Lightning Bites: Housing for All: Building Inclusive and Resilient Cities

SESSIONS: 

Monday October 19th: 

1) 13:00 - 13:30 :  "Housing vacancy : identification and patterns" by Mathilde Flas, University of Liège 

"People without housing, housing without people". A comparison – often accompanied by questionable figures – sparks controversy and suggests a simplistic solution to the problems of housing affordability. However, it must be acknowledged that not all vacant properties could be brought easily onto the market, and that it is very difficult to quantify the proportion of vacant housing units that are unfit for habitation. 

Mathilde Flas is a civil engineer, architect and urban planner. She is a teaching assistant and PhD student in urban planning at the University of Liège, within the LEMA research group. Her research focuses on vacant housing, from identifying such properties by cross-referencing large databases to mobilizing them to develop a policy on affordable housing.

2) 13:30 - 14:00 :  "Housing Systems and Urban Inequality: Pathways to More Inclusive Cities" by Martin Grander ,  Malmö University 

In his talk, Martin Grander will draw on this research to discuss how inequalities and spatial segregation is produced and reinforced through housing systems, and what more equitable, place-based approaches could look like for building inclusive and resilient cities.

Martin Grander is Associate Professor in Urban Studies at Malmö University, where he leads the research environment Studies in Housing and Welfare and researches housing as a dimension of welfare, focusing on how housing shapes segregation, integration, and living conditions. He currently leads JÄMBO, a Formas-funded collaborative project examining how regional, municipal, and local actors can use their room for manoeuvre to build more socially sustainable housing provision, working with partners from the public and private sector. 

Tuesday  October 20th

1) 13:00 - 13:30 : "How Homes shape Heart Health: Preventing Cardiovascular Risk through addressing early Childhood Housing Insecurity" by Sina Calasan (MPH), School of Public Health, University College Cork

Housing insecurity is defined as a state of risk involving high housing costs relative to household income, frequent or forced moves, the threat of eviction, overcrowding, and “hidden homelessness” (e.g. temporary accommodation). Across many countries, it has become increasingly difficult to obtain and maintain secure, affordable, and good-quality housing. According to recent government data shows that, as of November 2025, Ireland was facing 5,238 children in emergency accommodation (a figure that has doubled since 2014), 2,391 families without permanent housing, and over 16,300 people experiencing homelessness. Early childhood is a particularly sensitive period for health and development. Biological, emotional, and social pathways are formed during this time, making them highly responsive to environmental conditions. Disadvantages or stressors at this stage can shape developmental trajectories that persist throughout life, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Sina Calasan, a PhD student originally from Germany, is working on the Cities@Heart project at UCC. The aim of this EU Horizon project is to improve cardiovascular health and reduce health inequalities related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) by co-creating and piloting a series of sustainable city-level strategies. Sina completed her Bachelor of Science in Medical Economics in Germany before moving to Ireland to pursue the Master of Public Health at UCC. After graduating she gained experience researching housing insecurity and health inequalities as a Research Assistant on the UNIC project.

2) 13:30 - 14:00 : "Affordable Adaptative Reuse for Affordable Housing:  A Maximalist Circular Strategy for Public Student Dwelling" by Pavel Kunysz, City of Liège 

This presentation will showcase the in-progress transformation of the Pèrî Hospital (Baumans-Deffet - Liège, Belgium) as an affordable student housing residence of 104 units supported by semi-public spaces and social services. Through an in depth circular strategy regarding building materials, technologies and spatialities, this case leads to discussions on the compatibility -and limits- between adaptative reuse and affordable housing development in the context of public spending restrictions. 

Pavel Kunysz is an independant architect-sociologist researcher and an urban renovation counsellor for the Department of Housing of the City of Liège. Through his PhD in Built Arts and Urban Planning (ULiège, 2024) and his involvement in Right to the City movements, he developed an interdisciplinary approach linking critical sociology, urban ethnography and architectural theory to rethink the relationships between conceived spaces and those who conceive them.

His publications address the political roles of architectural quality and architects (Susciter l'architecture, 2018 - Co-Ed. L. De Visscher; L'existence en friche, 2024; S'engager en architecte, 2026) as well as ecological mobilizations and imaginaries of sustainability within urban fallows (Commoning, heterotopia, and transformation, 2025 - Co-aut. A. Poteete, N. Luka).

Since 2024, his occupation as an urban renovation counsellor for the City of Liège has placed him in the position of both an observer and a developer of public initiatives for affordable housing.

Wednesday October 21st

1) 13:00 - 13:30 : "Rethinking Temporary Shelter: Container Settlements in Post-Earthquake Adıyaman" by Senanur Gölcük Taşkıran, Senanur Gölcük Taşkıran

Senanur Gölcük Taşkıran is an urban planner, law graduate, and Urban Policies Programme Specialist at the Center for Spatial Justice (Mekanda Adalet Derneği) in Istanbul. Her work focuses on spatial justice, housing and urban policies and the legal dimensions of spatial interventions. She conducts field-based research and contributes to research, advocacy, and policy work addressing inequalities in urban space and access to rights.

This presentation examines living conditions in temporary container settlements established in Adıyaman following the February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye. Drawing on field research, site observations, and interviews with civil society representatives, it explores how temporary shelter has evolved into a prolonged form of living and how this process produces and reinforces spatial inequalities.

Focusing on differences between container settlements in terms of location, access to services and infrastructure, privacy, safety, climatic conditions, and everyday liveability, the presentation discusses temporary accommodation not merely as an emergency shelter response but as a question of spatial justice. It highlights how the quality and location of temporary settlements shape residents’ access to the city, public services, and social life, while questioning what “temporariness” means when emergency housing becomes a long-term living environment.

2) 13:30 - 14:00 : "Making Private Renting Work: Housing Affordability and Rental Security in Croatia" by Marko Horvat, Zagreb

In many European countries, housing affordability is increasingly shaped by the functioning of rental housing rather than by access to homeownership. This is particularly relevant in Croatia, where housing policy has historically prioritised owner-occupation, while the market rental sector remains weakly institutionalised, legally fragmented, and largely characterised by informal contractual arrangements. This creates insecurity for both landlords and tenants. Landlords often point to concerns about rent collection, lengthy procedures in case of disputes, and limited trust in enforcement mechanisms, while tenants without formal contracts may be unable to access important social rights and housing support. Drawing on the Croatian context and evidence from a 2023 rent subsidy pilot project, this presentation discusses how the limited formalisation of the rental sector affects housing affordability and security. It also considers how better regulation and a more balanced protection of landlords and tenants could strengthen long-term rental housing in Croatia and increase supply. 

Marko Horvat is a PhD candidate and researcher at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law, where he focuses on housing policy, housing affordability, rental markets, and housing inequalities in post-socialist Europe. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Economics, Management and Finance from Bocconi University and a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from Linköping University. His professional experience includes research and project work in Sweden, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Italy, and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability in Germany. Since 2021, he has combined doctoral research with teaching and academic and policy-oriented collaboration on housing issues.