e.g. combination of privately owned Refurbishment (SCoRe) tion targets. By 2020 the Federal Government plans flats and cooperative rental apartments in one to have reduced the heating needs of all buildings project). by 20%. The housing stock in Germany is even sup- Background / Problem posed to have a carbon-neutral energy balance by 3. Provision of refurbished housing with a high 2050. environmental standard. When looking at the current situation on the housing market in Hamburg, the following main problems can According to information from the Hamburg City De- Therefore the Local Action Plan focuses mainly on be identified: velopment Authority there are 875.529 dwellings in the constructive impacts housing projects - espe- 237.101 residential buildings, among them 132.779 cially those which are undertaken in redevelopment- • Acute lack of affordable rental housing, detached houses, 26.590 semi-detached houses and needy buildings - can have on achieving or maintain- particularly social housing for tenants with a low 77.732 apartment buildings (data of 2008). The Ten- ing the social and cultural diversity in the district and income ants Association estimates that some 120.000 flats to cushion or avoid the negative effects of gentrifica- are in need of energy efficient renovation. But while tion. The actions of the City of Hamburg to build new so- the transfer of the redevelopment in urban building cial housing are not sufficient to increase the stock. stocks (approximately 15% of the apartments are Target Groups At the same time the social housing rent control ends owned by the municipal housing company SAGA- for many flats during the next two decades. Planned GWG, another 15% are owned by “traditional” hous- The target groups of the LAP are on the one hand regulatory measures of the Senate of Hamburg to ing cooperatives) to the rent is largely socially com- potential initiators of building community projects, keep up the rent control for the housing stock of the patible, the redevelopment of dwellings in private and on the other hand professionals from public municipal housing company SAGA GWG will stabi- property often leads to a dramatic increase in rents. policy and government (e.g. mayors, local politicians lize the amount of social housing only at the present Currently, up to 11% p.a. of the refurbishment costs and urban planners) who want to use building com- stage, but are not sufficient to generate an increase can be allocated to the rent, which often causes an munity projects as a(n) (additional) tool in the urban in the supply of social housing. The market pressure immediate or a step by step displacement of low- development of their cities. on low-income tenants (e.g. single parents and stu- income tenants from the renovated apartments. dents) will therefore continue to grow, especially in Main Steps the neighbourhoods which are attractive for mem- • Clearly detectable gentrification processes in bers of the “creative class” (according to R. Florida´s inner city residential areas The Local Action Plan for Hamburg aims at a de- classificationI). Attractive inner city residential areas, in particular, tailed analysis of the often successfully tested model of “building community projects” and wants to make • Energy saving reconstruction requirements for like St. Georg, Eimsbüttel, Ottensen, Schanzenviertel it available as a tool for housing measures or the ba- a large percentage of rental flats and St. Pauli, are acutely threatened by gentrification. Signs of this are e.g. increasing rents, the luxury sis of a similar programme in other cities. The actions are divided into three main steps: I. Analysis of a successful building community Challenges SUITE Network Impact project 20 The main challenge in the implementation of the The cooperation within the network SUITE gave a 21 The first step is a scientific analysis of a success- Local Action Plan in Hamburg is a lack of person- strong boost to the development of the topic of the ful housing project, which describes in detail the nel and financial resources. It cannot be assumed Local Action Plan. It became clear that the success- key factors that contributed to the success of the that the managing authority of the SUITE project in ful and advancing tradition of building communities project in the three thematic areas of sustainabil- Hamburg, the Ministry for Social and Family Affairs, in Hamburg makes it worthwhile analyzing the key ity. The Good Practice Example selected for this Health and Consumer Protection (BSG) will be able success factors of the instrument “building commu- purpose is the housing project “Greves Garten“ in to provide additional resources for its dissemination nity project” systematically in order to make it appli- Hamburg-BergedorfIII. The research is being carried and further measures. cable for other projects in Hamburg, in Germany and out in close cooperation with representatives of the in other European cities. residential project. This had to be taken into consideration when defining the aims. It was therefore decided to choose a strictly II. Production and publication of a manual for limited aspect of the main topic of gentrification that Contacts: building community projects can be implemented during the running phase of the project and by using the financial resources available Peter Hoffmann-Wick The results of the scientific research will be summa- for Hamburg from the SUITE budget. Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg rized and presented as a “manual” for building com- Ministry for Social and Family Affairs, Health munity projects. This manual is intended to be useful Future Issues and Consumer Protection on different action levels: [email protected] The aim is an embedding of building communities in - On the local level to help develop and carry Wolfgang Kühn Outcome wider projects for the rehabilitation of socially disad- out new housing projects and contribute new Johann Daniel Lawaetz Foundation vantaged neighbourhoods and the development of aspects to the current discourse on the pre- [email protected] Lessons Learnt new neighbourhoods, e.g. in industrial areas or on vention of gentrification in inner-city quarters of inner-city wastelands that are provided for conver- Hamburg. Through the exchange with the SUITE partner cit- sion. - On the national level by transferring knowledge ies it became clear that some aspects – such as the to other German cities and municipalities that target groups or the possible dimension of commu- are interested in promoting housing projects in nity building projects – had to be described more this way. clearly.

- On the European level by making the findings Success Factors accessible to other European cities, among others the partners of the SUITE network, and The Local Action Plan for Hamburg provides an ac- by incorporating the experience into a transna- tive contribution to the current debate on housing tional discourse (e.g. within the framework of policy and gentrification in Hamburg. Currently a URBACT and CECODHAS). lot of discussions are taking place on this subject. Stakeholders that represent the rights of tenants fo- III. Dissemination cus in particular on this subject. Also numerous pub- lications in the media show that it is a topic of public The results of the research and the manual will interest. be presented firstly within the context of a ULSG Workshop. Further presentations are planned in the The concentration on building community projects framework of international conferences. The manual adds another aspect to the discussion, because the will for example be used by the Lawaetz Foundation role of housing projects in cushioning or avoiding the in the counseling of community building projects. negative aspects of gentrification has rarely been taken into closer consideration so far. By focus- Timeline ing particularly on the building community project “Greves Garten”, the aim is not primarily the repre- The following timeline describes the main steps of sentation of a single good-practice example, but the implementation: development of general recommendations for small housing measures, developed on the basis of a concrete project.

Furthermore, the integrative approach of the Local Action Plan is in accordance with Hamburg’s Frame- work Programme for Integrative City Development (RISE- Rahmenprogramm Integrierte Stadtteilent- wicklungIV) that requires close cooperation of different governmental departments of the City of Ham- burg and its districts. › Appendix 22

Building Community Project

Description of the Project • Gas-fired condensing boilers • Solar collector area of 45 square meters in Basic Data support of the heating • Decentralized water heating via heat exchang- • Situated in the east of Hamburg (district of ers in the flats Bergedorf) • Controlled ventilation system (without heat • Size of the property 5.181 square meters recovery) • Completed in late 2006 • 5 multiple family dwellings, 4 detached Key Success Factors (Group) houses • 7 renovated existing buildings, 2 new • Common wish, unifying idea (family) buildings • Willingness to contribute personal resources. • 30 residential units Motto: “Anything we do ourselves helps to • 92 inhabitants (21 families with 37 children save money!” and adolescents) • Learning from the experiences of other resi- • Rent from 5.40 to 6.30 € (per square meter) dential projects • Personal accountability Goals • Well functioning organization and communication within the group • Desire for neighbourly living and mutual • Maintenance of the property is a joint task support • Affordable housing for families in the district Key Success Factors (financial/technical) • Preservation of 100 year old historical buildings • Professional guidance (but group is the own- • Careful increase of inner city density er) • Energy savings as contribution to climate • Financial support from urban programs (but protection group has financial risk) • Careful increase of inner city density through Technical Standard new houses and refurbishing/developing attic space • District heating network with 8 attached • Combination of owner-occupied units and single- and multi-family homes rented units: Individual owners subsidize • Wood pellet heating communally owned property

I Florida, Richard: Cities and the Creative Class (New York, 2005)

II This term describes a group of people that have decided to form their own community and want to create their living environment according to their own special requirements. Although there is not a fully synonymous expression in English, “Baugemeinschaft” can be translated best as “building community”. In the following this term is used.

III You will find some information about this project in the appendix.

IV See http://www.hamburg.de/ueber-rise/2672658/ueber-rise.html [12.01.2011] LAP of Iasi City Council By the Department of Development and European Projects and Iasi City Council with the collaboration of the ULSG members

Background / Problem was of 105392, presenting a slight increase tendency.

Introduction The structure of family households from Iasi, in 2008, indicated a percentage of 10% for one mem- Social Housing is a basic and fundamental issue ber families, 15% for couples and 75% for families affecting individuals and communities and an of more than two members. important determinant of health and well-being. It is also the largest asset for most families and a key Regarding population’s structure according the element of both the wealth and health of individuals main demographic variables, sex distribution was and the overall economy. Housing affects the natio- constantly kept within 2010, different to the last nal economy and a range of stakeholders including situation registered in 2002, so 52,7% represents consumers, builders, developers, realtors, landlords the feminine population and 47,3% represents the and mortgage lenders. masculine population.

