Title: The Reversal of Urban Exodus and the Rising Need for Affordable Housing

Contrary to popular predictions, the pandemic has not led to the mass exodus from cities as expected. On the contrary, people are returning in droves, thus highlighting the failures of the market to independently handle this situation. Government intervention is now required to control the escalating housing crisis.

Collboni, a key figure in the housing scene, emphasizes that the current rent cap is a temporary solution to prevent the housing crisis from worsening. However, to effectively address Europe’s housing predicament in the long term, there needs to be a substantial increase in the availability of affordable public homes. Before sanctioning large construction projects, he insists that national, regional, and local leaders reassess their public housing strategies. He underscores that the need for public housing is no longer confined to the most vulnerable segments but has extended to urban working and middle-class families. In Barcelona alone, 75% of the population could potentially benefit from housing assistance.

But, building new homes is not the ultimate solution for all cities. In cities like Barcelona, constructing new homes is not a feasible option. Barcelona, hemmed in by the sea, mountains, and neighbouring municipalities, has limited space for construction. Though three new neighbourhoods are under construction, which can accommodate up to 45,000 homes, half of them being public, the city has no additional space for further construction.

To address this, the city authorities are working towards increasing public housing stock by invoking the city’s legal right of first refusal. This allows them to have the first option to buy buildings being sold in areas with high market stress and limited space for new builds. Over the past decade, the city, along with Catalonia’s regional government, has acquired over 7,000 apartments now available at affordable rents.

One such acquisition is Casa Orsola, a landmark building in the Eixample district. Initially bought by an investment firm intending to evict long-time residents and convert their homes into tourist rentals, the city authorities intervened after significant protests. In collaboration with a social housing organization, the city bought the property at a price 30% below the market rate.

Collboni concludes, “We are altering the rules that led us to this situation, to ensure that investment groups understand that these operations will no longer be profitable in Barcelona. We have numerous other sectors here to invest in; they should concentrate on those.”