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Open Call – Housing & Planning: A Global Call for Practices
Housing and planning are often treated as separate policy domains. In reality, they are deeply interconnected at an everyday level. Housing should not be viewed merely as a commodity, but as a key element in creating livable and sustainable communities. In the face of the global housing crisis, the design of high-quality living environments has become a critical challenge that demands attention and expertise from professionals across disciplines.
Together, let us rethink this common dilemma and help shape a future that is more affordable, equitable, and climate conscious. As housing challenges intensify across the world, there is no single model that works everywhere. One way to strengthen collective learning is by sharing knowledge and experiences from different countries, building a global repository of practices, both the ones that worked and the ones that offer hard-won lessons. Thus, raising awareness of the connections between housing and planning is important.
To celebrate the IFHP 113 anniversary, we invite our global network to contribute examples that demonstrate the relationship between housing and planning. We are looking for inspiring practices, innovative policies, and valuable lessons from challenges encountered in different contexts. Together, these contributions will form a growing collection of international experiences that can inspire practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and communities worldwide.
Did you know?
Although European countries share many common ambitions, their housing systems differ significantly.
🇦🇹 Austria
547.37 conventional dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants (ESPON, 2025)
73% of residential buildings are single-family homes
🇸🇪 Sweden
517 conventional dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants (ESPON, 2025)
51.8% of residential buildings are single-family homes
🇳🇱 The Netherlands
460.6 conventional dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants (ESPON, 2025)
62% of residential buildings are single-family homes
Source: HOUSE4ALL: European Compendium of Housing Policies (ESPON) https://www.espon.eu/publications/house4all-european-compendium-housing-policies
These figures remind us that housing challenges and their planning responses are shaped by local contexts. That is precisely why your experience matters.
We want to hear from you: What examples from your city, region, or country best and worst illustrate the relationship between housing and planning? What can the world learn from your experience?
This could be an inspiring project or policy; a challenging experience that offers important lessons; an innovative governance approach; a community-led initiative; or a planning decision that significantly influenced housing outcomes.
Submit your contribution: OPEN CALL
Submission deadline: 15th of September 2026
Join the conversation: Throughout the campaign, we also invite contributors to join us for a one-to-one conversation to exchange ideas, discuss emerging themes, and explore opportunities for future collaboration within the IFHP network.
Your inputs will be compiled into a digital publication and used as input for an online worldwide dialogue in November 2026. As a thank you for time and effort, we offer you free participation and the possibility to contribute to World Town Planning Day 2026!
IFHP x VDM Learning Labs #8
The varying definitions and implementations of affordable housing across different regions and governance structures
IFHP x VDM Learning Labs #7
Addressing the ongoing debate between prioritising the quantity of housing versus ensuring the quality of housing — can they go together?
IFHP x VDM Learning Labs #6
How housing policies influence social and economic inequality, exploring the role of urban development strategies in either perpetuating or addressing disparities
Join the discussion! IFHP webinar on affordable housing
All IFHP members are invited to join the discussion on our flagship project, Affordable Housing for All. This is the second, albeit self-contained session of a two part online series. You will get the opportunity to follow the project’s development as well as come with suggestions for its further development. During the first session we introduced the project in some detail, and now during the second session you will be able to participate in a critical discussion including distinguished scholars researching housing affordability from across the world. We will also present some preliminary observations and talk about the next steps.
We look forward to seeing you!