Overview The population of Cologne is around 1.016 million. That makes the city around the 4th biggest in the entire country. Population estimates show that Cologne is expected to grow in the upcoming years. I believe the prognoses that are out there now will change dramatically and believing anything right now is dangerous. With the… Read More Cologne Social Housing- Tale of a Growing City
I visited the German city of Kiel in late July of 2015. I met with Emily Sittel from the department of Housing and Social Help. Attending the meeting from the Ihre Forderbank was Imme Reiben-Mucha a specialist in real estate funding. We discussed the theme of social housing in the city of Kiel and how… Read More Social Housing in the German Port City of Kiel
The city of Leipzig is an interesting case study in rapid population decline, slow steady growth and change/maturation of the housing market. Leipzig as a city is becoming a sexy trend in many magazines and newspapers that claim it is now the place where people should be moving. Many citizens believe the press is nothing… Read More Leipzig or Hypezig?- Housing and Recovery
Berlin is known as a dynamic city with reasonable costs of living compared to other European capitals. Because of this reputation, Berlin’s population over the last decade grew while inflicting new pressures on the increasingly tight housing market. Once a city where a flat could be had for a few hundred euro’s a month is… Read More Social Housing in Berlin: The Sexy City That is No Longer Poor
Hamburg growth in the 1980’s was not as strong as other areas of Germany because of structural changes. Since the 90s, the picture has changed. With the unification of Germany, Hamburg made economic strides, especially in international trading and business. Hamburg is also seen as an attractive city independently of its development of knowledge and service centers.… Read More Social Housing In Hamburg Part I
Article: The Finnish Homeless Strategy Summarized by Josh Crites Overview Finland recently completed a second phase of a national program intended to dramatically reduce homelessness. What is different with the Finnish approach is the country came together to create a national strategy with a total effort on using the Housing First model. The summary report… Read More Strategic Planning and Homelessness: Finland, the UK, the USA and Sweden
I am truly lucky for this year abroad researching and looking at social housing and homeless programs in Germany and the EU. The world is increasingly more global and sharing of best practices can not be limited to country borders. As I researched homeless programs in Germany, I came across the name of a Dr.… Read More Housing First in Europe- 5 Short Summaries of Test Sites
What to do when a tenant owes money to the housing authority? The question is typical and we face it on a regular basis. Many times the money spent to collect is more than the actual debt. In other situations, the tenant is in a bad situation and we want to work around it. If it is… Read More Work for Repayment of rent arrears? An example from Hungary.
Social Housing providers serve many different categories of adults and families. Two specific groups that we see in social housing are elderly and single mothers. These are two completely different groups with completely different problems. In the USA social housing system, many seniors end up in a combo building that houses both seniors and disabled. This… Read More Innovative Program in the Netherlands- Combining Elderly and Young Women
Housing Futures 