Track 11 HOUSING AND HEALTH

Track chairs: Roberta Cucca, Zhongbo Shi, Marcelo Sagot-Better 

Housing and public health are among the earliest concerns of planning, yet housing has been relatively neglected in planning policy in many countries for decades. The current housing crisis has brought these issues back to the forefront, particularly the need to ensure access to safe, affordable and healthy homes. Shortages of secure and high-quality housing for working- and middle-income households have wide-ranging consequences for wellbeing, living standards and social equity.

At the same time, growing inequalities in housing across Europe and beyond risk undermining progress towards a just and sustainable green transition. Addressing the housing crisis is therefore not only a question of increasing supply, but also of ensuring that both new and existing housing is affordable, healthy, energy efficient and resilient to climate change. This track will explore the opportunities and limitations of planning in bringing these objectives together.

Contributions may examine the capacity of planning to respond to current housing pressures and how the relationship between planning and housing policy might be reframed. Key questions include: how can housing decarbonisation and climate adaptation be pursued while improving health, wellbeing and affordability? What role can retrofit, neighbourhood renewal and greener urban environments play in transforming existing housing? How can locally grounded needs and place-based solutions be prioritised in the context of transnational investment and the financialization of housing?

We welcome theoretical and practice-oriented contributions that critically examine these challenges, with particular interest in local experiences and in approaches that integrate housing provision, social equity, public health and environmental sustainability.

Keywords: Planning for affordable cities; housing; new models of living; healthy housing, green and healthy neighbourhoods