HouseEurope! asserts renovation as a driver of change: a call to transform the way Europe values, preserves, and reuses its buildings in order to protect homes, reduce emissions, and commit to a more conscious urban future.
Image source: A building demolition in Lille, France (Velvet/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0)
The European citizens’ initiative HouseEurope! promotes a profound shift in how Europe manages its building stock. Born from mounting concern over the systematic demolition of buildings in good condition, the proposal seeks to position renovation and adaptive reuse as the first option over new construction. The project highlights how speculative real-estate dynamics encourage the demolition of millions of square metres every year, generating social, economic, and environmental impacts that are difficult to justify in a context of climate emergency and the need for affordable housing.
Through a direct-democracy mechanism, the initiative aims to gather one million signatures to push for European legislation that makes renovation easier, more affordable, and more equitable. Its proposals revolve around lowering taxes on renovation works, creating homogeneous criteria to assess the potential of existing buildings, and recognising the value of the CO₂ already embedded in current structures.
HouseEurope! emphasises that renovating means preserving homes, protecting heritage, reducing emissions, and strengthening local economies. By exposing the hidden costs of demolition, the initiative invites a rethinking of development models and encourages prioritising the intelligent use of what has already been built.
