Where shall we begin?

The Bad News

The housing crisis in Europe. It's been in the News for years. But now, if you live in a larger / popular city, the crisis has turned from headlines and abstract numbers (“150 million Europeans affected!”) into tangible, emotional stories from people around you.

Most likely, you’ve heard this sentence from neighbours, colleagues, friends — and maybe even yourself — more than once in the last months: “This city has really become unaffordable. Even for middle class people with a decent income like me/us”. Yet, the housing crisis isn’t only a shitty situation for some individuals. It has the dangerous potential to tear us as a society and the dream of a united and open Europe apart: A Europe in which we can choose to live where adventures, love, and work are calling us — or one day will.

The Good News

While a great complexity of human decisions over the past decades (or even centuries) has sailed us into this wicked housing crisis: It’s human made, after all. And that’s also the good news: If there’s a door in, there’s a door out. Let’s explore how we, dear fellow Human Optimists, can pave new ways together to get out of this crisis again. Sounds dreamy? Well, anthropologist Margaret Mead already figured out: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”.

Our approach

When it comes to tackling the housing crisis, housing cooperatives have already proven to be a great model, blending affordability with the security of ownership. They’ve been around for 150 years. But despite a great demand for affordable housing, cooperative projects face multiple difficulties to scale up in the current market conditions.

That’s what we want to change. We want to give cooperative, affordable housing a real boost across cities in Europe. How? By reinterpreting one of the original core principles of coops: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”. We aim to bring citizens, local cooperatives, European companies, tech startups, owners of underused buildings and impact capital in a new mode of collaboration. To kickstart the (re)development of local lighthouse projects for sustainable living - which all become part of a growing pan-European network.

The vision

We build one umbrella European Housing Coop (EHC) that we all co-own. And while different members contribute and benefit in different ways, we all unite around one shared vision: Creating a better and more sustainable way of urban living for millions of Europeans.

Who should (first) get involved?

Citizens

…looking for long term and/or temporary affordable housing environments, who are excited to live in spaces that bridge generations & cultures and foster community & sharing

Housing Cooperatives

…interested in joining as local developers / operators, with an open mind set towards new sources of impact capital, repurposing existing buildings & innovative technologies

European Companies

…eager to contribute their products & services around sustainable construction, planning and living - unlocking new markets and potentially spaces to house (future) employees

Impact Investors

…that care about the social fabric of our European society and our planetary boundaries (at least) as much as about financial dividends

What are the envisioned key components?

We have started to explore what the “key ingredients” for an impactful European Housing Cooperative could and should incorporate. We’re investigating these areas:

Patient Impact Capital

How can we attract patient capital from individuals, family offices, companies, and foundations—demonstrating that our cooperative model delivers healthy financial returns alongside measurable ecological and social impact?

Non-speculative Business Model

How can we develop a long term, sustainable business model for the EHC and all involved local housing / mixed use projects? How can we ensure that we are not fueling the speculation of land and real estate?

Revitalisation of Existing Buildings

How can we better use and convert existing (empty) buildings for housing and make the planning & (re)construction process more approachable and affordable?

Flexible Living across Borders

How can we create a network of spaces across European cities that combine affordable long term and flexible temporary living opportunities, providing a cooperative better alternative to “serviced living”, for citizens and cities alike?

A common digital Platform

How can we unite the power of our diverse future members on one digital platform together - to pool capital, showcase AI / tech solutions, foster partnerships and to match humans and housing opportunities?

Better Sharing, Real Community

How can we help to give birth to spaces that foster interaction, promote sharing, reduce the individual footprint while building a community oriented, fulfilled lifestyle across generations?

What’s the timeline?

Jan — May 2026

Collaborative Research Exploration

Through extensive research, a series of interviews, online panel conversations, digital surveys, and collective mobilising, we want to figure out: How could the approach of a pan-european Cooperative unfold real change in Europe’s housing sector? In which of the 25 focus cities (or even somewhere else?) should we begin? And what would a prototype of our future organisation look like?

June 2026 — June 2027

Prototyping the EHC

Before going through the legal foundation of a European Cooperative, let’s prove that our collective approach can deliver real value - for everyone involved, for our cities and for our planet. Across 3 cities, with a set of early engaged partners, we show that we can source suitable objects and give birth to new (re)development projects and hundreds of housing units that wouldn’t have happened without us coming together.

Summer 2027 and beyond

Building and scaling the EHC

If the prototype has proven to be successful: Now it’s time to build the legal framework for the European Housing Coop, collectively fund the organisation, design suitable governance processes (that are democratic, but don’t kill the velocity we need), build out the starting team and continue tackling Europe’s housing crisis at scale.

Do You want to get involved?

Subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll keep you posted about important developments! Do you have 1 minute to share your perspective on what resonates most with you about the EHC? That would be fantastic!

Let's tackle Europe's Housing Crisis together!