2020-03-30T15:28:09Z

Lucia di Paola:

The UrbanA Community of Practice (CoP) is an open network of individuals committed to taking constructive action on urban social inequality and ecological unsustainability in the ambition to create more just and sustainable cities.

This page is part of an ongoing, open-ended online collaborative database, which collects relevant approaches that can be used by city-makers to tackle unsustainability and injustice in cities. This page makes no claims of authoritative completeness and welcomes your suggestions.

== What is a Community of Practice (CoP) ==

A [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice Community of Practice] is a group of people who shares and interests and learns together how such an interest. Like any other community of practice, the UrbanA CoP has the three main elements:

'''A shared interest''' – in this case justice and sustainability in cities.

'''A community that shares this interest''' – all active participants in, contributors to and followers of the project.

'''What the community undertakes together''' – ongoing engagement in UrbanA through the four Arena events, Arena side events and other project activities.

== Who is part of the UrbanA Community of Practice ==

The structure of the UrbanA CoP can be represented as a series of concentric circles, each indicating different levels of engagement (see picture).

The UrbanA CoP is sustained on an ongoing basis by targeted communications activities and social learning processes.

UrbanA Community Conversations are interactive webinars occurring every 2/3 weeks during the duration of the UrbanA project (2019 - 2021) focusing on urban justice and sustainability. These webinars as well as UrbanA tools, reports, podcasts and blogs, all to be collated on the UrbanA website, are developed together by the UrbanA consortium and the wider UrbanA CoP members, with the final aim to build a stronger community.

== How can you join the UrbanA Community of Practice ==

'''Become a member of our [UrbanA CoP LinkedIn group]'''. Here where we share anything relevant to our community and we initiate discussions.

'''Join our UrbanA Community Conversations on Zoom.''' These are not classic “only-listen-webinars”, the participatory component is essential to us: we want to give as much space as possible to questions, comments and exchange. You can find on our Twitter page the last updates on when the next webinar takes place.

'''Contribute to the Wiki on Just and Sustainable cities.''' Together we have created the Wiki on Just and Sustainable cities important part of UrbanA’s knowledge commons. Anytime you want, you can create a Wiki account, and contribute to this knowledge! Read this call for co-creation to know more.

'''Subscribe to our newsletter.''' We won’t spam you. We send a newsletter every couple of months as a recap to UrbanA’s most important updates. Subscribe here and see here the past newsletter.

'''Follow our social & multimedia.''' You find us on Twitter, Linkedin, Instagream and we have a lot of good content on our website too. The you find our podcasts, our publications, and our news blogs - all about urban justice and sustainability.

UrbanA Community of Practice

2020-03-30T15:17:52Z

Lucia di Paola:

UrbanA Community of Practice

2020-03-30T15:16:43Z

Lucia di Paola:

2020-03-30T09:38:05Z

Lucia di Paola:

Welcome to the Wiki on Just Sustainable Cities!

This Wiki is an ongoing, open-ended online collaborative database and knowledge source for the Community of Practice of the [https://urban-arena.eu/ UrbanA] project. It captures the learning process of the UrbanA [https://urban-arena.eu/people/ Community of Practice] and is an important part of UrbanA's knowledge commons. It includes a database of '''[[Database of approaches|approaches]]''' and '''[[Database of projects & initiatives|projects & initiatives]]''' to just and sustainable cities.

[[File:UrbanA_Logo.png|right|600px|link=https://urban-arena.eu/|UrbanA Website]]

==A call for co-creation==
The UrbanA Wiki Database is part of a knowledge commons that serves as a resource for everyone that wants to contribute to more sustainable and just cities. It is not only for everyone to use the knowledge that is on there, but also for everyone to share their own knowledge and experience. The idea of a knowledge commons is that it is owned and governed by all of those who use it.

You are warmly invited to edit and adapt any of the current pages, by e.g. adding examples, correcting or complementing information. And/or to add your own approaches, projects, initiatives and user profiles. Becoming a Wiki-user is every easy and quick. For information on how, check out the '''[[Project:User guide|User guide]]'''. This guide includes links to tips on formatting and editing wiki pages.

==About UrbanA==
[[File:4.PNG|thumb|left|275px|link=https://urban-arena.eu/people/|UrbanA Community of Practice]]
Cities play a key role in responding to the great challenges of our time. However increasing poverty and inequality, exacerbated by the recent financial and housing crises, are putting the social cohesion and resilience of European cities to the test. Much research has focused on teasing out the causes of urban social inequality and ecological unsustainability, and on understanding the connections, tensions and contradictions between the two. Research and innovation have also contributed to the development of ways to make cities more just and sustainable. Yet the need to consolidate and effectively communicate this knowledge and experience remains. UrbanA, Urban Arenas for Sustainable and Just Cities, takes up this challenge.Further information on UrbanA, a major EU-funded project on urban sustainability and justice, can be found on the project's [http://www.urban-arena.eu public website].

