International Observatory on Social Housing
Examine the world of social housing from an international perspective.
Social Housing in France Social housing in France is run by associations that act on the power of the state. Altogether, social housing in France makes up morel than 15% of the total stock within the country. The associations that provide social housing in France are both private and public sector oriented. A good... Continue Reading →
An interesting article was sent to me by a friend a few days ago. The major point of the article was that the Ukraine needs to convert a large majority of its privately owned housing to social housing. This is not only to help low income households who apparently are in no position to be... Continue Reading →
Access to affordable housing is a challenge in this 38 million EU member state. While that can be said in probably every EU country, the culture of families taking care of each other might hide some of the underlining issues. Many poles stack up with relatives and deal with being under-housed. The government in Poland... Continue Reading →
I started this blog in 2014 to monitor my research and fellowship time in Germany and EU. I wrote dozens of blogs about what was happening in the realm of public housing and homelessness across multiple EU countries. Since returning to the US, my blog has focused a lot on process improvement. Today I want... Continue Reading →
I am not writing this week but sharing an article where I was quoted. It is an interesting look at the refugee crisis in Germany from the standpoint of housing. Enjoy! http://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/why-syrian-refugees-are-living-like-sardines-in-berlin/67103
Portuguese Social Housing: Stronger, Smarter and Better Than Before. As I walk around the beautiful old neighborhoods of Lisbon, it is not easy for me to believe these are social housing units. The bright colors of the buildings seem to fit in well with the sunny skies and intensely colored lemon and orange trees. The... Continue Reading →
I visited the city of Mannheim Germany in October to speak with both city officials and social housing staff about affordable housing in this mid-sized German city. I met with Arno Knobel who works for the city of Mannheim. He focuses his attention on strategic issues including urban renewal and long term planning. For instance... Continue Reading →
Today I am writing a little about my host here in Germany which is called the Gesellshaft für Bauen und Wohnen (GBH). Yes that is quite a mouth full. Let’s translate that to English and try again. The Society for Building and Living would be the direct translation. Let’s simplify that one more time and... Continue Reading →
I came across this today when researching social housing in Bavaria. Pretty cool. "The Fuggerei in Germany is the world's oldest social housing complex still in use. It is a walled enclave within the city of Augsburg, Bavaria. It takes it name from the Fugger family and was founded in 1516 by Jakob Fugger the Younger... Continue Reading →
A year into working with social housing professionals in Germany, I can say there is a lot to be learned. I want to focus on something that Germany does extremely well which is training and developing young talent to take on the future responsibilities of running and operating different aspects of an industry. For our... Continue Reading →
International Observatory on Social Housing 