Housing for All: Addressing the Housing Challenge in Liège

In recent years, housing issues have worsened in our cities. Access to housing has become increasingly difficult due to multiple factors: the energy crisis, a limited housing supply exacerbated by high vacancy rates, the aging building stock and the challenges of its conversion, and the rising costs of renovation and construction. At the same time, the populations in need of housing have become more vulnerable (including migrants, the elderly, and single-parent families).

As part of this CityLabs cycle, the goal was to understand how these issues manifest in Liège and its surrounding region, and to address the resulting challenges. The chosen approach focused on leveraging knowledge of the built environment and the territory as resources for housing solutions.

Part One: The Housing Issue in Liège

This first session aimed to contextualize the housing crisis within the Liège territory. The objective was to bring participants together around shared challenges posed by the current housing crisis and to define the specific issues to be addressed, drawing on the expertise of university actors (Professor Jean-Marie Halleux) and local specialists (Hervé Brichet – City of Liège Administration).

Part Two: Addressing Energy Poverty Through Building Renovation

Workshops (focus groups) were based on the research findings of Guirec Ruellan, Civil Engineer Architect, Assistant and PhD candidate at the Faculty of Applied Sciences. The discussions explored how the condition of buildings contributes to energy poverty and how targeted interventions can make a difference in such situations.