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Since the beginning, MOBA members from Croatia, Cooperative Open Architecture (ZOA) and Cooperative for Ethical Financing (ZEF) have been focused on a cooperative housing model based on public-civic partnership and the right to build as a path to increasing the non-profit housing stock, safeguarding from privatisation and speculation, and empowering citizens to self-organise for affordable housing solutions based on collective ownership.

Last month, their dedication to their vision and persistent contact with municipalities culminated in a formalised cooperation with the City of Pula, which marks the first instance of a municipality allocating funds from its own budget to the development of a cooperative housing project in the CSEE region.

This breakthrough comes after years of advocacy, education and work on the recognition of cooperative housing in Croatia.

The first city to recognise this model of affordable housing was the City of Križevci, leading to Križevci, ZOA and ZEF partnering up for an ESF project “Stimulating the development of cooperative housing in Croatia” that set the groundwork for further development and national-level advocacy that contributed to the inclusion of support for cooperative housing in the National Housing Policy Plan until 2030 adopted earlier this year.

While cooperation with Križevci is ongoing and a building permit has been secured, the City of Pula has now allocated funds from its own budget for the preparation of a cooperative housing project, with our Croatian members set to provide technical and capacity-building support to both the city and future housing coop tenants.

The model of cooperative housing in cooperation with local self-governments units that ZOA and ZEF advocate, consult, and educate towards is particularly replicable, scalable and highly relevant, especially as five Croatian cities are working with the European Investment Bank to support the development of affordable housing and an approach to access to finance. 

MOBA continues to closely support its members in their efforts to mainstream cooperative housing in Croatia. We can’t wait to witness the long-term effects the project will have on the urban and social landscape of Pula and integrate this experience into our regional approach.

MOBA in Pula – where we were established in 2020 as the first European Cooperative Society (SCE) in Croatia and, admittedly, one of our favorite locations for MOBA meetings.

Public presentations of the cooperative housing solution in the local and regional context, held in Pula with interested citizens and local stakeholders in 2023.

Yesterday, we shared our message on community-led collaborative housing solutions and prevailing systemic gaps at the Conference on affordable housing, organised by the European Parliament and the European Commission to address the housing crisis in the EU and lay the foundation for a comprehensive and inclusive European Affordable Housing Plan.

Representing the European Alliance for Collaborative Housing, a growing coalition initiated by MOBA SCE, urbaMonde, NETCO project, Sostre Cívic  and Red Vivienda Cooperativa, we spoke out of our aggregated experience, knowledge and determination, advocating for:

• EU policies and financial instruments that are designed in a way that encourages and supports bottom-up initiatives;
• recognition of housing cooperatives as a model that diversifies affordable housing, enhances the urban and social value of space, serves as a launch pad for social innovation in other sectors such as civic energy, car sharing, urban agriculture and green building;
• removing barriers to financing for collective ownership models and an end to excluding cooperative members from employment support schemes;
• creating a system of support for the establishment of new financial institutions at all levels – local, national, regional, European – willing to finance community-led affordable housing;
• strongly supported a suggestion for enabling municipalities to directly access EU funding.

Some of our collaborators were also present, including colleagues from the European Community Land Trust Network and Habitat for Humanity; our insights should be part of forming the basis for a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to affordable housing policy.

The conference was opened and moderated by Dan Jørgensen, Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Irene Tinagli, Chair of the European Parliament Special Committee on the Housing Crisis in the European Union, and Matthew Baldwin, Head of the European Commission’s Housing Task Force.

The Commission is also working with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group to develop a new pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing, but it remains unclear whether this instrument will be accessible to bottom-up affordable housing efforts without new intermediaries.

Next steps announced by the Commission:

• April: Call for evidence for the European Affordable Housing Plan
• June & October: Public consultation
• April-December: Themed expert seminars and hearings

We will continue to advocate for collaborative housing to be substantially recognised and supported by emerging policy developments and financial instruments as they are severely underfunded and underrecognised despite being the most empowering models of affordable housing rooted in long-term affordability, social cohesion and inclusion, and environmental sustainability.

The end of February marked 5 years of MOBA as a European Cooperative Society!