Iasi Municipality needs a long-term and sustaining Within 2010, the age category for Iasi population is funding framework for housing that provides suffi- structured as follows: cient and predictable funding to enable implementation of solutions locally. • young citizens under 35 years old cover 48,8% of population (150894 inhabitants), Demography • citizens aged between 35 and 60 cover 36,4% of population (112577 inhabitants), The territory we will make reference to is that of Iasi • elders over 60 cover 14,7% (45372 inhabit- City, of 94, 7 km2 surface, representing the center ants). of a metropolitan area of 787, 87 km2. The Roma population of Iasi increased within last The Iasi population, registered on 1st January years, from 0,6% of total population (1898 persons) 2010, was of 308843 inhabitants, following an in 2002 to 1,2% (3679 persons) in 2008. increasing tendency of 3,2% annual rate, but the estimated drift for the next period is of 3,4%. In 2010, the number of citizens that benefit of social assistance reached 68000. The number of households last registered (in 2002) The unemployment rate of citizens in Iasi reached rehabilitate a large number of dwellings. a number of 5822 on 30th April 2010, covering Social dwellings are living places, access restricted 24 2,61% of stable population, more than 2008, when In terms of dwelling market price levels, these have by norms, meant to support families with financial 25 the unemployment rate covered 2,21%. registered an upward trend until the end of 2008 (in problems in buying a house. 2007, the increase was 20-30%), the explanation These dwellings are structured upon a standard and Unemployment’s structure on age categories analy- being found in the increasing gap between the low are meant to be rented (or joint property) for a price zed in 2010 is: bid and the rising level of demand. Later however, below market price. dwelling price levels dropped a lot, with the emer- • young people under 25 years old – 704, gence of economic and financial crisis. The rental The target population applying for this kind of living • persons between 25 and 30 years old– 596, prices had the same development path. places should meet the following conditions: • persons between 30 - 40 years old– 1406, • persons between 40 – 50 years old– 1438, Social dwelling vacancy rate is the proportion of so- - should not have a dwelling; • persons over 50 – 1678. cial dwellings which are available but not occupied, - family’s monthly net medium income (family and is one of the key indicators used to measure applying for such a dwelling) or the income of the The labour market of Iasi, within last census, regis- social dwelling needs in a certain territory. In Iasi, person requiring the dwelling, within last 12 mon- tered an active population of 136504 citizens (the the small number of new social dwellings causes ths, should be 20 % lower than net medium wage difference till reaching the whole population is of pressure on the existing park, and translates into established by law ; 184384, this number representing the inactive citi- lower rates of vacancy. - persons that have never received state support zens), out of which 119791 were active persons. Problem Within social dwellings, we also include another The number of retired citizens upon then same date category of dwellings- convenient dwellings. These was 59256, and the number of pupils and students are the private property of Iasi Municipality, and are was 84885. Brief description of the problem designated for persons or families that do not own and never owned a dwelling as their property, that The structure of Iasi family households in 2008 The objective of the action plan is to secure new have never been supported by state within loans or indicated a percentage of 10% for families of one long term government investment to harness and construction works for building a dwelling and/or member, 15% for couples and 75% for families of maximize the impact of existing assets and new are not involved as owners in renting contracts for a more than two members. investment. Over a sustained period this will reduce dwelling awarded according Law 114/1996. homelessness, improve housing affordability and restore a well-functioning housing system with Urban challenges healthy dynamic neighborhoods. Action taken Iasi is an important economic center in Romania. It The objective of this Local Action Plan is the pro- Steps taken and policy adopted has developed commercial activities within metals, posal of measures / activities to address problems antibiotics, textiles, wines and meat, but it is also an facing the social / affordable dwellings in Iasi. Iasi Municipality is proposing a comprehensive stra- important banking center. This city has become a Strengthening solidarity and ensuring social and tegy over the next years to meet the following tar- representative IT center, submitting many software territorial balance of city residents’ living standards gets. The priorities are: (1) to preserve and enhance companies, and it is recognized as being a cultural is the main priority of the objective. existing assets; (2) to reduce homelessness and the center, with two prestigious high class universities. number of people needing social housing; and (3) to Instead of all this, Iasi area is well known as having Social dwelling policy is at the crossroads of a expand the supply of affordable housing necessary a poor wage rate/ incomes and a reduced level of variety of needs that must be met, which involves to meet existing and future need. employed working force. the definition of intervention priorities to the whole urban community and a very active partnership 1. Reduce homelessness in next years: Social dwelling sector is characterized by a gene- approach. The economic development support ral failure, but the most affected groups are young of all urban agglomeration sectors represent the Create new transitional supportive and permanent families, families evacuated from their homes, fami- objective that must be considered, although in affordable housing opportunities and appropriate lies of low incomes and whose members have no practice this objective is difficult to be achieve in support to stabilize underlying issues that contribu- job, and those living in old buildings, whose tech- the short term. te to chronic homelessness (e.g., mental health and nical parameters are extremely low. Many citizens addiction). are not able to satisfy their housing need without additional financial aid. Some of that aid should Target groups 2. Expand the stock of affordable, social come from better targeting of subsidies. Social housing policies try to address the housing housing: The social dwelling sector has been neglected with problem but have often been implemented in such A growing population creates new households. This large scale privatization. But, given the low inco- ways that the people in real need are not reached goal aims to create enough new permanent afforda- mes of a large proportion of the population and the and/or the social housing projects do not improve ble housing to stabilize housing need. This housing growing number of evictions, it takes a significant the overall living conditions of people or lack a con- can include new construction and acquisition/pre- number of these dwellings to be temporary offered tribution to sustainable urban development of their servation of existing market units. to people that can’t afford to own a dwelling. In this problems. Developing and therefore allowing for regard, a major problem is the demand pressure, in better implementation of social housing contributes 3. Reduce the backlog in core housing need in terms of failure for the construction of such dwe- directly to the living conditions and to the growth of the next years: llings. This sector is facing also, with the need to cities in the developing world. This will use a variety of approaches, including social dwellings. Challenges come across rental assistance and assisted home ownership, as • anticipating the future needs of dwellings in 26 well as new construction or acquisition/preserva- order to create land reserves on medium and • Retain the existing supply of affordable 27 tion, to expand the number of affordable housing long term. housing. units. • ensuring the diversification of dwellings oc- • Maintain and expand the housing rehabilitation cupation, coupled with measures to meet the program. This document first sets the context for a more dwelling needs of young people and ethnic • Ensure an adequate land supply for affordable comprehensive approach: why housing matters and integration. housing. where the housing system is currently failing. Then • increase / maintain the social dwellings share of • Develop and support public and private pro- it identifies a range of approaches and priorities low-class at a highest level. grams. that together can respond to these problems and Financing improve outcomes in an inclusive and comprehen- Policy adapted sive way. Financial sources that can be mobilized to finance the construction of social dwellings include the • Improving the planning process to ensure it In order to reach this purpose, the specific activities following major components: encompasses the full range of issues. / measures we propose are the following: • Develop closer working relationships with local 1. Local budget - setting an annual budget of in- institutions to raise awareness of the process of • reviving the production / construction of social vestment in social dwellings in the urban communi- providing affordable housing. dwellings, acting on blocking factors such as ty. In Romania’s current economic conditions, local • Ensure that affordable housing is integral to insufficient land, available for such dwelling budget funds for this purpose are, and probably will community plans. construction. remain at a low level, insufficient compared with • Make use of existing sites such as empty or • regarding the affordable dwellings, offer’s de- what would be necessary. under-used buildings to develop affordable velopment involve the activities as: incitement housing. of promoters and investors within this field, 2. Attracted funds - looking for opportunities to • Bring more empty properties back into use maintaining the dwelling renting price within allocate loans to finance the construction of social the lower limits, encouraging the introduction and affordable dwellings. Unfavorable economic Future issues to address of affordable collective dwellings in the circuit. and financial context makes it difficult to attract, in However, the difficulties of implementing these favorable terms, such funds. measures, related to the lack of a public-private How it is possible to integrate different classes of partnership (current and on short term) to target groups (mostly roma people) to live together 3. European funds - ensuring the conditions to in- in the same buildings without confronting problems. secure conditions favorable to investment in crease the volume of EU funds used to finance the this sector, and the major difficulties of Romany construction of social dwellings. ethnicity social integration should be taken into SUITE networks impact on LAP account. Outcome • the response to local demand for social dwe- This network helped us to improve our goals and llings requires a collective effort that faces an image regarding building social housing extremely restrictive national and local context, Lessons learnt characterized by the lack of funds necessary for implementation of construction works. In Determine which are the goals and the policies re- Contacts: this context, ensuring conditions for increasing garding social and affordable housing. Iasi City Hall volume of EU funds used to finance the cons- realized that all the partners have problems regar- Beatrice Fotache truction of social dwellings becomes a major ding construction of social housing and also with City Hall of Iasi component. the target groups that each one is addressing to. Department of Development and European • ensuring continued funding of essential pro- Projects grams within a term planning based on needs / Iasi - Romania demand. Success factors Tel:0040720037566 • promoting ecological dwellings construction, E-mail: [email protected] energy efficient. • Identify reasons for empty properties.

