Housing is in crisis in cities worldwide—but the problem isn't just building enough units. It's about location, land, and how metropolitan governments coordinate across municipal boundaries. When affordable housing concentrates on urban fringes, residents face longer commutes, reduced job access, and increased household burden. Without metropolitan coordination, municipalities act independently, fragmenting land markets and delaying critical interventions until housing pressure intensifies.

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The event will bring together urban leaders, policymakers, planners, and relevant stakeholders to discuss the housing challenges facing rapidly growing metropolises. Under the theme “Housing the Metropolis: Land, Place, and Urban Governance,” the event will explore key challenges related to land, spatial justice, and urban governance, while highlighting practical and scalable housing solutions.

On the occasion of World Metropolitan Day, Bilbao Metropoli 30 will participate through an online communication campaign, developed across its LinkedIn, Instagram and email marketing channels, to showcase and raise awareness of the Bilbao Metropolitan Area Strategic Reflection 2050 process. The campaign will highlight the main challenges and lines of action identified for the future of the metropolitan area, with a particular focus on housing as one of the major challenges facing the metropolis, given its impact on quality of life, social cohesion, talent attraction and retention, and the ability of younger generations to develop their life projects in the territory.

The Forum brings together metropolitan and local leaders, European and international institutions, and other stakeholders to exchange experiences and discuss the future of metropolitan governance and cooperation.