“But if we are to shape our Union in their mould, young people must be able to shape Europe's future. Our Union needs a soul and a vision they can connect to. Or as Jacques Delors asked: How can we ever build Europe if young people do not see it as a collective project and a vision of their own future?” This is how European Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen officially announced that 2022 will be the European Year of Youth during her annual most important speech about the State of the EU. Already a quarter of the way into this special year, we see the EU’s ambition to make young peoples’ lives greener, more inclusive, and more connected. However, where is housing in this picture?

One of the four Plus Energy Neighbourhood demos of our EU-funded project syn.ikia is near Den Bosch in the Netherlands and so far, this is the most advanced as future social housing tenants will be able to move in already in May 2022.

The #Housing2030 report set just the beginning of very big questions that we felt obliged to come back to. So, we are embarking on a real journey to address the elephant in the room when it comes to housing affordability – the financialisation of housing and what are the tools that could tame it.