==Why==
In order to transform our cities into more sustainable and just environments, we need actionable knowledge that is relevant and accessible to as many people as possible. Currently, too much knowledge remains fragmented and inaccessible. Through the UrbanA project, we aim to synthesize and broker existing knowledge as well as further develop and translate knowledge into action. One important way in which we do this is through the UrbanA Wiki Database on Sustainable Just Cities.

A Wiki is a decentralized approach to knowledge co-creation and information sharing. The ‘wisdom of the crowd’ is in the lead (instead of top-down development by a central manager). It supports inclusive, co-creative, open access and open source approaches to knowledge generation.

==The UrbanA wiki database==
[[File:Mapping of Approaches.jpg|thumb|right|280px|link=https://urban-arena.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Zine-final-version_Optimised.pdf|Mapping of Approaches for UrbanA project during Rotterdam Arena Event]]
This wiki captures this learning process and provides a shared workspace for the UrbanA [https://urban-arena.eu/people/community-of-practice/ Community of Practice]. The database initially consists of a set of approaches and research methods perceived particularly useful with linking urban sustainability and justice. Use of this wiki will connect closely with our [https://www.zotero.org/groups/2324475/urbana_library shared virtual library]. Visit the list of approaches, projects and people by following this link:

'''[[Database of approaches]]'''

'''[[Database of projects & initiatives]]'''

'''[[Database of people]]'''

==What is next==

==Disclaimer==
This site holds an ongoing, open-ended online collaborative database, which attempts to collect relevant approaches that can be used by city-makers to tackle unsustainability and injustice in cities. Up till now, the pages are based mainly on knowledge generated in [https://cordis.europa.eu/ EU-funded projects], distilled and summarised by consortium members. The database touches on fast-changing fields. As such, this page makes no claims of authoritative completeness and welcomes your suggestions.

==Copyright==
Reuse of content for non-commercial purposes is permitted, with attribution, under [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Creative Commons Licence BY-NC 4.0]. Further information is available on our [[Project: copyrights|copyrights]] page.

'''[[UrbanA Community of Practice]]'''

2019-12-16T13:36:37Z

Lucia di Paola:

The right to housing indicates the right of all individuals to have access to adequate shelter.

This page is part of an ongoing, open-ended online collaborative database, which collects relevant approaches that can be used by city-makers to tackle unsustainability and injustice in cities. It is based mainly on knowledge generated in EU-funded projects and touches on fast changing fields. As such, this page makes no claims of authoritative completeness and welcomes your suggestions.

==General introduction to approach==
In accordance with the right to housing, everyone from vulnerable and poor urban citizens to wealthier classes, should be provided with access to housing. As Michalis Gouldis from Housing Europe put it “when comes to just and sustainable cities, housing is the first topic that needs to be addressed. To solve social exclusion first, you have to give people a roof, then you think about the rest. If you see it as a ladder, housing is the very first step!”. In Europe, the right to housing is granted by several international and european laws. The network [http://www.housingrightswatch.org/page/eu-housing-rights Housing Right Watch], categorizes these laws into three clusters: United Nations housing rights<ref> http://www.housingrightswatch.org/page/un-housing-rights </ref>, Council of Europe housing rights<ref> http://www.housingrightswatch.org/page/council-europe-housing-rights </ref> and EU housing rights <ref>http://www.housingrightswatch.org/page/eu-housing-rights </ref>. In addition, each European country has its national laws on housing <ref> http://www.housingrightswatch.org/content/country-info </ref>. The EU funded project [https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/102183/brief/en TENLAW], for instance, explored all the national laws per member state to inform citizens about their rights as tenants. If on the one hand housing can be provided through formal procedures (e.g. existing law enforcement), on the other hand there are multiple informal practices (e.g. squatting vacant spaces). There are numerous existing approaches where citizens, social movements and non-governmental organizations act to fill the gaps of an absent state which fails in ensuring right to housing.

==Shapes, sizes and applications==

Anti-gentrification toolkit ([https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/188216/brief/en AGAPE] 2014-2016): This approach responds to the increasing episodes of evictions, speculation and privatization on the urban European housing market. The anti-gentrification toolkit for policy makers and activists collects anti-eviction, anti-speculative, anti-privatization practices performed mainly in Southern European cities. For instance, tenants union lobbying has proved to be a successful practice in mitigating evictions. Similarly, social centers and housing movements have resisted displacement by squatting and re-claiming the right to use vacant urban spaces.

Tenancy and housing law ([https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/102183/brief/en TENLAW] 2012-2015): In a number of cases around Europe national tenancy and housing law ensures citizens with housing rights. However, it often occurs that these laws are not enforced because of the inaccessible language or tenant’s lack of knowledge. The project TENLAW has developed an accessible brochure “My right as a tenant in EU” to inform citizens about their rights. Existing housing law is a legal and effective approach for citizens to see their right to housing respected. However, it might also be a limited one given that the legal system is not always a just one.

Household resilience ([https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/111253/brief/en RESCuE] 2014-2017): A large number of vulnerable households in Europe has proven to be successful in mitigating poverty through self-initiatives which replace the absence of government’s support. Networks such as family, friends, church and other religious associations, schools, urban gardening, foodbanks, cultural events (and the list is still long and can be viewed on [http://rescueproject.net/exhibition/ RESCuE online exhibition] can strengthen household resilience against poverty. The project RESCuE was able to prove that housing is a fundamental aspect from which a great number of household resilience actions can be started or can take place.

