OTHER INITIATIVES

Slide-show competition
The slide-show competition is a long-time tradition of the ENHR conferences. It is a funny way to think and learn collectively about urban problems and achievements in Europe.
Participants form teams of maximum four people and choose a code-word for their team. The task is to answer questions related to the slides which will be shown. For example: which city, which famous building, what activity is going on, etc.

At the end of the competition, after the questionnaires are collected, the correct answers will be shown and discussed (and debated). The announcement of the winners will take place the next day, in one of the plenary sessions. The first three teams will be awarded with small presents (and will be mentioned in the ENHR Newsletter), while the rest of the teams will only be mentioned by code-word (thus there is no risk if your team does not win this time…).

The Slide Competition at the 2024 Delft ENHR conference attracted 14 teams, and we hope that at the 2025 Grand Paris conference there will be a similarly large interest in this unique event.

Organizer: Iván Tosics
Location & time slot: Auditorium Caquot, Coriolis site ; Thursday, July 3, 18:00 – 19:30

Urban city walk
The city walk will explore the Belleville neighbourhood, a very lively and diverse aera part of Paris’s 19th and 20th districts. Originally a rural village surrounded by vineyards, it has undergone major transformations from the midst of the 19^th century due to industrialisation and haussmanisation. It was well-known for its dancing and wine taverns (guinguettes). The old commune of Belleville was incorporated into Paris,  s well as others all around the city of Paris in the Annexation (1860): Housing developed quickly to evolve into a densely populated working-class district at the end of the 19^th century Low rise and bad quality singe houses and tenements were built on narrows plots of land inherited by the agricultural patterns and remained until WWII.

After the war, Belleville was particularly hit by the modernist urban policies, replacing older buildings with high-rise housing estates (10–15 stories) built by public housing authorities. Entire blocks were demolished, changing the urban fabric. Many residents resisted demolition, criticizing the loss of community and heritage. Activist groups, notably neighbourhood committees, formed to oppose top-down planning. Some aeras, The Mouzaïa district and parts of upper Belleville were spared demolition thanks to protests. The municipal government also led a policy of public space improvement and facilities development, introducing public parks, notably the Parc de Belleville (opened in 1988), and public infrastructure for instance a swimming pool in the 2000s.

From the 1960s, the population is changing. Belleville accommodated migrants first from North Africa, jews and Muslims, from China from the 1980s and more recently from sub-Saharan Africa. Belleville became one of Paris’s most multicultural neighbourhoods. The area attracted also artists and young professionals for its affordable rents and proximity to central Paris. This led to the conversion of old workshops into lofts, and the opening of cafés and galleries. Housing pressure led to rent rises, tensions but also protection (Some parts of Belleville (e.g., Rue Dénoyez) became protected urban heritage zones due to their street art and cultural significance. Social housing is still a strong component of the housing stock.

The city walk will go to see this diverse housing typology reflecting the rich history of housing and multiculturalism, from old villas and tenements to social housing and more recently converted units from industrial buildings, as well as nice spots, including a beautiful view on Paris from the Belleville park’s belvedere.

Organizers: Iván Tosics and Florine Ballif

Meeting point: Metro Belleville, Exit 3 “Boulevard de la Villette”

Collaborative workshop : a preliminary glossary on housing and ages
This collaborative workshop aims to develop a shared glossary of terms related to ages and housing. Housing terminology varies across languages and contexts, and concepts may have different meanings depending on the age group. During the conference, a one hour thirty hackathon will be held to collaborate on the glossary: identify the notions and share definitions. Contributions can be in various languages with an English summary. The final result could serve as the foundation for future publications or websites.

To facilitate discussion and create a group dynamic, we limit the number of participants to 20. If you are interested in the collaborative workshop, please register here as soon as possible.

Organizers: Marion Ille-Roussel

Chairs: Audrey Courbebaisse, Thomas Watkin

Location & time slot: Bienvenüe building A110; Thursday, July 3, 09:30 – 11:00

Panel discussion (special activity) – Right to adequate housing and housing policies in Africa
Housing is a fundamental human right recognized in international frameworks. However, across Africa, millions of urban residents, face precarious housing conditions. This panel focuses on actual housing development in African cities, exploring a new wave of affordable housing policies on the one hand, and grassroots movements and social justice organizations that challenge forced evictions, land dispossession, and the commodification of housing on the other hand. It includes paper presentations on Nigeria, Senegal, Angola and Cameroon, a panel discussion, and a Q&A session.

Organizers: Claire Simonneau

Chairs: Oluwafemi Olajide, Momar Diongue, Armelle Choplin, Higor Carvalho, Mathilde Jourdam-Boutin

Moderation: Laura Colini, University of Venice, Italy  

Retrofitting Europe’s Single-Family Housing: Policies, Innovations, and Future Prospects
This proposal outlines a collaborative workshop to be hosted by the Working Group Towards Sustainable Communities and Housing, focusing on a critical yet often overlooked challenge in architectural and urban research: retrofitting extensive suburban and urbanized areas dominated by single-family houses. While these dispersed housing patterns are deeply rooted in European architectural traditions, urbanization processes, and cultural habits, today’s socio-economic landscape demands a fundamental reassessment of this vast housing stock.