• investment for ensuring the quality of social / • Make use of existing sites such as empty or Catalina Lucaci affordable dwelling stock. under used buildings to develop affordable Department of Development and European • location of social / affordable dwellings near housing. Projects public transport axes and centers of economic • Make planning more supportive by consistency Iasi - Romania activity, to ensure a high level of accessibility. It of decision-making. Tel: 0040744793271 should be noted however that this requires the • Affordable housing must be an essential part of E-mail: [email protected] development of urban transport infrastructure a community plan and integrated into the city’s and an urban development structured policy, aspirations. and difficult tasks to be performed in the cu- • Reduce building costs and increase energy rrent context, on the short term. efficiency, planners should be more willing to • spotting and exploiting the land opportunities in accept lower cost buildings. urban areas. For now, on a first assessment, we • Provide education on planning for young find insufficient land that can be used to build people. tions through the formulation of a new housing pol- The latter programme involves making available icy. flats of higher standard in the expected location (in Kraków the property’s location is the key factor 29 The impulse for the preparation of changes in the determining the value of the flat) to occupants with law appeared thanks to Kraków’s accession to the higher income on condition that they engage their SUITE project, and works on the preparation of their own financial means in the renovation or decoration content progressed during this project’s execution of the premises. period. The entire draft of the new housing policy has already been prepared. At the same time the remaining groups of tenants will be carefully selected to populate every building after It is expected that in the next few months the draft a thorough and multilateral analysis of the living situ- resolution concerning housing policy will be pre- ation of those applying for housing aid. sented for the approval of the Kraków City Hall. The housing policy is a strategic document of the secto- In recent years there have been noted results of con- rial programme importance that specifies long-term ducting public consultations with regard to impor- goals in the area of housing in Kraków. tant city investments, which granted the consultation procedure with the rank of a Kraków City Hall The strength of the anticipated update is its comple- resolution. The first public consultations with regard Local Action Plan for social mentary nature, as work is simultaneously conducted to housing investment were conducted during the on the draft update of long-term programme for the implementation of the SUITE project and with the management of the Municipality’s housing resources use of experienced gained from this project. integration in Kraków (also a sectorial programme) and the draft update of By the Municipality of Kraków with the collaboration resolution concerning the principles of renting resi- 3) Improvement of the system of rent of the ULSG members dential premises belonging to these resources. reductions and housing allowances, One of the top principles of the new housing policy is including the breakdown of liabilities the practical execution of the idea of social integra- into instilments and the possibility of Introduction tion that will be implemented, for example, on the Apart from the conflict between the owners of build- basis of previous favorable experiences gained from working off of rent arrears: populating communal buildings in the Ruczaj neigh- Kraków is the most globally known Polish city which ings and flat tenants, another characteristic feature of borhood which Kraków presented as a successful Apart from the national system of housing allow- is attractive in terms of both economy and tourism. the accommodation situation in Kraków is the emer- venture in the area of social integration as part of the ances that enables some inhabitants to receive co- Thanks to its remarkable history and dynamic present gence of social protests at the planning, design or SUITE project. financing of their flat maintenance costs, in Kraków it provides its inhabitants with prestigious living con- execution stages of communal housing investments. there functions a system of rent reductions covering ditions, which is why property prices are very high in In previous years such protests caused delays in in- tenants of communal premises. comparison to other cities in Poland. What is more, vestments, reduction of their size and introduction 2) Mitigation of conflicts through the there is a considerable share of old buildings belong- by the Kraków City Hall of formal restrictions while implementation of social integration The introduction of the system of rent reductions in ing to private owners that had previously been man- conducting investments that involved the obligation 2008 not only provided some tenants with low in- aged by the Municipality, but that in the last dozen or of obtaining Kraków City Hall’s permission for the executed by way of the following come with the possibility of meeting their rent pay- so years have been intensively taken over, frequently execution of residential buildings and the limitation actions: ment obligations, but also had a favourable impact together with their occupants, by their initial owners of communal investments to individual buildings, as on the Municipality’s financial situation because the or their legal successors. well as the restrictions concerning the management a/ Exchange programme. proceeds for the City budget from the due rent for of premises in the central zone of the City. b/ Occupant assistance programme. residential premises increased. Another instrument The economic plans of these owners and the eco- c/ Public consultations and media campaigns. is the support system which enables breaking the nomic calculations result in the current tenants often In view of budget difficulties and lack of investment non-paid liabilities to the Municipality for using resi- being forced to leave their flats. At the same time, possibilities for the rapid solution of housing prob- Due to the impossibility of immediate and radical im- dential premises down into instalments. since 2002, the owner is entitled to claims for dam- lems through construction of several thousand com- provement of the housing situation and the impossi- ages from the municipality with regard to the non- munal flats in a short period of time, the opportunity bility of the total elimination of conflicts between the In 2010 another amendment to this system was in- provision of social premises to the person holding for mitigating these problems may be introduced entities that coexist in the housing sphere in Kraków, troduced. At the end of last year an agreement was the right to such premises on the basis of a court by a new housing policy that would envisage in- the obvious stipulation and opportunity for the miti- reached by several municipal institutions which pro- order. frastructural and social mechanisms enabling both gation of existing conflicts and their effects would vided unemployed tenants threatened with social construction of greater number of new communal be the implementation of such methods and proce- exclusion, who were behind with rent payments to flats and the simultaneous implementation of social dures that would enable the practical execution of Main problems and challenges the Municipality, with the possibility of employment integration. the principle of social integration in Kraków. and working off of the existing arrears. In order to perform its obligations resulting from the The stipulated means of social integration implementation is the execution of the exchange programme valid court decisions, the Municipality of Kraków Undertaken measures On the basis of the above-mentioned agreement the and the occupant assistance programme. The es- should provide nearly 2,800 premises. Social Integration Centre organises temporary em- sence of the former is the creation of opportunities 1) Introduction of a new housing policy: ployment for debtors involving, for example, clean- for the occupants to adapt the size and structure of Every year the Kraków City Hall registers approx. ing or renovation works. Part of their remuneration premises, and thus the rent, to the financial abilities 300 new eviction orders and approx. 660 applica- The first method to improve the housing situation in is regularly allocated for the repayment of debt. In and the number of household members living in the tions from people interested in accommodation aid Kraków is to introduce changes in the local regula- this way people in difficult living conditions have the from the Municipality for various causes. given premises. opportunity to work and earn money, the Municipal- pansion and modernization of the Internet module of tion Centre will help to counteract the social exclu- ity recovers rent arrears for flats, and additionally the Public Information Bulletin of the City of Kraków sion of people threatened with this phenomenon, 30 the communal buildings are renovated and areas servicing the premises exchange, and should enable will contribute to the improvement of the method of 31 cleaned. fully interactive communication between the Depart- management of communal residential resources, will ment of Housing of the Kraków City Hall, which is enable the rational usage of funds allocated for the Further possibilities in the area of proper manage- the organizer of the exchanges, and individual bid- occupational activation of the unemployed, and at ment of housing resources should be provided for in ders who will become the direct beneficiaries of the the same time, thanks to the completion of renova- the ‘Granit’ Integrated System for Property Manage- exchange programme. tion and cleaning works with the use of these funds, ment, an IT system introduced in 2009 for servicing will have a favorable effect on the quality of city the housing resources of the Municipality. At the same time special care will be given to the se- space. lection of tenants for vacant premises, mostly in the Anticipated results of the areas of greater concentration of flats or buildings at Another asset is the possibility of reducing the the Municipality’s disposal. number of orders of eviction from the communal re- implementation of the Local sources, because people who are behind with pay- Action Plan There will be observed the principle stating that the ments will be able to undertake measures to prevent qualification of tenants will be completed with the the eviction or effectively apply for the reinstatement participation of the representatives of the District of their legal title to the premises if the eviction has 1) Strategic goals: Councils where the buildings and premises for pop- already been ordered. ulation are located. • Liquidate the deficit of flats to be populated, • Reduce the number and sum of damages paid As before, the selection of tenants at a given area will by the Municipality to the owners of private involve the consideration of opinions of other institu- Contacts: buildings, whose occupants have received evictions that have conclusive information about the be- tion orders with the right to social premises to havior and needs of potential tenants, including, for For the LAP: the minimum, example, law-enforcement bodies, entities providing Edward Siatka • Reduce the scale of conflicts between the resi- social help and some non-governmental organiza- [email protected] dents’ groups and the representatives of interest tions. It needs to be stressed that such measures groups. are to integrate the members of various communi- For the city: ties that also include people threatened with social [email protected] 2) Short-term goals: exclusion (e.g. the homeless, wards of children’s homes, the disabled). • Full and possibly versatile usage of the premises exchange mechanism, and the simultaneous in- As part of the conducted social integration, consid- volvement of the tenants’ and owners’ own re- eration will also be given to spatial conditions i.e. sources at the possibly broad scale in order to compliance with existing management plans, care improve their own housing situation, for the proper quantity of green areas, recreational • Development of occupant assistance measures devices and playgrounds for children, the availabil- conducted by such organizations as the Social ity of parking lots, and the general aesthetics of the Integration Centre, space. What is more, public consultations will be • Prevention of conflicts by the initiation of infor- conducted with regard to the next city housing in- mation measures conducted on a broad scale vestments. and in the possibly varied manner. Thus populated locations will constitute places with The results of these measures can be achieved friendly neighborhoods and the factor supporting the with the minimum involvement of resources, can process of necessary integration for the inhabitants be immediately applied, and are successively being themselves. They will also be desirable or, at least, launched. peaceful neighborhoods for their direct surround- ings, i.e. other residential settlements or institutions The continuation of the exchange programme and offering both public and commercial services. the occupant assistance programme will help the Municipality to save financial resources thanks to the As their numbers rise in time, the harmoniously de- assumption of the cost of renovation or decoration signed and deliberately populated enclaves should of the premises by the tenants interested in living in become a factor not only positively shaping the spa- these premises. It also needs to be mentioned that tial quality of the City but also favorably affecting its the psychological aspect of this method of flat rent- social fabric. ing becomes essential, because numerous experiences show that a tenant who has invested their own The housing estate rehabilitation processes should work and money in the assigned flat cares for this also be conducive to this end. The development of flat in a better way than a person who has not made additional forms of assistance for occupants, like any contribution upon receiving the flat. the possibility of working off of rent arrears that has recently been made available by the Social Integra- These programmes may be popularized by the ex- Map of the Luton and Wayfield Ward (district) Problem The Luton and All Saints area in Chatham is an area 33 of closely packed Victorian terraced housing and 1970s built social housing. The steep narrow streets are isolated from the centre of Chatham by a dual carriageway. Overall the housing within the ward of Luton and Wayfield is primarily owner occupied (41%). 39% of the properties are rented of which 25% are tenants of a Housing Association, the largest of which is mhs Homes, with 14% of the total stock.

