A place of one’s own: from reconstruction to learning and the keys to addressing the housing emergency

The Barcelona Chair of Housing Studies (CBEH) has actively participated in the cycle A place of one’s own, organised by the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC). We share the conclusions of the last two sessions, which addressed housing from the perspective of the reconstruction of the existing stock and the training of new professionals.

Session 5 – Reconstruction (20 October 2025)

Coordinated by Pere Serra i Amengual and Eulàlia Marquès Vidal, with the participation of Dr Montserrat Pareja-Eastaway (co-director of the Barcelona Chair of Housing Studies and President of the European Network for Housing Research, ENHR), together with Josep Casas Serra, Arnau Giralt and Carles Martí.

Main conclusions:

• Recover between 25,000 and 50,000 homes not used as primary residences through acquisitions or agreements with owners.
• Adapt urban planning and habitability regulations to new demand patterns (1-2 person households, densities, flexible uses).
• Regulate temporary and holiday rentals by equating them with permanent rentals, from an economic and fiscal perspective.
• Create executive management instruments similar to European housing agencies, combining public action with non-profit or moderate-profit operators.

Session 6 – Learning (24 November 2025)

Coordinated by Rosa Rull Bertran and Josep Ferrando, with the participation of Dr David Hernández Falagán (co-director of CBEH and professor at ETSAB), together with Arqbag, Lacol and Laboqueria Arquitectura.

Main conclusions:

• Incorporate into teaching the complexity of the housing cycle: planning, economics, sustainability, rehabilitation and management.
• Foster critical thinking and the political perspective of architecture, recovering the commitment to the common good and the right to housing.
• Work transversally and interdisciplinarily with sociologists, economists, lawyers and public administrations.
• Connect the university with reality through real data, real conflicts and, whenever possible, 1:1 scale prototypes.
• Publish a document with the conclusions of all the sessions to present to Catalan architecture schools and to public administration.

Shared key idea

Both the reconstruction of the existing stock and the transformation of architectural training are key pieces to guarantee access to decent and affordable housing. Interdisciplinarity, regulatory innovation and institutional commitment are essential.

At CBEH, we reaffirm our commitment to research, teaching and knowledge transfer to address one of the great challenges of our time.