The conference to discuss the future of cities took place on Thursday, March 5, in Brussels. The European Large Families Confederation (ELFAC) and its initiative, the European Network of Family-Friendly Municipalities, are part of the group of entities promoting this initiative, contributing to putting the family at the center of policies.
How can Europe’s cities remain livable, affordable, and welcoming—for both residents and visitors? On March 5, policymakers, city leaders, industry experts, and urban innovators met in Brussels to explore how better collaboration can shape smarter policies for Europe’s cities The discussion was focused on urban challenges in the areas of housing, tourism, and quality of life—and the solutions needed to address them together.
Practical solutions for cities across Europe
This high-level event served as a call to action for stakeholders to join the Future of Cities Coalition, a new pan-European initiative fostering cross-sector dialogue and practical solutions for cities across Europe.
Regina Maroncelli, vice president of ELFAC and coordinator of the European Network of Family-Friendly Municipalities and Companies, participated in a panel discussion alongside representatives from the European Parliament, the housing association, and the tourism sector.
Raul Sanchez, secretary general of ELFAC and the Network, and Karoline Iwersen, member board of ELFAC and the German association of large families KRFD, were also attending the meeting.
Maroncelli referred to short-term rental apartments as the preferred accommodation for families with children and expressed her concern about the trend in some cities to want to eliminate them as a solution to the housing shortage. If this happens, the result will be to drive away family tourism, which will have no suitable accommodation options.
“If there are no short-term rentals, there will be no family tourism“
The vice president of ELFAC also insisted on the idea of maintaining the “spirit” of cities, making them attractive both for the families who live there to want to continue living there and for tourists not to find a city that is “artificial, focused only on them,” but rather to “experience” the same atmosphere as its inhabitants.
This was the driving force behind the Airbnb platform, to ‘live’ the experience of being in another city welcomed by a host. This was explained by Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder of Airbnb, at this event, where he emphasized the importance of the experience, over just a place to stay, as a differentiating factor of the platform.
The event, which was presented by Angela Barnes, Managing Editor of Euronews, also featured Pierpaolo Settembri, Deputy Head of Cabinet for the European Commissioner in charge of Sustainable Transport and Tourism, and Carlo Ratti, Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab and Founding Partner of CRA-Carlo Ratti Association.
More information here.
VIDEO OF THE EVENT
PHOTOS OF THE EVENT