In line with good practice and building upon previous experience we are targeting resources into prior- A.) Damage to Terraced B.) A typical terrace of houses housing in Magpie Hall Road in the district ity areas, which have been identified using a range of data sources. This approach complements the council’s Social Regeneration Strategy, which identifies target areas for more widespread action. As part of the development of this approach, research was shared and consultation and stakeholder engage- ment from particular communities helped shape and inform the approach taken. Luton and All Saints has been identified as a priority area in the 2006 Stock Condition Survey, the 2008-11 Housing Strategy and the Social Regeneration Strategy. This is due to a number of issues including a large number of empty homes, poor energy efficiency, disrepair, homeless- Local Action Plan of Medway Council ness, fuel poverty and a large number of Houses in by Rachel Britt of the Housing Team, Medway Council Multiple Occupation (HMO). C.) Elevated houses and Creative Environmental Network we have developed Through local survey work it was found that in 2009 walkway in Luton Road Background and Setting there were 100 households from the new arrival Slo- area with electrical and Gas a detailed Medway-wide house-by-house database, services on display vak community across Medway of which forty-eight Most UK local authorities have completed significant which draws together a wide variety of information are clustered close together in the All Saints and ad- work in order to increase energy efficiency, allevi- including data on: jacent Luton neighborhoods. There is an average of of the National Landlords Association, which has ate fuel poverty and improve the level of decency six Slovak people living in each of these households helped to ensure that this is not just a Local Author- in housing stock. With an increased focus on these • House type, tenure and some of these households include more people ity led project. Co-operation between various coun- challenging targets, particularly in the area of CO2 • Home Energy Check data – extended families as well as children and parents. cil departments and external agencies through this reduction, local authorities are now looking at ways • Council Tax band This has created a significant and growing pressure group has been very productive. So far public and in which these targets can be met. This is against • Income and benefit entitlement on Medway’s Housing Services to address and man- political support has been strong and helpful. The a background of the significant work already com- age issues arising from increased numbers of hous- Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing has a seat on pleted and many of the ‘quick win’ measures being This information has then been used to model the es of multiple occupations and overcrowding in the the SHPB and is therefore closely involved in the installed, leaving a dispersed mix of potential meas- possible impact of improvements to housing stock Luton and All Saints neighborhoods. The situation is project. ures across housing stock. and in particular it will allow us to focus on the im- a growing problem in these neighborhoods. pact of work to improve energy efficiency. Key to the success of the project is a clear under- In addition, the difficulty of measuring and moni- standing of local needs and ensuring that the com- toring progress in areas such as CO2 reduction is The main aims for the project being to: Action Taken munity is engaged and has the opportunity to help a challenge. The UK official measurement for CO2 shape and influence local delivery. As part of this reduction is National Indicator 186, which uses so- • Improve housing standards, choice and afford- The main strength of the In Focus project is the pool- project we are liaising with the Partners and Com- phisticated data collection and modelling techniques ability ing of resources to build on existing work in the area munities Together (PACT) group which was set up as to measure actual changes in energy use. However, • Improve health, well-being and reduce health in- so that shared goals are achieved. The project is a neighborhood owned approach allowing local peo- they are produced with a two-year time lag and as a equalities supported by the Strategic Housing Partnership ple to identify those issues which impact upon the result it is difficult to observe if activity is having an • Reduce Fuel Poverty Board (SHPB); a dynamic forum of key public and quality of life on their doorstep and to work alongside effect on energy usage. • Bring empty properties back into use private players involved in housing that are brought the police and local agencies to find a resolution. together to help deliver decent and safe homes for The In Focus project was introduced to the Luton The ‘In Focus’ project seeks to undertake targeted This work is at an early stage and will be delivered all residents living in Medway. A sub-group of the PACT group in May 2010 where ward councillors, housing research across all of Medway, which can over a 5yr+ period. Further consultation is currently board, the Private Sector Housing Strategy Monitor- residents, the police and landlords were present. be used to provide information on overall conditions underway with the community to help inform the de- ing Group, is leading on the project and meet on a and trends but can also be interrogated down to velopment of specific projects in addition to work quarterly basis with progress reported back to the In July 2009, Medway Council was awarded £88,103 an individual property level. Working in association already underway in the area, which is now being, SHPB. The Private Sector Housing Strategy Moni- to help manage the transitional impacts of migration with the Energy Savings Trust Advice Centre and the picked up under the overall In Focus umbrella. toring Group is chaired by the Kent representative throughout 2009/10. The funding was used to provide new migrant arrivals with better access to hous- Fund was withdrawn for 2010/11 and we have had ing advice and solutions and to ensure the availabil- to find additional resources within existing servic- 34 ity of safe and decent homes in the private sector. A es to fund the specialist housing adviser services. dedicated housing services adviser for new migrant Funding for the work carried out by Creative Envi- communities was appointed from the Roma speak- ronmental Networks has not yet been guaranteed for ing community. Operating in a neighborhood out- 2011/12 and so this element of the project may not reach capacity, the adviser monitors and ensures that be able to be delivered. new arrival migrant communities residing in primarily private rented accommodation have access to eq- Welfare benefits, including housing benefit, are un- uitable services and that the standard of accommo- dergoing radical changes. These could affect the af- dation is in line with Decent Homes Standards and fordability of housing in Medway for those with low HMO regulations. A neighborhood housing informa- incomes, particularly in the private rented sector. tion and advice service for new arrival migrant com- Claimants living in Medway will lose an average of munities was also be established, offering support £48 per month, compared to over £600 in affluent services in relation to housing, employment and wel- boroughs of London. This is likely to result in people fare entitlements as well as informal legal advice and moving into Medway leading to overstretched serv- financial management expertise offered by partner ices with less resources available, increased pres- voluntary and community organisations. sure on housing in the Private Sector and vulnerable people being hit the hardest. There have been no additional resources allocated to the project, instead it concentrates on the pooling We have to be realistic about what we can achieve of resources and bringing together funding sources. in this challenging climate. It is more important than ever that we focus our efforts and resources in the Outcome right places and that the services we do offer operate efficiently and make a real difference. Government In 2009/10, 42 empty properties were brought back proposals to change the council housing finance into use in the area with the help of £2.5 million system may give local authorities greater control worth of funding from the Homes and Communities over their finances, allowing them to reinvest income Agency. 23 households were re-housed to suitable from their homes to meet local housing need. The accommodation via the overcrowding scheme and project will be re-evaluated once the Council’s budg- nearly £400,000 out of a total budget of £1.2 million ets have been set in April 2011. was spent on renewing 49 properties in the private sector.

In September 2010, we carried out a targeted en- Contacts: ergy advice campaign when a mail out went to 5,000 residents in the In Focus Project area and neighbor- Rachel Britt ing wards whose property showed a good potential Housing Team to install energy savings measures. An Energy Sav- Medway Council ings Trust advisor who provided doorstep assistance [email protected] on energy savings measures then further targeted around 250 properties. Funding was secured from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to deliver a fuel bill workshop offering advice on reducing energy bills among low-income households.

Between January and July 2010, 167 people were given advice at the housing advice surgeries with the majority of queries being Child Tax Credits, Hous- ing Benefit and Private Sector issues. For the same time period, inspections were carried out in 23 private sector properties.

The main challenge for the project is funding. The Council has agreed to a £23.5m programme of revenue savings in 2011/12 in response to cuts in Government grants and other budgetary pressures. Services are being reviewed to improve efficiency and to reduce areas of discretionary spending. The second year of funding under the Migrant Impacts LAP of Nantes Métropole By Nantes Métropole

Introduction undertaken by Nantes Métropole and the municipalities to search for a balanced development in the Cities are the ideal venue for social, cultural and housing supply and for maintaining the attractive- economic advancement. The conditions for the for- ness of the metropolitan area as a whole. mation of towns are well known: density of human activities, polarisation, i.e. the concentration of di- The expected results of this kind of approach are: versified urban functions and accessibility, which is to say moving around easily. To continue to grow by To advance the concept of “density” and contribute offering more services which are accessible to all, to its wider acceptance by policymakers and local Nantes Métropole has to organise these three condi- residents; tions across its territory: this is the challenge facing • Create a positive image of more compact in- a territorial development strategy. dividual housing operations, to promote the development and normalisation of this type of Within this strategy, housing is the cornerstone of products in the future across the territory of the quality of life and of living our lives alongside one an- conurbation of Nantes. other. The housing issue is not limited to quantitative • Guarantee a certain quality of treatment, for ex- targets. Rather, it has to be seen from the standpoint ample the implementation of eco-construction of an analysis of human needs and the way they cor- principles while meeting the expectations of respond to the supply. Thanks to its skills and com- households (final price). petences, Nantes Métropole is seeking to develop • Make the most of “pilot” aspect of these opera- sustainable and innovative urban projects while en- tions, to produce housing programmes which suring exit prices that are tailored to the needs of are both affordable and provide a good social households. This approach, initiated by the pilot op- mix. erations, is in the process of being generalised to all the operations across the Community. The example of a pilot operation in Bouaye: ZAC des Ormeaux

1. Towards innovative and Bouaye is one of 24 municipalities that make up sustainable projects Nantes Métropole, situated in the southwest of the conurbation. In 1994, because it was looking to cre- The Local Housing Program was an opportunity to ate a new urban area around the high school which highlight a threefold phenomenon: was to be set up in the early 2000’s, the municipal council decided to create a Concerted Development • Urban sprawl Zone (ZAC des Ormeaux), comprising a central sec- • Urban expansion which consumes a great deal tor to accommodate all of the public facilities and a of land series of diverse housing districts in a well structured • The social segregation of the territory landscaped setting. With this in mind, a number of major strategic orien- tations have been selected to guide the joint action The pilot operation in Bouaye is particularly inter- looking for individual housing, while at the same Definition of a “pilot” housing time enabling the creation of urban housing that 36 uses less space and is affordable. 37 operation: • Developing housing production that focuses on young families with small children, creating and It is of course the case that individual, detached strengthening the climb up the property ladder houses are predominantly what households and improving the diversity of the population. are looking for, particularly family households, and that many middle income households are no longer able to carry out their house buy- The fact that the ZAC des Ormeaux is a pilot ing project within the conurbation. Because of operation made it possible to revisit the over- this, the “pilot” housing operations that Nantes Bouaye in Nantes Métropole - 6,172 inhabitants all outline plan to improve the overall density Métropole is looking to promote by means of of the project and its urban form. A consider- this call for projects from the municipalities able amount of in-depth work was carried out has two objectives in mind: on the orientation of the homes, so as to preserve privacy while accepting a certain level • The promotion of dense forms of individ- of density. ual housing... ZAC des Ormeaux • ...at an affordable price to meet the needs The programme was reoriented in order to of households who are currently financial- integrate affordable and social housing in to ly excluded from home ownership on the every sector. Example, the intermediary hous- territory of Nantes Métropole. ing, such as the terraced houses, can be private, social or affordable. As for the plots of land reserved for building projects, some small esting because it takes into account the three main plots were set aside for first-time buyers. aspects of sustainable development as the SUITE project. Nantes Métropole was a partner in this project. High-quality work was carried out with the municipality and the developer in order to improve 2. From the pilot operation to the quality of the project (urban form, density) and to the generalisation of sustainable adapt the supply to the demands of the population and to achieve a greater mix in the types of housing urban development operations on offer (affordable and social housing) and therefore thanks to an ambitious action plan in the social composition of this developing neighbourhood. The generalisation of pilot operations involves:

The objectives of the project • Controlling costs in order to obtain final prices that are suited to those households which are The objectives of the town’s development project, usually excluded from home ownership; shared between Nantes Métropole and the munici- • A compact and well oriented urban form with a pal council, are as follows: focus on preserving the privacy of future residents; • A growth rate in housing supply in Bouaye, fixed • A form of housing which meets the needs of according to the construction needs and poten- families (location, parking, energy control…); tial of the town, of 60 dwellings per year on aver- • Dialogue between elected officials and trade age over the next 10 years. professionals. • Promoting exemplary sustainable development practices by initiating an eco-housing estate, based on: Conclusion • the bioclimatic design and comfort of the buildings The aim of pilot operations is to test, in real situa- • energy management and use of renewable ener- tions, how to achieve affordable housing, for which gies all the costs are carefully controlled, and which offers • Development of a genuine social mix using ap- buyers housing products at sales prices that have propriate housing typologies. ceased to be the norm on the market across the con- • Implementation of a form of urbanisation that urbation. This scale is still experimental, first in terms concerns itself with preserving the quality of the of quantity and second in its ability to spread further landscape, the biodiversity and resources (storm afield, although the challenge facing the city – one water management, waste disposal, energy sav- that has been identified clearly in the new PLH – is to ings). make affordable first-time home ownership account • Providing a response to the needs of households for up to 25% of the needs in new production in the metropolitan area over the coming years. Contacts: 38 Under these conditions, one of the key elements of the approach is the commitment of business part- Angèle Lafaye ners to sharing the challenges of this policy, with European Project Officer Urbact2-SUITE their capacity to reflect collectively on the economic Direction Générale du Développement Urbain feasibility and technical implementation conditions 2 cours du Champ de Mars for home affordability. 44923 NANTES CEDEX 9 This is the role taken up by Nantes Métropole, which [email protected] has given rise to the following initiative: The professional affordable home ownership workshops, a necessary step to bringing together professionals around a common goal and working together to develop operational solutions

