Guido Schwarzendahl

Not all affordable housing has to be publicly delivered. Across the world, cooperative housing, community land trusts, co-housing, and other collaborative models are offering alternatives to both the market and the state, fostering affordability, social cohesion, and resident agency. Where they thrive, these models can provide stable, community-oriented, and democratically managed homes, supported by legal frameworks, access to land and finance, technical capacity, and long-term governance structures. Drawing from international cooperative networks, local housing federations, and emerging delivery actors, the conversation will look at how these models can grow, what conditions they require, and how their lessons can inform broader housing policy.