Choice project

CHOICE – Community-led HOusing for Inclusion, Climate, and Equity

CHOICE – Community-led HOusing for Inclusion, Climate, and Equity – promotes Community-Led Housing (CLH) as a democratic, rights-based and climate-just response to the housing crisis.

Duration of the project: January 2026 – December 2027

Funding: CERV EU

CHOICE actively involves a wide spectrum of stakeholders:
● Citizens, communities & networks already engaged in sustainability and democracy
● EU citizens and communities interested in joining housing debates for the first time
● Community-led housing initiatives and groups exploring new models
● Civil society organisations & social movements working on housing, climate, equality, youth, etc.
● Local and regional authorities, housing departments, public agencies
● National and EU-level policymakers and public officials
● Media and the general public, as multipliers and audiences for our stories

• To raise public awareness about cooperative and community-led housing models by examining the diverse experiences
• To identify housing needs and to explore the role that communities can play in finding answers
• To analyse country-specific legal and cultural frameworks, and how they influence the development of community-led housing in the interested countries.
• To foster dialogue on the different financing mechanisms available to support cooperative housing initiatives, with a focus on making community-led housing truly accessible.
• To incorporate a gender perspective into the debates, addressing how the housing crisis disproportionately impacts women and contributes to the feminization of poverty.
•  To build stronger connections with grassroots social movements, ensuring that the debates are informed by the real needs and experiences of the communities most affected by housing precarity.

• Compare and synthesize the key findings, challenges, and proposed solutions emerging from the country-focused debates held within the region.
• Facilitate an in-depth debate among all target groups on the specific state of affordable, sustainable, and inclusive housing in the respective regions
• Present and critically evaluate diverse examples of community-led housing initiatives from or relevant to the region
• Collaboratively formulate specific policy recommendations tailored to the regional context, aimed at supporting and scaling up community-led housing solutions at local, national, and regional levels.
• Foster networking and potential collaborations among participants, strengthen the community-led housing movement within Northern Europe and enhance its capacity for advocacy and action.

Capacity building activities

  In-situ
● Social and Solidarity Economy Training organised by RIPESS Europe
● CLIPS Training organised by GEN Europe
● Advocacy Training organised by ECOLISE
   Online
● Webinar Series coordinated by ICLEI Europe and ECOLISE with contributions from all partners

Advocacy & Outreach activities
     In-situ
● Opening Conference organised by UniVechta
○ Provisional dates: March 29th – 31st @ Cloughjordan, Ireland (includes KOM)
● European Gathering organised by GEN Europe
● Closing Conference organised by ISCTE
● EU Policy Event organised by ECOLISE
    Online
● Participatory Policy Positioning organised by ECOLISE
● Digital Storytelling & Campaign coordinated by GEN Europe and ECOLISE with contributions