Housing Day in the Senate

The Senate opens its doors to the housing challenge

Senate Palace was the venue for the Housing Conference, organized by the General Council of Technical Architecture (CGATE) together with GAD3. The event brought together leading figures who discussed in depth one of the main challenges and concerns facing Spanish society: housing, with a focus on young people, mental health, and unwanted loneliness.

The conference opened with an institutional greeting from Pedro Rollán, President of the Senate, accompanied by all the participants.

Source: Official photograph of the Spanish Senate

The opening remarks were given by Alfredo Sanz, president of CGATE, who emphasized the importance of the sector in finding solutions to this social problem. Next, Pedro Piqueras, master of ceremonies and moderator of the meeting, welcomed the attendees and contextualized the current situation, focusing on young people, unwanted loneliness, and mental health.

Narciso Michavila, president of GAD3, outlined the social framework in which the report is set, and later presented the main conclusions of the study. Finally, the president of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, highlighted the importance of addressing these issues in an institution such as the Upper House and the need to take an objective snapshot of reality in order to identify who can contribute to alleviating the situation and how.

Source: Official photograph of the Spanish Senate

The program included two round tables. The first, Housing and unwanted loneliness: an intergenerational dialogue on mental health, featured Blanca Jiménez, psychologist at the Alicia y Guillermo Foundation; Lázaro González, representative of the Platform for Seniors and Pensioners; as well as students Hugo Pérez (Law and Political Science) and María Carballo (Economics and Political Science).

Intergenerational round table discussed how housing is a problem that affects all ages, far from being an issue exclusive to young people or the elderly. In this regard, Lázaro González warned of the risk of pitting generations against each other: “The worst thing you can do is turn young people and older people against each other.”

For her part, Blanca Jiménez highlighted the difficulties many older people face in maintaining a good quality of life in their homes, especially in older buildings that lack basic accessibility and hygiene conditions. Drawing on her experience in an association in the Tetuán neighborhood (Madrid), she explained how the absence of elevators or the precarious condition of some buildings prevents many older people from living with dignity and even from being able to socialize.

In the case of young people, María Carballo emphasized the lack of political and social consensus, which slows down the search for effective solutions: “We are all aware of what is happening, but there is no agreement, and without agreement there can be no solution.” Finally, Hugo Pérez took a broader view, arguing that the housing problem is, in fact, a symptom of a larger structural problem that should also be addressed comprehensively.

Source: Photograph by Gala Conde.

The second panel, focused on Housing as a collective problem: building bridges to address its management, brought together Javier Izquierdo, housing spokesperson for the Socialist Group in the Senate; Sergio Sayas, deputy spokesperson for the Popular Group in Congress; Gema Gallardo, co-director of Provivienda; and Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado, president of Vía Ágora and the Building Cluster.

During the debate, politicians and professionals explained the building process by Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado and pointed out the responsibilities of politics when it comes to addressing the problem. Javier Izquierdo addressed the role of investment companies, whose purchasing power affects the increase in housing prices, as well as the lack of supply and legal uncertainty that generates uncertainty in the sector, cited by Sergio Sayas.

In this context, Gema Gallardo highlighted the need to build bridges and reach agreements between the different actors involved, as an essential way to find solutions to this social problem.