Fairville - Barriers and Emerging Pathways to Scaling Co-production: A perspective from the Fairville Labs

Overview of the Fairville Study

The Fairville report “Barriers and Emerging Pathways to Scaling Co‑production: A perspective from the Fairville Labs” is a public study published by the Fairville network in July 2024. It is authored by Alessio Kolioulis, Barbara Lipietz, Manon Bleuzen, Dominique Nalpas and Chloé Verlinden, and produced under the umbrella of the Fairville partnership, which coordinates research on co‑production across European urban labs. The study synthesises findings from nine Fairville Labs located in Brussels, Berlin, Dakar, Giza, London, Marseille, Călărași, West Attica and other sites, aiming to identify obstacles and opportunities for scaling co‑production practices in cities.

Key Findings on Barriers

The authors distinguish three clusters of barriers: (1) within the state – fragmented governance, outdated legislation, limited funding, lack of transparency and corruption; (2) within civil‑society – community fragmentation, diversity‑related exclusion, information gaps and financial constraints; (3) at the state‑society interface – misrecognition of communities, mistrust, technical jargon and divergent institutional cultures. Examples include the fragmented water‑management responsibilities in Brussels, the bureaucratic divisions between Senate and district authorities in Berlin, and the colonial‑era legislation hindering informal settlements in Dakar. Across the labs, barriers are repeatedly linked to governance complexity, socio‑economic inequality and limited resources.

Emerging Pathways for Scaling

Four principal scaling pathways are outlined: (a) consolidation – deepening impact and extending partnership timelines; (b) growth, expansion or replication – widening geographic reach and reproducing successful models; (c) mobilisation and coalition‑building – creating horizontal networks across sectors and regions; (d) upscaling and institutionalisation – embedding co‑production into routine governance structures. The report highlights concrete actions such as school‑based outreach in West Attica to engage Roma communities, the “interpellation communale” legal tool used in Brussels to bring residents’ concerns to municipal councils, and the development of an Atlas platform by Commonspace to map inequalities and foster community dialogue.

Quantitative Snapshot

• Nine Fairville Labs contributed data up to June 2024.
• The study references 21 semi‑structured interviews across the labs.
• Key thematic codes include fragmentation (state), diversity (society) and misrecognition (interface).
• The research period spans from 2023 to mid‑2024, with an anticipated continuation until month M36 of the Fairville programme.

Institutional Context and Support

Fairville, the coordinating body, is a European research network funded by the EU Horizon Europe programme. Its aim is to advance co‑production as a democratic tool for urban governance. The authors represent a mix of academic institutions (UCL, University Libre de Bruxelles, TU Berlin) and civil‑society organisations (EGEB, Commonspace, UrbaSen). The study aligns with the broader EU agenda on participatory planning, social inclusion and climate‑resilient urban development.

Implications for Sustainable Housing

For a pan‑European audience focused on sustainable housing, the report provides actionable insights: scaling co‑production can improve housing equity by ensuring resident voices shape design, financing and management of dwellings. Consolidation pathways support long‑term maintenance of affordable housing stock, while replication pathways enable successful low‑carbon retrofit models to be transferred across cities. Institutionalisation – embedding co‑production in housing policy – is presented as essential for aligning housing upgrades with EU Green Deal targets. The identified barriers, such as fragmented governance and lack of transparent funding, are directly relevant to housing projects that require coordinated action between municipalities, developers and community groups.

Recommendations for Practitioners

The authors advise practitioners to: (1) map governance structures early to navigate fragmentation; (2) co‑design communication tools that translate technical housing standards into accessible language; (3) build cross‑lab networks to share best‑practice templates for affordable‑housing co‑production; and (4) advocate for policy reforms that recognise informal settlements and enable legal pathways for upgrading housing. These steps are positioned as essential to overcome the documented barriers and to harness the outlined scaling pathways for more inclusive, sustainable urban housing across Europe.