Living in a mountain area, the challenge of providing a tailor-made solution

Mountain areas suffer from problems of access to affordable housing, a reality that is not exclusive to large cities. The pressure of tourism aggravates the real estate situation, to which must be added the need to guarantee services, education, health, public transport and mobility and Internet connection, among others. In this context of drastic socio-economic change, the European network of specialised mountain research centres NEMOR is collecting data and experiences on good practices in mountain housing in Europe, providing first-hand information useful for political action. The survey can be answered until 20th June, 2025.

The aim of this action is to identify models and strategies that have worked in similar contexts, as well as public policies that can be replicated and scaled up in other contexts. Good practices may include areas such as land availability and pricing policies, social housing, financing, public-private partnerships, urban planning, emergency housing or the integration of disadvantaged groups, among others. 

The profound transformation experienced by mountain areas since the 1980s is at the origin of the housing crisis, as Stefan Kordel and Matthias Naumann argue in the scientific article ‘The rural housing crisis: analytical dimensions and emblematic issues’. In a similar vein, Michael Mieß2 ‘Rural Utopias’, in which recent literature focuses on the growing competition between the tourist use of rural landscapes and the need for permanent housing.

This phenomenon is part of a broader context in which European mountain regions are facing specific challenges, such as the progressive depopulation over decades and the consequent abandonment and ageing of houses. The situation leads to a vicious circle: residential unemployment becomes a visible symbol of social and economic decline, which further reduces the attractiveness for new residents.

Likewise, the proliferation of second homes and tourist accommodation in many European mountain areas has significant consequences such as tensions in the real estate sector, price increases, lack of availability for regular residents and strong demographic seasonality. However, it must be said that they also provide an economic boost linked to tourism.

These tensions make for a complex scenario, in which mountain areas have to face challenges that require tailor-made responses. Faced with this reality, it is essential to identify, analyse and share good practices in access to housing in mountain contexts.

We understand access to housing as the ability to access a place in which to live in dignity, adequate in quality and location and at a price that does not compromise the coverage of other basic needs of daily life, nor jeopardise the full exercise of fundamental human rights. This vision places at the centre the right to live with dignity in the territory, reinforcing the idea that housing is not just an infrastructure, but an essential condition for personal development, social cohesion and the future sustainability of mountain areas.