The Housing Dilemma

On 20 October at Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, Deltametropolis Association (VDM) and the International Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP) warmly invite you to a public roundtable. This gathering marks IFHP’s official relocation from Copenhagen to Rotterdam, an exciting moment for our organization and the broader international community of housing and planning. Together, we aim to bring international reflections into the Dutch housing debate at a moment of pressing urgency.

Register here

Across Europe, the demand for affordable homes collides with the imperative to create resilient neighbourhoods that can withstand climate risks, social fragmentation, and economic pressures. Research shows that Rotterdam’s “balanced neighbourhood” housing policy risks weakening, rather than strengthening, community ties, while broader assessments of urban resilience argue that the city, although robust, could perform far better in integrating social, ecological, and economic strategies. At the same time, global studies highlight that housing is cultural infrastructure: not just a market good, but a system shaping equity, health, and collective futures. Taking these examples, we will be discussing, should policy focus on immediate affordability, or on long-term resilience or can both agendas be reconciled? How can housing be treated as a system, integrated with mobility, labour, health, livability and sustainability rather than a sectoral task? Can we shift the emphasis from isolated projects to planning frameworks that also address spatial mismatch, climate risks, and cultural dimensions of living?

This roundtable will revisit insights from the Brussels Convening (submitted Plea at European Commission), where European partners called for housing to be treated as a system, confront the crisis of spatial mismatch, and focus on regeneration over expansion. Participants will map future turning points in housing and resilience, signalling critical moments for policy, innovation, and social inclusion. The discussion will explore the tension and potential synergies between two urgent imperatives: ensuring sufficient affordable housing supply in rapidly urbanising contexts, and embedding resilience against climate risks, demographic change, and social fragmentation. The roundtable asks whether trade-offs are inevitable, or whether integrated approaches can serve both needs simultaneously. This session gives space for dialogue between experts, policymakers, with international reflections to rethink the future of living spaces in the Netherlands.

What to Expect

Affordability vs. resilience – Are we forced to choose between producing sufficient affordable homes now and investing in long-term resilience, or can integrated planning reconcile both without compromise?

Housing as a system – If housing is fundamentally tied to mobility, labour, health, and climate, how can policies move beyond sectoral silos to genuinely align these agendas in practice?

From projects to planning – What does it take to shift from fragmented, project-based interventions toward long-term frameworks that tackle spatial mismatch, strengthen communities, and regenerate existing neighbourhoods?

• We’ll revisit key themes from the Brussels convening. Including the EU task force insights, practical tools, governance models, medium- and long-term scenarios and connect them to the local context.
• Participants will contribute to a timeline of future turning points. Signaling critical junctures in housing policy, design innovation, sustainability, and social inclusion.

Program

Are you a planner, researcher, policymaker, student or engaged citizen? Join us in shaping the future of housing and resilient neighbourhoods.

Register here

Why This Matters

IFHP’s move to Rotterdam reflects our growth and deepening ties with the Euro-Delta region, amplifying our reach and impact across Europe. This workshop builds from the collective insights from Brussels, bringing conversation to the Rotterdam context.

“Cities are built for people by people”

VDM and IFHP

VDM and IFHP share a common vision, focusing on urban and societal development with a high quality of life as their primary objective. Collaborating on this agenda brings together both the local context and global perspectives to tackle challenges with sustainable and socially equitable spatial development, planning and housing. While VDM focuses on the Eurodelta and IFHP represents the broader international context. This collaboration led to the establishment of a formal partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a shared vision and action plan from 2024 onwards.