Barcelona Hosts Global Summit to Tackle Urban Housing Crisis

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, UN-Habitat Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach, and author Anna Minton headline a roster of 100 speakers tasked with addressing the systemic barriers to affordable living. The summit, organized by Fira de Barcelona alongside the Smart City Expo World Congress, focuses on five critical pillars: urban planning, housing regulation, social housing, building innovation, and the retrofitting of existing infrastructure.

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni will lead a roundtable featuring his counterparts from Milan, Budapest, Athens, and Atlanta. These discussions aim to move beyond theoretical policy, examining the financialization of land and the practicalities of cooperative housing models. By bringing together governments, developers, and third-sector organizations, the congress intends to establish concrete pathways for cities facing the dual pressure of rapid urbanization and limited housing stock.