Decent Housing Observatory
Access to adequate housing, despite being recognized as a right at both the international level — in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — and the national level — in our own Constitution, has become one of the greatest social challenges of our time. It is currently the main source of dissatisfaction in Europe, especially in Spain. Moreover, housing acts as an enabler for many other recognized rights. In other words, it is a necessary condition to guarantee rights such as health protection, access to education, and personal and family privacy.
In the last decade, rents have increased by 19%, and housing prices by 47% in the European Union, outpacing wage growth. In Spain, these figures are even more concerning, positioning it as the country with the highest percentage of renters at risk of poverty in the European Union. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to housing has described the situation in Spain as "the most serious in Europe and one of the greatest in the world."
For this reason, Esade’s Institute for Social Innovation has created the "Decent Housing Observatory" project. This project aims to analyze and highlight the various social challenges surrounding housing from a social, international, and cross-sectoral perspective. The objective is to generate, share, and disseminate knowledge on this issue, while also promoting social debate, reflection, and collective learning on this crucial topic.
The Observatory also seeks to be a space for reflection among the different actors and sectors involved in the field of housing, fostering and facilitating the creation of spaces to address the social challenges related to housing.
Main lines of activity
Research
Generate relevant knowledge that contributes to reflection and learning, in the public and private spheres, as well as in academia.
Social debate
Encourage and contribute to social and academic debate on the discourse of housing as a fundamental right, with the potential for impact and capacity for social transformation, with a special focus on the most vulnerable groups.
Community
Creating spaces for dialogue and joint reflection among the various actors involved in the field of housing, encompassing different disciplines (from philosophy to economics) and sectors (public, private, nonprofit, among others). This line of activity is implemented through forums held in different regions of Spain, as well as through the creation of an advisory board that provides support and guidance to the observatory.
"Decent Housing, Beyond a Roof". Indicator of the Decent Housing Observatory
This report, produced by Esade's Decent Housing Observatory, an initiative of Esade’s Institute for Social Innovation, focuses on the development of a decent housing indicator aimed at assessing housing conditions in urban areas. The publication seeks to provide a practical and effective tool to diagnose and highlight precarious housing conditions, while also contributing to the formulation of public policies that protect the right to decent housing. Furthermore, it aims to move towards a more equitable society by ensuring that housing meets the necessary standards for both individual and collective well-being.
Shared exclusion: living in a room in a context of residential and social exclusion
This report, carried out in collaboration with the Social Reality Observatory of Cáritas Diocesana de Barcelona, examines room subletting in Catalonia, a reality that particularly affects vulnerable groups such as single-parent families, young people, and migrants. The publication highlights the impact of this issue, marked by insecurity, lack of privacy, and the deterioration of mental health, and proposes solutions to address this housing crisis, such as increasing the public housing stock and regulating the rental market.
The Housing Crisis: Responses and Proposals from the Social Third Sector
This dossier, produced by the Decent Housing Observatory together with the Taula d’entitats del Tercer Sector Social de Catalunya, analyzes the key role of social organizations in addressing the housing emergency. The publication highlights their contribution to the provision, management, and support in the field of housing, gathers the sector’s challenges and good practices, and sets out strategic proposals to strengthen the social response and guide public policies towards a more inclusive and sustainable model.
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Team
Ignasi Martí
Director at the Esade Decent Housing Observatory
Director of the Esade Institute for Social Innovation and professor at the Esade Department of Society, Politics and Sustainability
Raluca Budian
Associate Director and Researcher at the Esade Decent Housing Observatory
Housing First expert.
Advisory Board
Joan Canimas i Brugue
PhD in Philosophy. Master’s in Bioethics and Law.
Scientific Coordinator of the “Observatory of Applied Ethics in Social, Psycho-educational, and Socio-health Action.” Associate Professor at the University of Girona (UdG).
Albert Sales
Sociologist and political scientist. PhD in Criminology.
Researcher at the Metropoli Institute. Advisor to the Barcelona City Council.
Jesús Leal Maldonado
Professor of Sociology at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Coordinator of the Housing Experts Committee and author of the White Paper on Housing in Spain.
Carlota Sáenz de Tejada
PhD in Architecture and Urban Planning
Postdoctoral researcher at the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative at ISGlobal.
Paula Rivas Hesse
Technical Director of the Green Building Council Spain
Architect with a Master’s in Environment and Bioclimatic Architecture from the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM).
Laia Grau Balagueró
Urban architect and gender policy specialist
Member of the board of trustees of the Barcelona Institute of Technology for the Habitado (BIT Habitado) foundation and member of the Women's Architects Committee at the COAC (Architects’ Association of Catalonia).
Sonia Lacalle Álvarez
Lawyer, expert in Housing Rights
Head of the Social Legal Advisory and Rights Support at Cáritas Diocesana de Barcelona.
Sergio Llebaría Samper
PhD in Law. Professor of Civil Law at Esade
Academic Director of the Doctoral Program in Economic and Business Law.
Ismael Blanco-Fillola
PhD in Political Science
Director of the Institute of Government and Public Policy (IGOP) and Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Law at UAB.
Javier Burón Cuadrado
Lawyer and economist. Expert in housing market and public policy.
Managing Director of the Board of Directors at Navarra de Suelo y Vivienda (Nasuvinsa).
Pau Pérez de Acha
Director of Affordable and Social Housing and Institutional Relations at SAREB
Omar Rachedi
PhD in Economics. Master's in Economic Analysis
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Finance, and Accounting at Esade.
Jordi Nin Guerrero
PhD in Computer Science. Software Engineer. Technical Engineering in Management Informatics.
Associate Professor, Department of Operations, Innovation, and Data Sciences at Esade.
Olga González López
Educator and educational psychologist
Director of Social Action at the Social Housing Foundation
Lourdes Borrell
Director of Strategy at Fundación Hábitat3