Cities 4 Co-Housing

Co-creating affordable living, empowering communities

Edited on 14/10/2025

01/09/2024 31/08/2026

Ongoing
  • Innovation Transfer Network
  • Social cohesion
  • Housing

Cities 4 Co-Housing is an URBACT Innovation Transfer Network dedicated to sharing good practices on providing long-term affordability in housing, inspired by the innovative CALICO project in the Brussels Capital Region. Anchored in the Community Land Trust model, the network’s goal is to foster vibrant, empowered communities where mutual care, neighbourhood integration, gender equality, and a strong sense of belonging are at the heart of every initiative.

PARTNERS

Lead Partner : Regional Public Service Brussels - Brussels Housing - Belgium
  • Fuenlabrada - Spain
  • Gaiurb, EM - Portugal
  • Major Development Agency Thessaloniki - Greece
  • Naples - Italy
  • Niksic, local community Stara Varos - Montenegro

Timeline

September : Start of the network journey

October : Deep dive transnational meeting

All project partners were invited to visit the CALICO project site and gain deeper insights into the applied practices and the underlying model.

March : Finalisation of the transferability study

The transferability study showed that certain aspects of the CALICO project can be adapted to different cities, despite variations in legal, financial, and policy contexts. Partner cities face similar challenges in affordable housing and aim to strengthen community living through collaborative housing.  Assessments of transfer potential show which parts of the project need adaptation for successful and sustainable implementation elsewhere.

 

May : Second transnational meeting in Vila Nova de Gaia

The meeting focused on deepening knowledge and practical skills on the most challenging CALICO modules (legal & financial and building), with workshops applying methods for knowledge transfer and test action design. The key milestone was the creation of the Cities 4 Co-Housing Testing Actions Bank. Guided by the lead expert, partners used their collective intelligence to co-create nearly 50 test action prototypes for their URBACT Local Groups, marking significant progress and the adoption of new methodologies.

September : Online Meeting on funding opportunities

During this online meeting we invited an ad hoc expert to focus on unlocking funding opportunities for cities.

Lead Expert