This approach will be complemented by similar work bringing together elected officials from the municipalities of Nantes Métropole to look at urban development in the city. The way the partnership will work on self-build programmes is designed to lead to the production of considerable numbers of new homes. As regards operations, Nantes Métropole has taken over the housing ZAC (Concerted Development Zone) competence to underscore the fact that the community as a whole is focused on all the global projects. Newcastle City Council Local Action Plan By Newcastle City Council

Background gic coherence to the schemes recently developed or in development for people moving from supported housing or seeking to developed, that we have Urban Village (UV) is a proposal to called “Transitional Tenancies” eg Bevans (30 units), develop a mixed community of high Star Centre (20 units) Salvation Army (8 units) Cen- quality environmentally friendly trepoint (6 units) and the proposed 47+ units for Tyne Housing and SVP in the Ouseburn. affordable accommodation – for people who: There are pros and cons in not concentrating any particular group in a specific area. But there is no want to live in high quality affordable accommoda- reason not to consider both developing an UV in tion in a vibrant city centre mixed and mutually sup- the Crisis sense of a large project on a single site portive community, for example: (http://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/crisis-supportive- housing-model.htmlhttp://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/ • people who are ready to move on from support- crisis-supportive-housing-model.html) and applying ed housing the principles to the pepper potted accommodation • people leaving health / care facilities eg drug re- for this client group. This is an extension of the suc- habilitation cessful arrangements Newcastle City Council (NCC) • graduates who want to remain in the city and Your Homes Newcastle (YHN the city’s largest • key workers landlords with 30,000 stock) have developed to fa- • people who are involved in business start ups cilitate a holistic approach to the housing market eg the Pathways to Independence (Case study “Path- The economic downturn and reduction in public ways to Independence for young people in New- funding for housing has meant that we have refined castle (UK)”), Preventing Eviction Protocols and the the concept. The principles behind the UV idea can Housing and Employment Compact. The effective- be applied remotely a Remote Urban Village (RUV). ness of this approach is seen in the reduction of YHN This would be a means of providing greater strate- evictions to just 18 over the last 3 months from 66 evictions when the scheme started in 2006, the low- est rate of the core cities. This suggests that the levels of demand are suffi- How would it be allocated? cient 40 We are in the process of developing a pre-tenancy Through your Choice Homes, the council’s hous- 41 training programme to create a robust system for - The viability and demand is dependent upon the ing allocations process, regardless of the tenure, supported housing providers to prepare people for offer. There are no robust statistics available on de- this would support NCC/YHN’s aspiration to move sustainable independence and to help reduce the mand for this type of product, but the information towards housing options that seeks to meet all af- duplication of the provision of support services. YHN above is indicative of the demand for 1 and 2 bed fordable housing aspirations through a coordinated will develop the “passport” to independence so it’s council accommodation. The level of demand is tied citywide approach. This would be covered by a local clear from the landlord’s perspective what is needed to affordability and the quality of the accommoda- lettings policy that would define the characteristics to sustain a tenancy. At present the emphasis of tion. Inevitably the price increases, as does demand, of prospective tenants as described above. Again support services can be more about advocating for with improvements in the quality and location. we could work more closely with prospective part- their clients’ “right” to independent accommodation ners. rather than helping their clients to address the rea- • Crisis’ recommends a minimum of 100 units to sons for their ineligibility and ensuring they have the create the economies of scale required to col- Support services skills and support they need to make the transition locate extensive support services. However the to independence. more services provided on site the more that de- The services will be determined by the needs of the fines the needs of the community eg drugs and community. It would be inappropriate to accommo- We are simultaneously working to develop a single mental health workers and this can then define date people who cannot demonstrate readiness for site UV. Currently this is being developed with Tyne community opposition. independent living. As well as being dysfunctional Housing in the Ousburn valley. However this is being • The principles can be applied to a range of small- this would be unlikely to secure planning permission. delayed by the problems in securing capital fund- er units serving a similar client group across the A primary need of people who are moving to inde- ing. community. However this loses the advantages pendence is protection from bad influences and this of an explicitly mixed community and the mutual can be “supported” by the design of a secure but support that potentially brings. The problem transparent and open environment where staff and Range of affordable rent levels in residents interact. Who is the market currently failing – Sheildfield for September 2010: what can the UV offer? Actions taken and Outcomes Newcastle private rented LHA rates: How many units are viable? There have been a number of seminars and meetings • 1 bedroom property (shared) £62.00 to explore and refine the concept including the com- The table below shows the expressions of interest • 1 bedroom property (self contained) £94.36 missioning of consultants to develop and adapt the in 1 and 2 bed accommodation in Sheildfield adver- • 2 bedroom property £106.51 idea to Newcastle’s housing market. The adapted tised through Your Choice Homes between April - • (NB these benefit levels are likely to drop) concept has produced 56 units of accommodation March 2010 with 47 in the pipeline. YHN: Tyne Housing have a site with planning permission • YHN 1 bedroom Tyneside flat typical for Shield- and we are in the process of seeking to require capi- field area basic rent £57.45 tal grant from UK and European sources to make the • YHN 2 bedroom flat typical of Shieldfield area scheme affordable. basic rent £56.32

Home Housing – Housing Associations: Contacts:

• Typical RSL 1 bedroom flat basic rent £58.04 Neil Munslow • Typical RSL 2 bedroom flat basic rent £62.24 Housing and Welfare Services Manager Adult & Culture Services Directorate What other services should be available: Newcastle upon Tyne [email protected] Business and retail

This would fit with the One Plan particularly the aspiration to support small business. To take the concept further would require a full scale evaluation with ABR. More would be need to be investigated with specific partners eg the universities about what is required. Shieldfield is close to the Design and Busi- ness schools and there maybe specific offers that are required. Faced with this alarming situation and the lack of real Under the 2005-2012 local housing program (ex- large-scale expertise regarding first-time home own- tended to 2014), production targets were set at ership for lower income families, Rennes Métropole 36,000 units, 50% intended for very low to interme- 43 has decided to study potential solutions in terms of diate income households. industrial production processes that would meet all the architectural quality, urban and environmental The B3 project criteria required for decent housing. For Rennes Métropole, the local action plan’s selec- Therefore, Rennes Métropole first of all approached tion of the B3 project has several advantages regard- its development partner (“Territoires”, a semi-public ing local housing policy: company) to compile an inventory of existing practices regarding cost control and industrialized pro- • building costs control, which is essential in duction processes. providing affordable homes for lower-income households; The choice of the still experimental “B3” project is the • the diversity of solutions offered by modular result of this initial diagnosis and Rennes Métropole forms and services, which can provide different is now focusing on promoting this project. answers in terms of domestic amenities or archi- This project is developed by the architect Clément tectural and urban quality; Gillet with a prototype house built in Pont-Péan, and • energy performance, which is crucial in terms an 11-home building project under construction in of both eco-friendliness and heating costs for Saint-Gilles (part of Rennes Métropole). households (a key solvency factor); The basic module is a High Cube 40 ft shipping con- • speed of implementation, resulting from the in- tainer, offering 25 to 27 m² of living space according dustrial building process; to the facilities included. • the job creation perspective with the establish- LAP of Rennes Métropole ment of several production lines; By Rennes Métropole and Investeam with the collaboration of Rennes Métropole’s partners work • dramatically reduced construction times; • and finally, a contribution to the recycling ofa the ULSG members The partners’ exchanges on the three themes of basic commodity, with a short industrial life cy- the “SUITE” project (i.e. social, economic and envi- cle and high financial and environmental storage ronmental aspects) prompted Rennes Métropole to costs (use of space). fine a zone-based rent policy aimed at meeting the Container housing in Rennes select the B3 housing project and to speed up its challenges of social mixity. implementation. A prototype… Métropole These programmes are the authority’s initial re- “SUITE” served as a stimulus, as Rennes Métropole sponse to the challenges and represent a degree was eager to make a contribution through an actual A first prototype of a detached family home was built In line with the challenges and objectives of the Leip- of expertise which can be improved and expanded. full-scale development project. in Pont-Péan, a local authority belonging to Rennes zig Charter, Rennes Métropole already has proactive They deserve to be completed and complemented Métropole. and innovative strategy and action plans for integrat- by the experiences and practices of our European The “local support group” established on Rennes The house is lived in and can be used to assess the ed sustainable development: The Metropolitan Au- colleagues, whose approach and systems are sig- Métropole’s initiative was intended to disseminate level of home comforts as well as that of heating thority’s project defining its sustainable development nificantly different. strategy, the “Pays de Rennes” Concerted Planning the outcomes of exchanges of information at the bills, etc. Document (“Schéma de Cohérence Territoriale du European level (involvement in the 24-26 June 2009 Pays de Rennes”) that implements it on the ground, Rennes Métropole’s main focus: meeting) during the initial phase, then to consoli- All construction stages have been conducted so as the mobilization of local players, the “Metro Barom- keeping housing costs under date the local action plan in the second phase of the to assess the best possible solutions to implement, eter” enabling the tracking and monitoring of this project. and to get the right balance between technical sim- strategy. The Metropolitan Authority project is ma- control and encouraging local plicity and timeliness, and quality building. terialised into and complemented by various secto- experimentation Beyond the local support group, the project sup- The advantages and disadvantages of each process rial plans and projects (Social Development Project, ported by Rennes Métropole has been the subject step have been tested and the building process vali- Energy Climate Plan, Local Housing Program, Urban The project must be seen against the backdrop of a of numerous meetings and events involving various dated. Transport Plan, etc.). building shortfall of economically accessible housing partners: for low income families. Without the intervention of In parallel, several studies have been carried out Other Rennes Métropole policies and action plans local authorities, the private market only spontane- • several B3 prototype housing visits were organ- to provide a plurality of shapes and arrangements line up with the objectives set by the Leipzig Char- ously produces either very upmarket housing in the ised with local councillors and technicians; and to define the outlines of a perennial and diverse ter, including the “urban shapes” working group, the urban core provided by private developers or very • a B3 prototype open house was held on 29 range of building solutions. “BBC” (low energy consumption buildings) project, down-market housing a long way from the city cen- May 2010 to allow all the councillors to visit the etc. tre with no guarantee of quality (i.e. individual house house; … and a full scale experimentation building). This situation leads to the exclusion of low- • “Les Chromatiques” operation, located in Saint- In terms of first-time homeownership, Rennes income families from the urban core, forcing them Gilles and its marketing. Full scale experimentation of the B3 project will be Métropole has already put in place innovative pro- to move out to distant peripheral areas, with all the implemented in a town northwest of Rennes, Saint- grammes and procedures, including: sale price su- well-known disadvantages that this entails in terms This local action plan is part of the strategy devel- Gilles. pervision, allocation rules, grants, etc. of transport costs and wasted time, pollution, urban oped by Rennes Métropole (through its local housing An experimental approach has also been established sprawl, social and individual isolation, etc. program - PLH) to meet affordable and sustainable The fears expressed by different institutional players with the social housing organizations in order to de- housing production targets. regarding the B3 project showed some (probably un- conscious) prejudice regarding industrial (production a preserve of high-income households. The project line) dwellings. also shows that beyond the purely architectural mer- 44 its, buyers are prepared to go along with the concept 45 Following World War II and right up to the 1970s, of container-based dwellings. reconstruction needs resulted in the massive development of high-rise apartment housing. These Resident participation high-rise buildings are clearly associated in people’s minds with the concept of an industrialized build- Much like the Greve’s Garden experiment in Ham- ing process (“Crane Road”), which now has a very burg, the B3 project could involve a more collabora- poor reputation among building project contractors. tive approach with future residents. Industrial building process experiments such as this one reveal concerns about the quality of the housing The modular container concept offers a lot of flexibil- produced (in terms of acoustics, thermal insulation, ity in the interior architectural design and organiza- Container house prototype, Pont-Péan aesthetic qualities, etc.). tion. It would therefore be easy to envisage a more The monitoring of the project from construction cooperative approach involving the residents in the through to final delivery is therefore the next key definition of the project, before the request for the stage which can reverse this fear. building permit (the official authorization given to a building project) is actually filed. While the concept gave rise to fairly drawn out discussions, the project itself was set up in record time (between May and November 2010) and the 11 units Contacts: have been awarded to first-time buyers. Building work began. Stephanie André Stephanie André The B3 experimental project in St-Gilles will include [email protected] an estate of 11 individual houses, called “Les Chro- matiques”: comprising eight 3-bedroom houses with Valérie Corlou 93 to 101 m² of living area and three 4-bedroom [email protected] houses with 120 m² of living area and a patio. The houses are intended for lower-income buyers who are eligible for Rennes Métropole’s “first-time homeownership” grants.

