Conference
Community-Led Housing around the world
Tuesday October 1, 18h30 CET – Uni Mail, Geneva
Join us for a conference on 1 October, where four of our partners will be presenting their award-winning community-led initiatives in Senegal, Indonesia, Catalonia and Switzerland!
Find out how these projects are making a difference in urban communities, and take part in the debate on the conditions necessary for the development of participatory housing models such as cooperative housing in response to the global housing crisis.
Key speakers : Representatives of World Habitat Award-winning projects in Senegal (urbaSEN), Indonesia (Urban Poor Consortium), Spain (Sostre Cívic) and Switzerland (La Ciguë) (see below for more details).
Round table: ‘How can we support the development of housing cooperatives for low-income populations?’ with representatives of the Groupement des Coopératives d’Habitation Genevoises.
Moderator: Armelle Choplin (UNIGE/urbaMonde).
Event followed by drinks: meet the members of the CoHabitat Network and our other partners from Europe and the Global South, who will also be present!
Event details
When : Tuesday 1 October 2024 from 18:30 to 20:30 CET
Where : Uni Mail, room MR280, University of Geneva, Bd du Pont-d’Arve 40, Geneva
In English with French interpretation
Registration
Free admission – registration preferred for the in-person event: https://forms.gle/mbVE6La4cj9KfGNt9
Celebrating a decade of innovation in participative and cooperative housing
UrbaMonde is proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the CoHabitat Network with a landmark annual meeting in Geneva, the birthplace of this international movement. Since 2014, we have grown into a global force advocating for participatory, community-led housing (CLH) solutions that guarantee the right to adequate housing for all.
This year’s meeting will bring together nearly 30 civil society organisations, grassroots groups and their coalitions/federations, as well as academics from around the world to share experiences, foster collaboration, and explore the future of participatory and cooperative housing.
Who will be there: Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, European Community Land Trust Network, Cooperative Housing International, Habitat International Coalition, Habitat&Participation, Slum Dwellers International, as well as our partners from Bangladesh, Brazil, Malawi, Nepal, Nicaragua, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Zambia!
Find out more about the speakers
UrbaSEN & Senegalese Federation of Inhabitants, Senegal
Gold Winner of the 2023 World Habitat Award
Around 1.8 million people live in informal settlements on Dakar’s outskirts. They face recurrent flooding due to urbanisation and climate change, leading to unsanitary conditions and home damage. The Housing and Living Environment Improvement Programme, spearheaded by the Senegalese Federation of Inhabitants (FSH) and supported by the NGO urbaSEN, empowers communities to address these challenges. Women access loans from the FSH’s revolving fund for the improvements of housing and sanitation infrastructure. This fund is fed with savings and international donations from Swiss and French cooperation agencies. UrbaSEN offers technical assistance for the implementation of the works. It also realises drone mapping of the informal neighbourhoods to facilitate public decision-making and land tenure regularisation. The initiative has expanded to 18 municipalities, also implementing flood early-warning systems and a sustainable local materials supply chain for the construction and renovation of housing. Over 20,000 people have directly benefited from the project so far, including members and craftspeople.
Centre Rujak et Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), Indonesia
Gold Winner of the 2024 World Habitat Award
In Jakarta, informal settlements known as ’kampungs’ house numerous low-income families. In 2015, over 10,000 families faced forced eviction by the authorities under the pretext of flood-management and illegal land occupation. Fighting back, kampung residents, aided by grassroots organisations (Rujak Center and UPC), launched the Housing Rights in Jakarta project, advocating for legal and political reforms to secure their rights and improve living conditions. Through community collaboration and political advocacy, this project, the first of its kind in Indonesia, has maintained or restored residency rights for 1,180 kampung residents. More than 900 people will be rehoused in new apartment buildings built under the legal form of a housing cooperative, and 152 homes were renovated in the riverbank kampungs. Furthermore, it challenged negative perceptions of informal settlements and led to city-wide regulatory changes protecting all kampung residents from forced eviction.
Sostre Cívic Cooperative, Catalonia
La Ciguë, Geneva
The high cost of living in Geneva is a major challenge for students, who often struggle to find suitable accommodation. The housing cooperative La Ciguë, established in 1986 in response to the lack of affordable housing, now manages nearly 740 rooms, mainly in shared flats. La Ciguë rents flats on a temporary basis in public or private buildings that are due to be demolished or refurbished in the medium term. It has also designed and commissioned the construction of highly energy-efficient buildings on publicly owned land. The accommodation managed by La Ciguë is intended for students, interns and apprentices, who benefit from rents substantially below market rates—typically around 55% lower than market prices—for a period of up to five years. In 2022, the cooperative generated CHF 3.5 million in rental income, enabling it to cover its operating costs and fund future housing projects.
