Affordable and Attainable Housing: Shared Urban Challenges, Shared Solutions

From 10 – 12 December 2025, we convened our 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 (𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮), bringing together cities from Europe, Canada, and the US to exchange on one of the most pressing issues facing urban areas today: affordable and attainable housing.

Hosted by the City of Toronto, the meeting also marked an important milestone – the final gathering of the IURC North America Program, building a clear bridge between past cooperation and a new phase of deeper, more structured transatlantic collaboration.

Toronto provided a particularly relevant setting. As the fastest-growing city in North America, rapid population growth has intensified long-standing pressures around housing affordability, homelessness, and access to services. These dynamics resonated strongly with the participating cities confirming that while contexts differ, the core challenges are remarkably similar across cities worldwide.

What emerged clearly was a shared understanding: no city can address the housing crisis in isolation. Long-term solutions require partnerships across levels of government, collaboration with civil society and the private sector, and a balance between preserving existing housing stock and developing new, inclusive neighbourhoods.

The conversations in Toronto set a strong foundation for the months ahead – moving from shared diagnosis to peer learning and concrete pilot actions under the EU Cities Gateway Program.