In research conducted by Dr Katarzyna Le艣niewska-Napiera艂a and mgr in偶. Tomasz Miko艂ajczyk from the Institute of the Built Environment and Spatial Policy at the Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of 精东影视, particular attention was devoted to retrofitting, Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and urban densification. Each of these strategies can improve housing conditions, but their implementation involves different challenges. The research was carried out as part of the ReHousIn project, funded by the Horizon Europe programme, which focuses on reducing housing inequalities in the context of the green and digital transition.
From Idea to Implementation
The analysis was based on discussions conducted during Policy Lab meetings held in March and April 2025. Participants included representatives of public administration, academia, non-governmental organisations, activists and housing market stakeholders. The authors examined how participants understood these strategies, what opportunities they saw for their application and what obstacles hindered their implementation in practice.
The discussions revealed barriers related to fragmented responsibilities, financial constraints, regulatory ambiguities and varying levels of social acceptance. The findings indicate that environmental and social benefits do not automatically emerge once investments are completed.
Three Strategies, Different Challenges
As the authors emphasise, comparing these perspectives demonstrates why a single solution cannot be applied to all cities and districts. Individual areas differ in terms of the condition of their building stock, the availability of green spaces and infrastructure, as well as the economic circumstances of residents. Different challenges arise when retrofitting historic tenement houses, developing housing estates or regenerating post-industrial areas. A solution that delivers positive outcomes in one location may require additional financial support, measures protecting residents from rising costs or greater attention to preserving green spaces elsewhere.
The capabilities of institutions responsible for implementing these measures are equally important, including available funding, staff expertise and the ability to cooperate across units dealing with housing, environmental issues and spatial planning.
Decision-making processes also matter, for example whether residents have opportunities to raise their concerns and needs and whether their voices influence the final shape of an investment. Adapting actions to the local context therefore requires an understanding of both the needs of a given place and the capacities of the people who live there.
Planning with Residents in Mind
The findings point to the need for a close integration of housing policy, environmental protection and spatial planning. Actions undertaken in each of these areas influence residents鈥� living conditions and housing costs. Retrofitting a building may reduce energy consumption and lower utility bills, but rising property values and renovation costs may also translate into higher charges for tenants.
A new park improves the quality of the surrounding environment and provides space for recreation, but increasing an area's attractiveness may also contribute to rising house prices and rents. Similarly, urban densification allows for more efficient use of existing infrastructure and helps limit urban sprawl, yet without appropriate planning it may lead to the loss of green spaces and place additional pressure on local services.
For this reason, assessments of such initiatives should take into account both environmental benefits and their potential social consequences. It is important to identify who will benefit from an investment, who will bear its costs and whether improvements in urban quality might make it more difficult for lower-income residents to remain in their current neighbourhoods. This requires cooperation between institutions responsible for different areas of urban policy and the involvement of residents in decision-making already at the planning stage.
The green transition can become an opportunity to improve housing conditions if investments are accompanied by measures that protect housing affordability and respond to the needs of different social groups. Its success therefore depends not only on the investments themselves, but also on funding mechanisms, the distribution of responsibilities and residents鈥� ability to influence the direction of change. Planning understood in this way makes it possible to combine care for the environment with care for the people who use urban spaces every day.
Source: Le艣niewska-Napiera艂a Katarzyna, Miko艂ajczyk Tomasz, Urban planning strategies addressing housing inequalities: implementation perspectives from Poland, European Journal of Spatial Development, Vol. 23, No. 4, 2026, pp. 39鈥�69.