Affordable housing: A building block for creating sustainable communities

As the world’s population continues to grow, together with the rising megatrend of urbanisation, the shortage of decent, affordable housing as a global issue is becoming more acute and is reaching crisis levels. According to official statistics from Brussels, more than 220m households in the EU, and around 80m European citizens are overburdened by housing costs − many are even at risk of eviction. To run cities efficiently and sustainably, people from all ages, backgrounds and income levels need to be able to find a place to live, work and access leisure, education and health care services within a reasonable time. In the discussions about the challenges on the housing market the terms “housing affordability” and “affordable housing” are often used interchangeably when talking about things like a “lack of affordable housing” or claiming that “housing is not affordable”. How should we define affordable housing, or how does PATRIZIA look at affordable housing? Solving this issue cannot only be the responsibility of the public sector. Public-private partnerships are needed. Real estate investors and managers working hand in hand can play an important role. PATRIZIA has housing in its DNA and has been building communities and sustainable futures since its foundation in 1984.  Around a third of PATRIZIA's AUM are residential and PATRIZIA is committed to aligning its residential fund products to the highest ESG standards and building certifications. It is perhaps no coincidence that PATRIZIA recently developed an impact investing strategy called ‘PATRIZIA Sustainable Communities’ which contributes towards solving the affordable housing issue where this is needed in major metropolitan areas in Europe. Our speakers aim to share their perspectives and insights on: • The affordable housing crisis in Europe • How real estate investors and managers can be part of the solution, and • How and why impact investing can contribute to solving the affordability issue