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A participatory process is a sequence of participatory activities (e.g. first filling out a survey, then making proposals, discussing them in face-to-face or virtual meetings, and finally prioritizing them) with the aim of defining and making a decision on a specific topic.
Examples of participatory processes are: a process of electing committee members (where candidatures are first presented, then debated and finally a candidacy is chosen), participatory budgets (where proposals are made, valued economically and voted on with the money available), a strategic planning process, the collaborative drafting of a regulation or norm, the design of an urban space or the production of a public policy plan.
Samos IDEAL Workshop: Housing Crisis and Rising Rents in Europe (08/07/2026)
Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
About this process
Across Europe, housing affordability has become one of the most urgent social and economic challenges. In many cities and regions, rent prices and housing costs have increased faster than wages, making it difficult for students, young professionals, families, key workers and middle-income households to find affordable and decent housing. Factors such as inflation, rising construction and renovation costs, tourism pressure, short-term rental platforms, urbanisation, limited affordable housing supply and speculative investment have intensified the problem.
This workshop is not about voting on an existing law. The European Affordable Housing Plan is currently a policy plan that prepares future European actions, including possible legislative initiatives. Our aim today is to collect perceptions, priorities, concerns and arguments that can contribute to this ongoing debate.
The process is structured in four steps:
A short introduction to the housing crisis, its causes and consequences, and the European Affordable Housing Plan;
An introductory questionnaire to map participants’ views and priorities;
A priority vote to identify which proposals participants consider most important for EU action;
A structured debate focused on the two proposals receiving the highest number of votes.
Today’s discussion is also a first step towards tomorrow’s Ideathon, where participants will work on practical, evidence-based and creative proposals to address the housing crisis and rising rents in Europe.