==Relation to UrbanA themes: Cities, sustainability, and justice==
The right to housing addresses living conditions of vulnerable urban citizens which either have no access to housing or do not have access to adequate housing. As such, the right to housing has an inherent strong focus on social justice as all approaches’ goal is to provide vulnerable citizens with decent living standards, reducing the gap with wealthier classes who are able to fulfil all their needs. The underlying message is that social justice can be achieved through formal government interventions. When such interventions are lacking, governments risk to create socially unjust dynamics: lack of housing, lack of affordable-habitable-safe housing, gentrification, evictions and privatization of the public urban space.

Approaches aimed at granting the right to housing do not necessarily seek to achieve environmental sustainability as the end goal. Yet, sustainability proves to go hand in hand with the pursuit of social justice when comes to provide everyone with a home. In urban areas, for instance, speculation and privatization often occur with the development of new city districts which require extensive input of natural capital; whereas most housing movements (e.g. housing for all) advocate for the reuse (and when needed the renovation) of existing vacant spaces as a solution to allocate social vulnerable citizens. In this sense, there is no need for further natural resources input, but rather the desire to “recycle” existing vacant spaces or revisit the way in which existing housing is unjustly tenured on the free market.

Overall, approaches to achieve right to housing for all can be implemented sustainably or can directly promote sustainability. The end goal, however, remains achieving social justice.

==Narrative of change==
Housing is a basic need and everyone should have access to affordable, adequate and safe shelter. Homelessness is the most severe form of neglection of the right to housing. However, as Michalis Gouldin points out “nowadays professionals who cover fundamental roles in our urban centers, such as teachers and nurses, cannot afford to live in the cities where they work because of the high prices”. As the private market owes an increasing number of housing stocks, it becomes harder for public institutions to enforce the right to housing by, for instance, keep rent prices affordable. This also has an impact on social and public housing as co-operatives or local municipalities themselves struggle to create housing opportunities for vulnerable citizens because of the large dominance of real estate market on urban housing stock. Pilar Garrido, lectures in Constitutional and Autonomous Community Law at the UPV/EHU University of the Basque Country, talks about the need for a “change of paradigm” (Garrido, 2012) <ref> https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/127089-the-effective-exercising-of-the-right-to-housing-is-calling-for-a-new-relationship-between-ho/en </ref>. A new paradigm is needed where all individuals and families, with no discrimination, have access to affordable, habitable and safe housing and where they are protected from evictions.

==Transformative potential==
On a conceptual level, right to housing challenges the model of neoliberal economy which seeks to reduce government spending for public purposes (e.g. social and public housing) in favor of private sector interventions. The concept of "housing for all" is in inherent conflict with the ebbs and flows of a speculative neoliberal market. To challenge this, does not necessarily mean to abolish individuals’ and companies’ right to property, it rather puts pressure on public institutions to intervene and redefine the rules and boundaries under which the housing market operates.The increasing number of social movements demanding action in this direction indicates that the transformative potential of public institutions in very high (see for instance Berlin protests in April 2019 again rise in rent prices<ref> https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47839821 </ref>).
Beside public institutions, there are many non-governmental actors which in a way or another try to grant vulnerable citizens the right housing. These are housing movements, churches, charity associations, unions, cooperatives, family and friend’s networks, and NGOs. These informal actors seek to provide housing based on a solidarity alternative view, which is opposing the dominant neoliberal and capitalist logic of providing housing services for profits. An example is the [https://moba.coop/ Moba cooperative], further explained in the next section.

==Illustration of approach==
'''Cooperatives'''

The nature of housing cooperatives varies greatly across Europe, for this reason one cannot easily generalize on the role and the work they do. An interesting network of housing cooperatives which shares with a similar model is the [https://moba.coop/ MOBA Housing Cooperative Network], spread across eastern and southern Europe. Their final goal is to make housing more affordable and accessible to less wealthier citizens. Their strength lies in holding responsibility for all processes regarding the properties (e.g. contract, payment, construction works...). As they explained, the model "is centered around a cooperative of inhabitants that collectively develops, finances, maintains and operates a multi-apartment building. Because it controls the entire trajectory (and does not need to make profit), the resulting apartments are much more affordable for the inhabitants”.<ref> https://moba.coop/ </ref>

'''Social housing'''

Other solutions to ensure right to housing go into the direction of [https://wiki.urban-arena.eu/index.php?title=Co-living,_co-housing_%26_intentional_communities co-living, co-housing, and intentional communities.]

==References==
<references />

[[Category: Approaches]]
[[Category: Right to housing]]
[[Category: Co-living, co-housing & intentional communities]]
[[Category: Policies and practices for inclusion of disadvantaged groups]]
[[Category: Reconceptualising urban justice and sustainability]]
[[Category: TENLAW]]
[[Category: MOBA Cooperative]]