The project demonstrates in situ how the B3 concept can meet the aims it is designed to achieve, i.e.:

• architectural innovation through a deliberately contemporary approach but avoiding the pitfalls of visual monotony; • building quality designed to meet the BBC Effin- ergie energy-efficiency criteria; • guaranteed domestic comfort, with private spaces preserved thanks to the patio, a bona fide living area open to the sky; • low building costs, at under €1,600 / m² incl. VAT, offering larger surface areas than those found in more traditional building programmes.

While the “Les Chromatiques” project only represents a small fraction of grant-aided first-time homeownership housing sold in 2010 (around 800 housing units in total), it offers exciting prospects. The speed at which the houses were sold (in 2 months: October and November 2010) proves, if need be, the demand for comfortable and economically accessible housing.

Beyond the economic relevance of the project, its architectural and urban planning aspects are also attractive for household buyers, thereby demonstrating that contemporary architecture is not necessarily Container house prototype, Pont-Péan Objectives of the Local Action Plan 47 The Plan’s ultimate goal is the promotion of social mix and integration by way of housing, consolidating balanced options (between ownership and renting, between private and public sectors), within the reach of different social segments, with the implementation of programmes for integrating underprivileged groups.

The ambitious, wide-ranging nature of this purpose involves the need for establishing a long-term strategy that is flexible and adaptable in time, according SUNP: Not planned land for building development to the circumstances. This strategy should include SUP: Planned land for building development different mid-term Action Plans, adapted to the cir- SUD: Delimited land for building development PERI: Special plan for internal reform cumstances at each moment and therefore capable of suitably adopting actions aimed at obtaining real results, which would otherwise run the risk of simply SUBSIDIZED HOUSING (expropriation) remaining on paper. LAP of Santiago de Therefore, the developed Action Plan includes the term “Phase I” in its title. It is the first Plan included in the strategy described above, centred on a period Compostela City Council of around five years, programming specific actions By EMUVISSA and Santiago de Compostela City Council that make up the first step in this new undertaking. with the collaboration of the ULSG members

cessing housing, almost exclusively for ownership, › A proposal for social integration should be widened and provide more alternatives, based on housing for rent promoting housing for rent, consolidating private- sector housing and creating public-sector housing. (Phase I) On the other hand, in relation to social integration Reference Framework strategies, the aforementioned housing policies have FREE HOUSING (cooperation) enabled urban development to be accompanied by Today’s general panorama presents us with a real- a high degree of social mix, by integrating different ity in which homeownership has become practically types of free-market and subsided housing. How- the only feasible alternative, due to limited available ever, it is necessary to provide a specific solution for housing for rent, at least at competitive prices com- those groups, especially underprivileged ones, that Proposed Actions pared to available housing for ownership. Although are affected not only by economic problems and in recent years high housing prices were not an ob- unemployment but also by problems due to educa- The Action Plan will focus especially on implement- stacle in view of the “financial facilities” offered by tional and cultural deficiencies and differences. This ing a pilot project that consists in constructing the banks, the onset of the economic crisis means that requires more support than merely a house; specific first building of state-subsidized housing for rent, the opposite is true and that access to housing has supplementary measures and actions are also nec- which will be aimed at underprivileged groups and INDUSTRIAL LAND (cooperation) become impossible in many cases. Now more than essary to guarantee their full integration. will implement social integration programmes. ever, there is a clear lack of attainable options for different social segments (especially those of medium In any case, the solutions should be led by public au- On the other hand, other types of actions are pro- and low income). thorities, especially at municipal level, by preparing posed in order to attain the wider-ranging objectives policies and programmes targeting the problem. described above, such as promoting public- and In the case of the city of Santiago, for quite a few private-sector subsidized housing for rent. years it has led the way in establishing active hous- EMUVISSA LANDS ing policies, developing land and creating a well-or- ACTION 1 – PILOT PROJECT ganized and sufficient range of housing for different Total sums of housing: 6,682 housing (4,712 subsi- social segments, mainly for ownership, with special dized) PHASE 1 – LAUNCHING THE PROJECT emphasis on subsidized housing. Although these municipal housing policies have alleviated to a cer- Total of industrial land: 84.23 has. Phase aimed at preliminary studies of the project tain extent the effects of the crisis in the sector com- and their subsequent presentation. pared to other cities, it is clear that the model for ac- The objective, on the one hand, is looking for the women with dependents. However, there are few most suitable hypotheses enabling the real develop- experiences (except with immigrants) of dealing glo- 48 ment of the project, from an urbanistic, economic bally –while focusing on the urbanistic perspective– 49 and social perspective and, on the other hand, pre- with the problem of integrating certain groups. paring supplementary social integration programmes that will be implemented in the project: Housing is a basic element of social integration, as well as a constitutional right recognized in Spain. • Activity 1 – Feasibility Study Housing policies should therefore be social policies • Activity 2 – Supplementary Programme required for the cohesion of society; because hous- PHASE 2 – DEVELOPING THE PROJECT ing policies are also urbanistic and social policies. Since both activities (1 and 2) are a main part of the By constitutional mandate, public authorities should Action Plan’s essence, they have been developed in Phase aimed at implementing the project and setting promote the necessary conditions for attaining land parallel to the latter, with the former and their results in motion rents and supplementary programmes. use in accordance with the general interest and pre- being part of the Plan itself. vent speculation. The objective is to make the project a reality and this In the case of the pilot project’s feasibility study, requires the following sub-phases or activities: Land and housing policies, which are structural funding is of special importance. This is so because policies, operate in the mid and long term. Every even if the study shows the project to be feasible, • Activity 4 – Construction of the building intervention action in this type of policies does not these results are highly fragile due to the important • Activity 5 – Entry of tenants and implementation produce immediate results, which is why it is neces- dependence on sufficient public funding (grants) so of supplementary programmes sary to detect and deal with them early on in order to that the investment can be recovered within a rea- adopt solutions. sonable time period. PHASE 3 – PRESENTATION OF PROJECT RESULTS The right to a decent home is also linked to the right to an inhabitable and integrated, unified and sustain- Phase aimed at notifying the public and public-sec- able city. The different Housing Plans that have been tor entities about the results obtained from applying implemented since 2005 have highlighted this nature the pilot project, which is an activity per se: in their main points. They have favored the construction of and access to subsidized housing, and pro- • Activity 6 – Presentation of project results moted initiatives to facilitate access to housing for those groups with the greatest difficulties for obtaining a decent home. The last two Housing Plans have endeavored to balance the type of ownership of the primary residence, and renting is being stimulated to move towards an equaling of ownership and promote the use of unoccupied homes.

However, there is an underlying problem of scale in the way of dealing with the problem. Acceptable results in matters of social integration can only be ACTION 2 – PROMOTING HOUSING FOR obtained by means of profound knowledge of the reality and personal monitoring of those involved. This RENT reality questions the State’s capacity for managing such problems. Economic and regulatory incentives In parallel to the start of the pilot project, we propose can and should be organized by state and regional activities aimed at attaining the broadest objectives administrations, but the implementation of the proof promoting public- and private-sector subsidized gramme and execution of the actions should be un- housing for rent: dertaken at municipal level.

