50 Cities: Turning Europe's Empty Spaces into Homes
50 cities. One shared ambition. More affordable homes from the buildings we already have.
Across Europe, millions of people struggle to access decent, affordable housing, while millions of buildings and homes remain vacant or underused. What if part of the solution to Europe’s housing crisis is already standing?
Habitat for Humanity believes that making better use of existing buildings can help cities expand affordable housing, reduce carbon emissions and revitalize communities.
Through the 50 Cities initiative, we aim to partner with at least 50 European cities by 2030 to scale up the reuse of vacant and underused buildings as a practical approach to increasing the supply of affordable housing across Europe.
From individual projects to wider change
Building on Habitat for Humanity’s Empty Spaces to Homes initiative, 50 Cities aims to bring the knowledge, tools and approaches developed through research, demonstration projects and policy advocacy to more municipalities across Europe.
Our ambition goes beyond individual building renovations. We want to help make the reuse of vacant and underused buildings a more widely adopted approach to addressing housing needs, moving from isolated projects towards solutions that can be replicated and scaled up across different cities and local contexts.
By working with municipalities and other stakeholders, we aim to encourage the integration of vacant building reuse into local housing policies and strategies, helping cities unlock the potential of their existing building stock to deliver more affordable, energy-efficient homes.
Building on knowledge and experience
Through Empty Spaces to Homes and Transforming Invisible Buildings (EUKI) project, Habitat for Humanity and its partners have been conducting research, practical tools and recommendations to help understand and address the challenges of vacant building reuse.
These include approaches to identifying and monitoring vacant properties, research on barriers and opportunities for reuse, policy recommendations, financing models and lessons from demonstration projects in Poland and Great Britain.
The 50 Cities initiative seeks to build on this knowledge, facilitate the exchange of experiences and explore how proven approaches can be adapted, replicated and scaled up in different local contexts.
By bringing together municipalities, housing providers, researchers, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, we want to identify opportunities for cooperation and advance practical solutions that help cities respond to their housing needs.
Could your city be one of the 50?
Every city faces different housing challenges, but many share a common opportunity: making better use of the buildings and spaces they already have.
Whether your municipality is already working on vacant building reuse or is just beginning to explore its potential, we invite you to join the conversation.
Together, we can unlock the potential of Europe’s existing buildings and make their reuse a part of the solution to the affordable housing challenge.
Interested in learning more or exploring cooperation?
Get in touch with us.
