Responsible Housing Awards 2019

In the evening of Day 3 of the 2nd International Social Housing Festival, the European Responsible Housing Awards ceremony took place on the grounds of Université Catholique de Lyon, and was attended by policy-makers, European politicians, academics, practitioners and festival-goers alike.

This third edition of the Responsible Housing Awards saw a record-breaking number of 87 submissions (an increase of 29% compared to 2016)  across five categories from 16 countries.

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• The first category “Fair financing for housing affordability”, highlighting sustainable investment which minimises housing costs as well as mitigating real estate speculation, saw the Award going to Institut Municipal de l’Habitage i Rehabilitacio (IMHAB) of the City of Barcelona for their successful and continuous pursuit of “Place-based anti-speculation housing policies”.

• The second category “More than a roof- supporting communities of equal opportunities”, means ensuring decent, affordable housing (and which will remain so in the future), this being key to avoiding social and spatial segregation and promoting social cohesion in neighbourhoods. This year, the award went to housing cooperative Berliner Bau- und Wohnungsgenossenschaft von 1892 eG for their project “Nettelbeckplatz -  An experimental way of renewal a cooperative housing estate in Berlin”.

  • In the same category, a special prize for Innovation went to Barcelona-based non-profit cooperative Habitatge La Borda SCCL for their project La Borda.

• Focussing on the environment, the category “Leaders of innovation, agents of fair energy transition” looked for entrants where housing providers and tenants used creative strategies or undertook new approaches to building, housing and living in a way that decreases our ecological footprint. Non-profit organsation Alwel in Roosendaal, Netherlands won with their project Moerwijkzicht Breda, where they “future-proofed” their housing complex and so initiated a major energy renovation of 241 social rental homes, with participation of and collaboration with the residents.

• Villeneuve-Saint-Georges OPH of Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France proved that “no one is an island” and certainly, no (responsible) housing association works in isolation. They won the category “Building strategic alliances, fostering community participation" with their Kaleidoscope Project, which acknowledged structural challenges in the area and vulnerable residents in the community.

• ​We are nothing without our people, working together and supporting each other. With their project “Power to the People – empowering the team to improve services”, public body ATC del Piemonte Centrale  in Torino, Italy win the category “Empowering the team, addressing employees changing needs”.