• Activity 1 – Town planning study Starting from these reasons, Santiago’s LAP has The currently available grants for initiatives related • Activity 2 – Launch of new plots consisted in reflecting on these matters, detecting to subsidised housing come mainly from the 2009- problems, choosing solutions and, finally, establish- Contacts: 2012 Housing Plan (both state and regional). In this ing a pilot project based on cooperation between the regard, and coinciding with the objectives of the Conclusion administrations and private sector, and on collabora- For the LAP: proposed Action Plan, the Housing Plan promotes tion among all those involved in the matter to try to Diego Briega renovation and renting as opposed to new housing Current programmes designed to solve the inte- develop a possible solution. Architect – EMUVISSA for ownership, and it specifically establishes a series gration problems of groups facing social-insertion [email protected] of large incentives for establishing “subsidised ac- difficulties deal with partial aspects: employment, The Local Action Plan being carried out in Santiago commodation” aimed at especially underprivileged education healthcare, social conflicts, housing, etc. consists in programming very precise actions result- For the Project: groups. From an urbanistic perspective, subsidizing housing in a broader strategy for social integration, based Belén Mendoza ing for rent is an objective that covers the needs of on providing housing for groups at risk of exclusion, SUITE project • Activity 3 – Presentation of project specific groups: youths, domestic violence victims, incorporating the different public- and private-sector [email protected] actors interested in the subject. prove their living standards. • Widening the use of solar energy is important for buildings that have low energy consumption. Clients who have been using the re-socialization 51 service (shelters for people with coping difficulties Financial means and Social Housing Units) have reported improved health and growth in income. 25% of clients could By the year 2020 ca 13 million EUR will be spent on pay more for living costs if they were able to obtain the renovation and insulation of municipally owned higher-level housing. buildings. This is expected to provide an estimated energy saving from 50 to 100 GWh per year. Pursuant to the above, for ensuring the functioning of the re-socialization system, Tallinn has the need In addition to the city and investor funds, energy sav- for additional social housing units and social and ing efforts can also be financed by use of various aid municipal houses. The weaknesses of already built funds like the European Regional Development Fund social housing units are the lack of social rooms for (ERDF). The distribution of financing resources is or- low income groups, the low accessibility of social ganized through the Enterprise Estonia. services, difficulties in grouping of persons inside the houses, planning of the houses. The new social construction in Tallinn is basically financed by ERDF (according to the local programme Orphans of urban areas). The priority is directed to the improvement of living environment, i.e. development of LAP of Tallinn City One of the priorities of municipal welfare is to ensure public infrastructure related to the increase in social By the City Property Department with the collaboration of for children a favorable development environment security (more info http://www.eas.ee/index.php/ for satisfying their basic and special needs in order for-public-and-non-profit-sectors/development-of- the ULSG members to raise people who are healthy, capable and will- public-services/programme-for-the-development- ing to work and develop. For promoting substitute of-urban-areas ). care, one of the objectives of the Tallinn welfare is Energy saving in social housing III level to reorganize a children’s home into smaller units, The construction of social houses with twin apartments and twin houses for up to 16 Social housing units for people with coping difficul- children. The weaknesses of existing model of or- The objective is to make the social services more ac- Social housing system in Tallinn ties. phanages are contained in concentration of children cessible for low-income groups through increasing to the big isolated houses, which makes difficult the Tallinn has set up a system for the re-socialization of the supply of social rooms. The result of the project Social housing units are meant for 24-hour use. children’s social integration. For the purpose of the excluded and homeless people that is divided into is the best rehabilitation possibilities for the target Housing conditions are relatively modest. 1-3 peo- re-organization of orphanages, two-family housing four levels. The clients have constant access to pro- group. ple per room. units will be built for the children in the Mustamäe fessional counseling and assistance by social work- and Kopli centre and social work in orphanages will ers and lodging facilities with amenities correspond- Two low-energy social houses will be constructed in be re-organized, as a result of which the children will ing to the specific level. IV level the frame of the project (totally for 140 persons). be better prepared for independent life and integrate Social and municipal houses. into society. I level The total cost of the project is 2 844 068 EUR, incl. 85% financed by ERDF and 15% city financing. Social and municipal houses are tenant buildings Night houses and shelters for the provision of emer- Environmental aspects in social that belong to the city. Lodging conditions are simi- gency care. construction The construction of orphanages lar to standard apartment houses and all persons or families have their own individual living premises. Night houses are only for night-time use; those The City of Tallinn has set up the activities t reduce The main objective is to minimize the difference in Tenants are required to pay for all communal serv- homeless people who because of their health can- CO² emission by the year 2020 up to 20%. The heat social behaviour of children living in families and ices. not be sent out during the day are also allowed to supply of buildings is one of the most important pos- children living in orphanages through construction remain in the shelter during the day; lodging facilities sibilities in conserving energy. The renovation and of small houses at the same providing the orphans Social services are provided in the first three types of are extremely modest, with 10 to 20 people sharing insulation of existing buildings achieves up to 30% with family friendly conditions. The result is socially housing units, whereas the first type provides emer- one room; the service is free for the clients. savings. New buildings will be built according to the adopted child who has “family” experience to start gency care and the next two provide re-socialization requirements of EU directives. In the heat supply of the independent life. service. All levels have access to assistance and buildings, the following conservation measures must II level counseling by social workers. be emphasized: Four double houses (totally eight families, six children in each family) and three detached houses (six Shelters for people with coping difficulties. General problems and interests of • Renovation must be preceded by a building en- children per every house) will be constructed in the ergy audit; frame of the project. Shelter is meant for 24-hour use. Lodging conditions the city in social housing • The energy label is a mandatory requirement are modest and there are 6 to 10 people per room. for new buildings, necessary for buildings that Total cost of the project is 2 876 024 EUR, incl. 85% In wintertime, when night houses are overcrowded, Low-income people change owners and recommended for all build- financed by ERDF and 15% self-financing. overnight lodging is also provided by shelters. ings; The multi-level system of social housing motivates • The installation of heating pumps should in- people to develop themselves so that they can im- crease by 1.5 times; Implementation of energy saving and 52 renewable energy elements All project buildings have high quality insulation, the implemented solar panels for water heating purpos- es and the air-water heating pumps and ventilation systems with heat recovery. The aim is to produce the buildings with low energy consumption - < 40 kw/m² per year. Social house Männiku 92 (for 90 persons): Social impact

Social houses

The positive impact of the project is the social services are more accessible for low-income groups. The result is the best rehabilitation possibilities for the target group. The social services enable the person to independently cope in conditions that are as similar to standard conditions as possible. Low-income people can achieve the goal of independent life through meeting his or her housing need and the organization of daily life.

Orphanages

The project has a directly positive impact on equal- Social house Varre 7 (for 50 persons) ity, since it helps to promote equal opportunities between risk groups. The gap between the children’s home and home children will shrink when children directed to the substitution service live in small units. Life in home-like conditions in small houses will help children from the children’s home to better adapt to society in the future. The objective is to ensure that children without parental care have equal opportunities with other children for development and an independent life. What is important is that a child who lives in a substitute home does not feel excluded and is an active and accepted member of society and eligible on the labour market. A substitute home will help children from the children’s home to obtain better preparation for independent life and normal The general vision of double houses life. Housing of children in smaller houses located around the city will reduce anonymity, increase the responsibility of families in organizing their daily life, help to reduce the children’s problem behaviour, create a home feeling and help the children to better integrate into society.

Contacts:

Natalie Neill Chief Official Tallinn City Property Department [email protected]

Location of collectors on building roofs (least shading) Conclusions By the URBACT experts: Darinka Czischke (Thematic Expert) and Heidrun Feigelfeld (Lead Expert)

Sustainable housing: an ambitious turn them into policy dilemmas and recommenda- but worthwhile goal tions by adopting a multi-level perspective.