Key drivers of this transformation include demographic shifts, evolving housing preferences, social change, and the growing appeal of cities as hubs for work and productivity. Addressing this urgency, the workshop explores two key questions: What policies exist across European countries to support the transformation of single-family housing? And what experimental approaches—whether in planning tools, pilot projects, or design experiments—are emerging to tackle this challenge? The workshop brings together original contributions by scholars from Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark and France (to be confirmed), where the future of single-family housing is a particularly pressing issue. The workshop aims to map ongoing debates through comparative discussions and case studies, identify shared challenges, and establish the foundation for a collaborative research network. By engaging researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, the workshop seeks to advance a deeper understanding of how suburban housing can today be adapted to contemporary needs sustainably and inclusively.

Organizers: Federico Zanfi

Chairs: Martino Tattara, Montserrat Pareja-Eastaway, Judith Gifreu, Carina Sacher

Location & time slot: Bienvenüe building A122; Thursday, July 3, 11:30 – 13:00, 14:00-15:30

Working Group ‘Policy and Research’       ‘Critical Dialogue Session – Towards Sustainable Housing Solutions’

Since the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) almost two decades ago the housing affordability and quality crisis has been shaping the European housing landscape. Most if not all European countries face severe housing issues, whether in terms of affordability and availability or quality and energy performance arrears or otherwise. Due to recent housing market developments and growing inequality, housing is returning to the agenda of policy makers, advocates and researchers around the world.

Policy makers and urban/housing researchers thus are called into close dialogue and exchange about the detailed challenges we are facing and possible solutions. The ENHR Working Group on Policy and Research wants to provide this platform for exchange and mutual learning between researchers, policy makers and practitioners involved in housing, and lead these ideas to fruitful cooperation between policy and research. Please join us and share your thoughts. We look forward to welcome you at our session!

Working Group Coordinators: Dr Jaana Nevalainen & Dr Steffen Wetzstein
Session Coordinators: Dr Jaana Nevalainen & Dr Martijin Eskinasi

Panellists:

Mr Dr Ing. Gerard van Bortel, Assistant Professor Housing Management, Delft University of Technology

Mrs MSc Mariangiola Fabbri, Member of the Affordable Housing Task Force, European Commission

Mrs MSc Camille Viros, Head of Unit, Inclusive Growth in Cities, OECD

Mr BA João Carvalhosa, Member of the Housing Europe

Dr Martijn Eskinasi, Chief Science Officer DG Housing and Construction, Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning and European Housing Policy Network

Location & time slot: Auditorium Caquot, Coriolis site ; Thursday, July 3, 16:00 – 17:30

The Radical Housing Journal presents: Reflections on the politics of affordable housing decarbonisation and financing in Europe
This session invites engaged housing scholars and scholar-activists to share their reflections on key elements to consider in the politics of affordable housing decarbonisation and financing in Europe. After interventions from each panelist, the moderators will pose questions related to entwined questions about energy transitions and housing struggles, connecting the pertinence of these topics to critical housing research and the mission of the Radical Housing Journal. The ensuing discussion will be open to audience participation.

Organizers: Melissa García-Lamarca

Chairs: Aysegul Can, Lisa Vollmer, Georgia Alexandri, Melora Koepke (Moderator), Melissa Fernández Arrigoitia (Moderator)

Location & time slot: Auditorium Caquot, Coriolis site ; Thursday, July 3, 14h00 – 15h30

The French Model(s) of Social Housing Sales in a European Perspective
From 2020 to 2024, a national research program was conducted in France to investigate the policy of selling social housing units—a measure promoted by the French government since 2018 to support homeownership and reinvest in the public housing stock. This program brought together researchers and practitioners to examine the motivations behind these sales, their territorial impacts, the profiles of buyers, and their long-term consequences for housing affordability and social housing governance.

This panel will present the program’s key findings and open them up to discussion with European housing experts. While the research focused on the French case, the sale of social housing is a policy also pursued in several European countries. The session will thus create a space for dialogue between national findings and broader European experiences, shedding light on shared challenges and divergent policy trajectories.

Through this exchange, the panel will contribute to a better understanding of the role that sales of public housing play in housing systems across Europe, and the challenges such policies pose for the future of social housing.

Please note: some presentations and discussions may be conducted in French. Simultaneous French–English and English–French interpretation will be available for all panelists, presenters, and audience members who wish to use it.

Organizers: Mikaël Dupuy, geography and urban studies researcher

Chairs: Kath Scanlon, Marja Elsinga, Sylvaine Le Garrec, Matthieu Gimat, Lydia Coudroy de Lille, Alice Pittini

Building Bienvenüe, Auditorium Bienvenüe; Thursday, July 3, 14h00 – 17h30