Cities 4 Co-Housing is a URBACT Innovation Transfer Network launched in September 2024, running until August 2026, with a budget of €500,950, including €380,067 from the EU. Led by Brussels Housing's Regional Public Service in Belgium, it links five partner cities—Fuenlabrada (Spain), Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal), Thessaloniki (Greece), Naples (Italy), and Nikšić (Montenegro)—to adapt elements of Brussels' CALICO project, a co-housing initiative using the Community Land Trust model for lasting affordability.
The network dissects CALICO into four modules: governance via multi-stakeholder partnerships, social integration for vulnerable groups like single mothers and the elderly, legal-financial tools such as cooperatives and EU funds, and sustainable building design with resident input. A March 2025 transferability study assessed adaptations amid local legal hurdles, like Portugal's constraints on land trusts or Greece's regulatory gaps.
Activities include transnational meetings, such as a May 2025 workshop in Vila Nova de Gaia yielding nearly 50 test action prototypes, an October online session on funding, and a Fuenlabrada gathering advancing governance. Partners test these in local groups, with Thessaloniki eyeing vacant properties, Naples countering tourism displacement, and Fuenlabrada blending with its cooperative history. No connection exists to cohousing-pioneers.eu, which links to unrelated efforts.