Overview of the Fairville Study
The Fairville report âBarriers and Emerging Pathways to Scaling Coâproduction: A perspective from the Fairville Labsâ 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 ChloĂ© Verlinden, and produced under the umbrella of the Fairville partnership, which coordinates research on coâproduction across European urban labs. The study synthesises findings from nine Fairville Labs located in Brussels, Berlin, Dakar, Giza, London, Marseille, CÄlÄraÈi, West Attica and other sites, aiming to identify obstacles and opportunities for scaling coâproduction practices in cities.
Key Findings on Barriers
The authors distinguish three clusters of barriers: (1) within the state â fragmented governance, outdated legislation, limited funding, lack of transparency and corruption; (2) within civilâsociety â community fragmentation, diversityârelated exclusion, information gaps and financial constraints; (3) at the stateâsociety interface â misrecognition of communities, mistrust, technical jargon and divergent institutional cultures. Examples include the fragmented waterâmanagement responsibilities in Brussels, the bureaucratic divisions between Senate and district authorities in Berlin, and the colonialâera legislation hindering informal settlements in Dakar. Across the labs, barriers are repeatedly linked to governance complexity, socioâeconomic inequality and limited resources.
Emerging Pathways for Scaling
Four principal scaling pathways are outlined: (a) consolidation â deepening impact and extending partnership timelines; (b) growth, expansion or replication â widening geographic reach and reproducing successful models; (c) mobilisation and coalitionâbuilding â creating horizontal networks across sectors and regions; (d) upscaling and institutionalisation â embedding coâproduction into routine governance structures. The report highlights concrete actions such as schoolâbased outreach in West Attica to engage Roma communities, the âinterpellation communaleâ legal tool used in Brussels to bring residentsâ 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 semiâstructured interviews across the labs.
- Key thematic codes include fragmentation (state), diversity (society) and misrecognition (interface).
- The research period spans from 2023 to midâ2024, 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 coâproduction as a democratic tool for urban governance. The authors represent a mix of academic institutions (UCL, University Libre de Bruxelles, TU Berlin) and civilâsociety organisations (EGEB, Commonspace, UrbaSen). The study aligns with the broader EU agenda on participatory planning, social inclusion and climateâresilient urban development.
Implications for Sustainable Housing
For a panâEuropean audience focused on sustainable housing, the report provides actionable insights: scaling coâproduction can improve housing equity by ensuring resident voices shape design, financing and management of dwellings. Consolidation pathways support longâterm maintenance of affordable housing stock, while replication pathways enable successful lowâcarbon retrofit models to be transferred across cities. Institutionalisation â embedding coâproduction in housing policy â 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) coâdesign communication tools that translate technical housing standards into accessible language; (3) build crossâlab networks to share bestâpractice templates for affordableâhousing coâproduction; 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.

