Nantes

The local authority is in charge of devising the local housing policy and programme (PLH) for strategy to operational schemes, notably the policy in favour of social housing. In that context, it is confronted to three major challenges: a quantitative challenge, with a high population growth (0.6%/year since 1999), due to the regional attractiveness and economic development, creating a pressure on housing demand; a qualitative challenge, to meet growing specific needs, notably for elderly people (22% of the population), young people (25% of the population) and young workers and students, households living under the poverty line i.e. €633 per month per consumption unit in 2005 (14% of households) - unemployment rate in 2006: 9.4%, travelling people: aprox. 200 families needing adapted accommodation and migrants (+1000 new people from outside the UE/year since 2002); a qualitative challenge, to develop social housing that is sustainable, in terms of environmental standards: promote the production of a high quality and energy-efficient housing stock, both in terms of conception and in terms of use (eco-neighbourhood, eco-building) and foster the rehabilitation of the former/Existing housing stock to significantly reduce the level of rental costs to reinforce the confort of housing.

Nowadays, we have a strong exxperience in the field of social housing policies and we are starting to know how to develop housing eco-construction. The challenge is to find out how to conciliate these two requirements: how to guarantee good-quality affordable social housing? And how to produce good-quality social housing at a reduced cost?: Technical solutions? Partnership and financial solutions?