UN-Habitat Arena - Community-led housing in Europe – tools for cities beyond markets (WUF13).
The thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 17 to 22 May 2026. The theme of WUF13 is: Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities.
How can we deliver affordable housing under budget constraints?
How can we ensure that public subsidies guarantee "forever affordability"?
There is growing interest among governments and other stakeholders in exploring complementary housing approaches that can provide stable, adequate and affordable housing options. Community-led housing represents a promising solution as they prioritize long-term affordability and collective stewardship. These models ensure that housing remains affordable over time through mechanisms such as separating land and building ownership, capping resale values, using long-term land leases, or adopting cooperative ownership structures. They also support active participation by residents in housing provision and management. As projects are typically developed in response to local needs and often include shared spaces and amenities—such as green areas, community rooms, or workspaces—that contribute to broader neighborhood cohesion and belonging. The most common forms of community-led housing in Europe and North America are Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and housing cooperatives. These models use different legal and financial arrangements to protect housing from speculative pressure and to ensure it remains aligned with community priorities. While community-led initiatives have shown potential, they often remain limited in scale because of challenges in navigating regulatory and legal frameworks, securing land, and accessing finance. Increasing awareness of these models, adapting policy and regulatory frameworks, and improving access to funding are key in enabling a wider uptake and impact. This event will share experiences from different community-led housing initiatives in different parts of Europe and the Americas and will explore how cities, governments and the EU can do to support this segment through financial, regulatory and institutional support.
Partners: MOBA; International Centre for Community Land Trusts; European Parliament; World Habitat
Moderator: Annika Lenz or Francesca Lionetti;
Speakers:
There is growing interest among governments and other stakeholders in exploring complementary housing approaches that can provide stable, adequate and affordable housing options. Community-led housing represents a promising solution as they prioritize long-term affordability and collective stewardship. These models ensure that housing remains affordable over time through mechanisms such as separating land and building ownership, capping resale values, using long-term land leases, or adopting cooperative ownership structures. They also support active participation by residents in housing provision and management. As projects are typically developed in response to local needs and often include shared spaces and amenities—such as green areas, community rooms, or workspaces—that contribute to broader neighborhood cohesion and belonging. The most common forms of community-led housing in Europe and North America are Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and housing cooperatives. These models use different legal and financial arrangements to protect housing from speculative pressure and to ensure it remains aligned with community priorities. While community-led initiatives have shown potential, they often remain limited in scale because of challenges in navigating regulatory and legal frameworks, securing land, and accessing finance. Increasing awareness of these models, adapting policy and regulatory frameworks, and improving access to funding are key in enabling a wider uptake and impact. This event will share experiences from different community-led housing initiatives in different parts of Europe and the Americas and will explore how cities, governments and the EU can do to support this segment through financial, regulatory and institutional support.
Partners: MOBA; International Centre for Community Land Trusts; European Parliament; World Habitat
Moderator: Annika Lenz or Francesca Lionetti;
Speakers:
Anna Dzokic, MOBA;
Tarcyla Fidalgo Riberio, Catalytic Communities;
Penny Kerrigan, elder from the Haida Gwaii nation in British Columbia, Canada; Marianna Gallo, World Habitat;
Marcos Ros Sempere, Member of the European Parliament (tbc).
Tarcyla Fidalgo Riberio, Catalytic Communities;
Penny Kerrigan, elder from the Haida Gwaii nation in British Columbia, Canada; Marianna Gallo, World Habitat;
Marcos Ros Sempere, Member of the European Parliament (tbc).
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