Cities, housing providers and architects across Europe are increasingly joining forces to address climate resilience while ensuring that housing remains affordable and inclusive.

This conference will take place on 11 June 2026, from 09:00 to 16:30, at Comet Louise, as a satellite event of the New European Bauhaus Festival.

Across Europe, climate change is already reshaping everyday life through heatwaves, flooding, and more frequent extreme weather events. These impacts are unevenly distributed, with lower-income households often the most exposed and least equipped to adapt. As a result, there is a growing consensus that meaningful progress requires stronger cross-sector collaboration between policymakers, designers, and housing providers.

Organised by Housing Europe and the Architects Council of Europe with the backing of the Green Deal Support Office the conference will bring together key stakeholders to explore how coordinated action can deliver neighbourhoods that are both affordable and climate-resilient. As part of the New European Bauhaus Festival, it highlights how climate ambition can be translated into concrete local solutions, with a strong focus on design, planning, and governance.

The programme will go beyond energy efficiency to address passive and active design strategies, water management, nature-based solutions, and circular construction practices. These approaches aim to improve living conditions while reducing climate risks, particularly for vulnerable communities. The discussions will draw on real-life examples from cities such as Vienna, Utrecht, Genk, Pamplona, Tartu, Sønderborg, and Palma, showcasing how collaboration between municipalities housing providers and architects can scale up climate-resilient housing while maintaining affordability and inclusion.

Building on initiatives such as oPEN LAB, PROBONO and ARV, the conference will also highlight circular renovation and positive energy neighbourhoods, demonstrating how environmental performance and social outcomes can be achieved together.

Co-organised with partners including NTNU, EUROCITIES, the United Nations Environment Programme & GloabalABC, and UN-Habitat, the event will address key challenges such as policy and investment frameworks, spatial planning, participatory design, capacity building, digital innovation, and circular construction. It will also focus on targeted support for communities most affected by climate change.

A central moment of the conference will be a joint commitment on “Delivering Affordable and Climate-Resilient Housing for All”, reinforcing shared responsibility to prioritise vulnerable groups in the housing transition.

International perspectives, including global reporting on buildings and construction and adequate housing initiatives, will connect European efforts to wider global priorities and underline the urgency of adaptation. The event will conclude with practical recommendations and best practices to inform future policy and investment under the New European Bauhaus framework, including financial tools that enable long-term cooperation and large-scale neighbourhood transformation.

By bringing together policymakers, architects, housing providers, and international organisations, the conference aims to support a shift in how Europe designs and delivers housing, ensuring that the transition to a greener future is both effective and equitable.

Register here.

Draft programme here.