The 1st International Housing Congress, organized by the Barcelona Chair of Housing Studies (CBEH), of which the Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat de Catalunya are patrons, has become these 26th and 27th May a meeting point between experts from the sector who have put on the table the main factors that make up the emergency situation that currently presents housing.
Jordi Valls, Deputy Mayor for Economy, Housing, Finance and Tourism, intervened during the institutional welcome and opening of the Congress pointing out that “housing is a fundamental right”, although currently it only represents “0.2% of social protection expenditure in Spain”. A situation to which, he stressed, it must be added that construction has gone from accounting for 10% of GDP before the crisis of 2012, to 4.7% today.
Given this situation, it is considered necessary to promote investment and financing in this area through public-private collaboration and analyze “how financial regulations after the crisis have hindered the development of a housing policy in conditions”, Valls said.
The day continued with the interventions of the patrons of the Barcelona Chair of Housing Studies and representatives of the participating universities (UB, UAB, UPC, UPF), and had the inaugural conference of Professor Jean-Bernard Auby (Sciences Po, Paris), who reflected on legal issues of the Smart City.
The first table of the day, ‘Approaches from the social sciences to housing and the city’, moderated by Montserrat Pareja-Eastaway, has addressed housing from a social, health and urbanistic perspective. Constanza Vásquez-Vera, from the Barcelona Public Health Agency, has focused on the intersection between gender, health and housing; Sergi Valera, from the UB, has analyzed the relationship between public space and psychological well-being; and Irene Sabaté, also from the UB, has addressed the tensions between the right to housing and property rights. On the other hand, in the second debate, ‘Housing, vulnerability and homelessness’, moderated by Juli Ponce Solé, topics such as homelessness, judicial vulnerability and public policies influenced by social movements have been discussed.
In the afternoon, the interventions have focused on residential segregation, gentrification and the effects of touristification. Researchers such as Maribel Rosselló, Cristina López, Fernando Gil and Montse Simó have presented the results of their studies on the impact of the housing boom on the outskirts of Barcelona, the reception of majorities, urban fragmentation and the impact caused by the presence of furniture investors. The day of this first day ended with the presentation of the books of some members of the Chair.
This Tuesday, May 27, the congress will continue with new presentations dedicated to residential supply and demand, the regulation of real estate markets and governance policies. Several reports prepared by the Chair will also be presented, focused on issues such as financing social housing, urban security and public procurement. The day will close with a round table on housing and the European Union and with the closing conference, by Kath Scanlon, from the London School of Economics, which will address the new forms of innovation in housing policy.