We met for a MOBA meeting in Zagreb where we had our founding Assembly as the first European Cooperative Society in Croatia, taking 4 days to zoom out, explore, clarify, coordinate, zoom back in, plan for the long-term – and for the Zoom-doomed period until MOBA’s local teams are in the same room in another one of our cities again.

MOBA is at a point in which we’re focused on building community-owned instruments to help jump-start community-led and cooperative housing projects in Central and South-Eastern Europe. In parallel, we’re intentionally building our organisation’s infrastructure to sustain our goals and amplify the transformative impact of realised housing communities.

We used our time in Zagreb for internal working, alignment and planning sessions. We cleared our heads and widened our horizons on Medvednica mountain. We (re)connected with like-minded proactive locals, initiatives and experts, introducing them to members’ activities:

Czech members from Družstvo Racek, a social cooperative that bought a house in Děčín, shared experiences with DIY building maintenance, their connections to the the wider community and other causes, as well as Sdílené domy – a community, cooperative and solidarity housing network and MOBA member.

Alliance for Collaborative Real Estate Development from Hungary spoke about their organisational ecosystem, the Periféria Policy and Research Center, the Gólya Cooperative, and the Kazán Community House, as well as their plans for new community-led developments, supported by MOBA.

Members from Serbia talked about 12+ years of local action through Ko Gradi Grad, the activities of their Цentar for new cooperative housing in Belgrade, their Pametnija Zgrada cooperative growing and their cooperative housing exhibition “How and where will we live?” becoming a part of student protests in Serbia.

Cooperative Open Architecture from Croatia shared about the model of cooperative housing in collaboration with municipalities, the Križevci project and its financial and community engagement successes and challenges.

We also had a knowledge and curiosity exchange with cooperativism scholar and expert Sonja Novkovic from the International Centre for Cooperative Management who we will see again later this year in Pula for the Cooperative Law Summer School.

Special thanks to MAMA Zagreb and Pravo na grad for always giving us a roof under which to work together when in Zagreb. We all briefly considered moving to Križevci for an endless MOBA meeting… but decided we’re sticking to our goals, which require active presence locally and focused cooperation regionally. Our work continues!

Over the past few months, our members at Sdílené domy have been working very hard to share their experience in implementing community solidarity housing projects with the widest possible audience – and now we’re spreading the word as well!

Their efforts resulted is several brochures, texts, and videos available online meant especially for groups embarking on a similar path:

Texts:

1. Brochure “Live in community, live in solidarity – a guide to implementing Sdílené domy community solidarity housing projects”, detailing the development of the Sdílené domy community solidarity housing model and describing the experiences from the implementation of two of their projects První vlaštovka and Družstvo Racek, containing beautiful illustrations by Tadeáš Polák.

2. Brochure “Step-by-step towards implementing a community solidarity housing project”, offering practical instructions for those interested in community solidarity housing.

3. Brochure “Foreign sources of inspiration for the Sdílené domy housing model”, examining similar approaches in other local contexts, partly based on interviews with fellow MOBA members – ACRED‘s Csaba Jelinek from Hungary and KO GRADI GRAD‘s Ana Džokić and Marc Neelen from in Serbia.

Video series:

A series of videos about various aspects of the implementation of the Sdílené domy model from Vojtěch Polák’s workshop: on sources of inspiration, creating a legal structure, finding suitable sources of financing, bureaucratic processes and the implementation of the Vzletný racek project in Děčín.

Thematic workshops:

An additional output was a series of thematic workshops in various cities in the Czech Republic that took participants through the entire process of implementing projects following the Sdílené domy model.

The outputs for Sdílené domy were prepared by their team consisting of Lída Böhmová from Družstvo Racek and Veronika Koubková, Renča Farkašová and Tomáš Němeček from První vlaštovka as part of a project financially supported by the Ministry for Regional Development.

We’re excited to share highlights from our recent consortium meeting that took place in Sarvar from 26 to 28 November as part of the ongoing Interreg Danube RurALL Project! Over the course of two productive days, our team engaged in meaningful discussions and explored innovative approaches to support the sustainable revitalization of rural communities.

Key Discussion Points

1. Mapping Processes Understanding the specific needs and potential of local communities is critical to our mission. During our meeting, we delved into mapping processes designed to identify key assets, challenges, and opportunities within the Danube region. These insights will guide our strategic interventions.