The SUITE project posed itself an ambitious ques- Integrating the three aspects of tion: how to integrate the three pillars of sustainabil- sustainability ity in the field of housing. What does this mean? As defined initially by the project, sustainable housing Table 1 provides an overview of the main lessons should be, at the same time, environmentally sound, resulting from each of the three thematic meetings economically viable and socially inclusive. Achieving of SUITE. When asked about which of the three as- these three goals in one project at the same time is pects was most difficult to integrate, the majority indeed an ambitious aim. While there are many initia- of the project’s partners answered the ‘economic’ tives dealing with the issue of housing sustainability, aspect. Perhaps this answer relates not only to the evidence shows that most of these have focused on availability of actual funding but also to highly vola- one or at the most on two of the three components. tile macro contexts (e.g. economic crisis, chang- Often, the lack of resources or the need to achieve ing governmental agendas, regulation, etc.), which quick results has led to ‘sustainability’ being hijacked render this dimension more difficult to pin down at by a specific bias within the three dimensions of the city level. On a second place, some partner cities original concept. also mentioned the environmental aspect as difficult. For example, for some cities from new EU member Therefore, tackling housing sustainability while bal- states, confronting a huge need of housing provision ancing its three pillars has resulted in a challenging and of renovation of the stock while including the in- task. There are many reasons for this, such as lack of volvement of tenants / home-owners is not yet high integrated planning cultures and strategies; scarce on the agenda. funding to fulfil all three (or at least two of the three) sustainability dimensions; different priorities, etc. Last but not least, it was interesting to hear from However, as a result of a systematic exchange within partners that the ‚social’ dimension seemed to be this network, the work carried out by the SUITE part- the most included in their future actions. This con- ner cities over the last two years has born interesting trasts with the overall tendency, as we explain later lessons for other cities aiming at the same goal. on, to overlook this aspect in the context of major development or city investment projects. Perhaps it In this chapter we will summarize these lessons and is an issue of scale: at smaller scale, investing in so- by partners across the three thematic meetings. It 4. Integrating policy and actions across became evident from these examples that continuity territorial scales 54 needs to stretch to at least three elements: a) Politi- 55 cal leadership; b) Funding; and c) Collaboration be- Project partners emphasised that sustainable hous- tween partners. ing cannot be seen in isolation from its wider territorial and administrative context. Sustainability is about Robust institutional agreements, which cut across networks, grids, and interdependencies between all governments of different political signs, are key to these territorial/administrative levels. These inter- achieving a coherent final result. In addition, this dependences stretch across the three dimensions, involves a good working relationship between all economic, environmental and social. project partners: private, public, third sector, citizens, etc. Continuity and coherence throughout the To be sustainable at local level (housing project, project are key to make it work. As with the thematic neighbourhood), thinking about infrastructure and visits, the best practice examples from SUITE part- service provision at urban and regional scale needs ners have proven that high initial investments do to be embedded. Socially sustainable communities pay-off in the longer term, such as in the the follow- require social infrastructure such as schools, health ing cases: the comprehensive regeneration project centres, social care services that are at good dis- of the Nantes Malakoff social housing estate; the tance / accessible to people not only by car, by pub- current new construction program in Rennes; the lic transport. Newcastle Riverside Dene refurbishment; the Ham- burg large scale regeneration World Quarter, or small Location of housing needs to be in connection with scale Greve’s Garden; and also Santiago de Com- actual and possible job sources for its residents. postela’s variety of new housing offers, based on a Road networks, public transport systems, waste col- targeted land policy show promising results. lection provision – all these and more elements of urban and territorial planning require holistic planning. Table 1: Main lessons of each of the three Thematic Meetings of SUITE In the spirit of longer-term sustainability, evidence from the SUITE project shows that the value of As in the case of Nantes Métropole and Rennes cial sustainability (e.g. contained, pilot-style projects) There is a strong case, however, to attempt the si- prevention (of housing loss, of downgrading neigh- Métropole, sustainable communities are built over might seem easier, while at a larger scale this seems multaneous implementation of the three (or at least bourhoods, of high running costs and of early refur- time, through robust inter-sector and institutional to be to costly and not effective enough. two) pillars of sustainability. As partners highlighted, bishment needs) needs to be embedded in housing arrangements. And, as stressed above, the success different aspects of sustainability tend to reinforce programmes on the local level. This requires a shift of these arrangements rely on sustained political and However, a fourth and last meeting of the network fo- each other. For example, improving energy perform- in budget planning, as illustrated by the example of financial commitment over time. At the same time, cused on achieving a synthesis of these three groups ance (environmental aspect) in residential buildings Newcastle partner and their ‘Pathways to independ- this holistic, integrated approach requires a move of lessons. The aim was to realize the main objective contributes to improving the economic and social sit- ence – assistance for young people under 18’ project towards a different ‘planning culture’ that avoids a of the project, i.e. to work on how to integrate the uation of residents. Another example is the improve- (a detailed description of this project was published fragmented vision of all these elements. three pillars of housing sustainability. The outcome ment of social integration of residents in a neigh- in the URBACT website). of the discussions held during that meetings could bourhood, which is likely to result in lower levels of be summarized in the following general points: anti-social behaviour and better care of the common 3. The value of evidence-based policy 5. Working with enablers and obstacles areas, thereby enhancing the environmental quality making 1. Sustainable housing: complementarity of the neighbourhood/city. On the other hand, it is The project’s synthesis survey showed that it is cru- worth mentioning that partners also highlighted that cial to identify, understand and work with ‘obstacles’ and synergies to achieve these synergies and complementarity it is Another lesson highlighted by partner cities was the and ‘enablers’ to achieve sustainable housing. For not necessary to aim for a 100% implementation of strong role of knowledge and evidence in policy de- example, we found that there are so-called “cock- Partners recognized that in practice it is very difficult every aspect of sustainability. Insofar the three as- cisions in the cities visited. This was seen particu- tails of enablers”, i.e. not one single formula. Each to fully integrate all three pillars of sustainability in pects are taken into account simultaneously in the larly in Nantes Métropole and Rennes Métropole, city finds its ‘own way to sustainability’. Amongst the one and the same project. In most cases there is a same project, progress is made. where technical teams are in a constant working re- key factors mentioned by partners in this process bias towards one or two of the aspects. For instance, lationship with elected politicians, feeding into every are: working with human resources (i.e. staff skills the ‘environmental’ aspect is often privileged, per- decision. Colleagues were impressed of the sound 2. Need to balance short-term pressures can be the greatest asset or a big obstacle); collabo- haps because issues such as energy-efficiency are evidence base for policy making that this collabora- ration between professionals and politicians; early relatively easier to implement and to measure com- with a long-term view tion provides to each project. Another good exam- resident involvement/support for sustainable hous- pared to social aspects, for example. In addition, ple came from the British partner cities, Newcastle ing projects; continuity of funding/political support/ short-term, output-oriented considerations such as While it is true that there are strong political pres- and Medway, where there is a consequent linkage of robust institutional arrangements, etc. those of elected politicians lead projects to dismiss sures to achieve short-term, tangible results when programs and projects with monitoring and evaluation, in addition to a strict time scale for feeding back aspects that require a more long-term vision to bear it comes to investing public money, it is also true 6. The West/East divide: a challenge to results, notably those related to ‘social’ sustainabil- that the very concept of sustainability implies a long- and adjustments. On the other hand, Tallinn, despite ity. As pointed out above, only smaller-scale ‘social’ term vision that requires continuous commitment to being heavily hit by the global economic crisis (in- transferability projects are put in place, which not always amount the original goal. In fact, representative of SUITE’s cluding the housing field) made an impression on the to longer-term social inclusion processes. Instead, partner cities highlighted ‘continuity’ repeatedly as a other partner cities by its early, pro-active recovery As with other URBACT (or in general, European) concrete or ‘tangible’ outputs such as physical in- key success factor in sustainable housing projects. plan based on a sound data basis. projects, the question arose as to what extent are frastructure or very targeted physical improvement The importance of this element was demonstrated lessons/experiences (i.e. Policies, programmes) measures that can be put to use fairly quickly tend by the best practice examples visited and discussed transferable? While the partners from New Member to be favoured. States valued having access to experiences and examples from ‘old’ member states’ cities, they rec- ing-related projects into your Operational Pro- ognized being still far away in terms of resources, grammes (ERDF) and other EU-funded pro- 56 institutional capacity, etc. In addition, these cities are grammes (ESF and more), and secure national 57 facing challenges on a higher scale, such as acute co-funding housing needs; a much stronger impact of the global • Actively promote the integration of housing- economic crisis; policies strongly favouring home- related funding at national level and within the ownership and transferring the older stock to the future Cohesion Policy. sitting tenants. On the other hand, often actors and • Start a national exchange forum on how to pro- stakeholders in these countries seem to be more ceed on a national to local level. engaged and interested, more open for innovative, • Encourage progress from pilot projects to main- unconventional solutions, and quicker in decision streaming. making as compared to their ‘old’ member states’ counterparts. In these conclusions we would just European policies like to mention this divide, but it is clearly an issue that goes beyond the scope of one specific project • Maximise the benefits from broader European or network. Indeed, this seems like a wider challenge frameworks in connection to housing and urban for URBACT and for any transnational exchange in issues (e.g. funding, exchange, support for city- the EU. level initiatives, etc.) • Support exchange and training activities on how Policy recommendations for to integrate housing related actions. • Maximise funding opportunities through the Co- Sustainable Housing at different hesion Policy and 2020 Lisbon Strategy. implementation levels • Improve cross-fertilization between ‘West’ and ‘East’ policy transfer across the European Union The general points developed above can be de- by identifying obstacles and enablers. clined into specific policy recommendations to be implemented at different scales or territorial/admin- Towards a synthesis of the istrative levels: three aspects of sustainability in Cities and regions housing

• Think ‘integrated’ from the beginning, on two Housing plays a key role in progressing towards sus- fronts: sustainability triangle (economic, social, tainable development in cities. As we have seen, the environmental) and across territorial scales (lo- three dimensions of sustainability come together in cal/urban/regional). housing to ensure better quality of life for urban resi- • Choose one of the three pillars as a focus, and dents: evidence has shown repeatedly that there is link to it the other aspects of sustainability. high potential for CO2 reduction, higher energy ef- • Secure local political support and leadership ficiency and quality of life in new and refurbished from the onset. housing; affordable and secure housing is a factor of • Build trust over the long-term. stability for households and society at large, in par- • Dare high initial investment – make a strong case ticular in the context of highly volatile markets and to investors and decision-makers on the expect- recurrent economic crisis. ed pay-off. • Ensure robust institutional agreements as a Housing can play a leading role in integrating and foundation of the project. stabilising the most disadvantaged, boosting a more • Integrate robust evidence and prospective anal- inclusive society, without isolating vulnerable house- yses in policy-making. holds in difficult times. In addition, housing construc- • Consider maintenance of physical stock as tion, refurbishment and services adds dynamism to greatly contributing to sustainability in some the economy and creates jobs. cases (e.g. Eastern Europe) • Integrate ‘soft measures’ (services, empower- However, these goals require broad cooperation of ment) in physically driven projects. various fields. In an increasingly urbanised world, • View homelessness policies as an integrated cities are on the forefront of the most pressing chal- part of housing policy. lenges of our societies and should therefore be en- • Promote EU housing-related activities and con- couraged and supported not only to meet these tribute to the discussion from the cities-point-of challenges but moreover to be frontrunners in creat- view. ing solutions for integrated sustainability.

National housing policies

• Promote and support the integration of hous- 58

Contacts:

Darinka Czischke Thematic Expert SUITE

Department of Real Estate and Housing | Faculty of Architecture Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) [email protected]

Heidrun FEIGELFELD Lead Expert SUITE

independent research plus SRZ urban+regional research Vienna (Austria) [email protected]

Photographs (pages): Newcastle Council: CREDITS - 17 (Grey’s Mon) Santiago de Compostela City Council: Coordination of the publication: - 39 & 40 (Newcastle City Council) - cover (field visit in Nantes Métropole) Anita Leirvik and Belén Mendoza - SUITE coordinators - 7 (Mayor of Santiago de Compostela) Municipality of Kraków: - 9 & 49 (meetings of the ULSG in Santiago) Text: - 10 (Santiago City Councillor in Urbanism & - 17& 28 (View of the city of Kraków – photographer Housing) Wieslaw Majka) SUITE project partners (Santiago de Compostela City Council, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Iasi - 17 & 45 (view of Santiago de Compostela) - 30 (photographer Jacek Chrobak) City Council, Municipality of Kraków, Medway Council, Nantes Métropole, Newcastle City Council, Rennes - 56 (field visit in Iasi) Métropole, Tallinn City) and URBACT experts (Heidrun Feigelfeld and Darinka Czischke) - 56 & 57 (field visit in Nantes) Greves Garten/Jens Marzian: - 57 (synthesis meeting in Santiago, press Translation Spanish-English and proof reading: conference) - 18 (building community project “Greves Garten” - 58 (official reception by the Mayor in Rennes) new house) Ana Álvarez López - 19 building community project “Greves Garten” Heidrun Feigelfeld: refurbished old building and solar panels on the Layout: roof of the new houses) - 11 & 56 (field visit in Hamburg) - 15 & 58 (picture of Heidrun Feigelfeld) César Candamo Greves Garten/Stefan Röhr-Kramer: - 53 (field visit in Newcastle) - 56 (synthesis meeting in Santiago) - 19 (building community project “Greves Garten” isometric drawing) Johann Daniel Lawaetz Foundation: Edited & Published by Santiago de Compostela City Council & SUITE Project Greves Garten/Jörn Bruns Finished and printed in March 2011 - 16 (view of Hamburg city) - 21 (inhabitants of the building community project Iasi City Council: “Greves Garten”

- 16 (view of Iasi city) Clément Gillet – Investeam: - 23 (the Mayor and the first tenants) - 24 (special social housing for mother in needs - 42, 44 & 45 (pictures owned by Clément Gillet – owned by Iasi City Council) photographer Javier Callejas) - 26 (social housing owned by Iasi Coty Council) Emuvissa: Nantes Métropole: - 47 & 48 (authors Diego Briega and Antonio - 16 (view of the city of Nantes) Cervelo) - 35, 36 & 37 (Nantes Métropole) Darinka Czischke: City Property Department of Tallinn: - 58 (picture of Darinka Czischke) - 16 (view of the city of Tallinn) - 50 & 52 (owned by City Property Department)

Ville de Rennes:

- 16 (Des Champs Libres)

Medway Council:

- 17 (view of Medway) - 32 (map of the Luton and Wayfield Ward (district) - 33 (views of the building in the district)