MOBA led two impactful workshops dedicated to the Identification and Mapping of Dwellings. The workshops focused on the following key tasks:

• D.2.1.2 Mapping and Collection of Data: This stage involves comprehensive public engagement to gather data on local dwellings. As of now, 58 dwellings have been fully mapped, and at least 350 have been partially mapped with strong community support.
• D.2.1.3 Data Analysis: Once data collection is completed by the end of 2024, MOBA will generate a comprehensive Mapping Data Analysis and Report. This report will analyse the data from pilot areas, create detailed maps, and enable a comparative analysis among different regions.

The mapping process also includes a Comparative Analysis of the Causes for Dwellings Deterioration. Each pilot area will develop a detailed map of deteriorating dwellings, which will be integrated into existing spatial planning documents. Additionally, the tool will support the development of a 10-year projection to assess the future number of deteriorating dwellings if depopulation trends persist.

2. Multistakeholder Governance Model Central to our project’s success is the development of an inclusive governance framework that empowers diverse stakeholders—from local authorities to grassroots organizations. Our discussions focused on refining this model to foster collaborative decision-making and ensure the long-term sustainability of revitalization efforts.

3. Community Engagement We emphasized the importance of involving residents in every step of the process. By amplifying local voices, we aim to create solutions that reflect the community’s vision and strengthen their sense of ownership.

Site Visit Highlights

Our visit to Sarvar’s Music House and the historic Old Town was a true inspiration. These culturally significant landmarks underscore the importance of preserving heritage while adapting spaces for contemporary use. Seeing firsthand how these spaces could be revitalized provided valuable context for our work.

Exploring Sustainable Building Materials

One of the standout moments was an expert presentation by the TVG Development Platform on the use of industrial hemp in construction. Industrial hemp presents a sustainable, eco-friendly option for renovating older buildings, thanks to its durability, insulation properties, and minimal environmental impact. This knowledge will help inform future restoration projects within the RurALL Project.

Moving Forward

The past two days in Sarvar have strengthened our shared commitment and provided clarity on the next steps for the RurALL Project. The insights gained will shape our ongoing efforts to support the social, economic, and environmental revitalization of rural communities in the Danube region.

With the comprehensive data collection and analysis efforts led by MOBA, along with collaborative governance strategies, we are well-positioned to prepare impactful policy recommendations. The combined efforts of mapping, comparative analysis, and public engagement will serve as a robust foundation for sustainable change.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue our journey toward sustainable rural transformation!

This October, the Цenter for New Cooperative Housing – founded by MOBA members Pametnija Zgrada and KO GRADI GRAD – organised a festival of cooperative housing in Belgrade, leaning on the inspiring example of the City of Barcelona. In the past 15 years, Barcelona experienced a transformation of the housing sector through new forms of community organising, an innovative spirit of architectural design, and local authorities playing a key role in creating supportive housing policies.

The festival encompassed a series of events centred around the exhibition “HOW AND WHERE WILL WE LIVE? – Belgrade meets Barcelona’s wave of novel cooperative housing” – a result of cooperation with the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Municipal Institute for Housing and Renovation, and the architectural cooperative Lacol. Through lectures, guided tours of the exhibition, workshops and work sessions for local experts and the wider public, over 200 participants learned about the realities and discussed the potential of cooperative housing. As part of the guided tours, MOBA members from Hungary, Croatia and Serbia presented their pilot projects, challenges, and both short-term and long-term plans against the backdrop of Barcelona’s inspiring example.

Together with guests from Barcelona, friends, colleagues, experts, a wider circle of interested citizens, and potential future residents of Serbia’s first housing cooperative, we explored the potential of cooperative housing, the importance of the present moment for laying the foundations for the housing cooperative movement to gain momentum in Serbia, and the far-reaching, transformative impact it can have on our cities.

In this incentivizing atmosphere, we also held internal MOBA meetings, work sessions, and participated in a workshop on participatory design methods. The exhibition and festival established a broader dialogue about cooperative housing in Belgrade and beyond – and provided space for connecting, reflecting and organising for a world we want to live in!