CÓRDOBA REFLECTS ON HOW TO REPLICATE REAL AND SUSTAINABLE INCLUSION IN VULNERABLE URBAN CONTEXTS

The European IN-HABIT project praised as a model for 21st-century social policy

On the morning of 26 June, the Eurostars Palace Hotel in Córdoba hosted an inter-institutional working breakfast as part of the upscaling and replication activities of the European IN-HABIT project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme. Over five years, this project has demonstrated that it is possible to promote social transformation in vulnerable neighbourhoods by placing people at the centre of the process and creating wellbeing opportunities using undervalued resources.

The event, held under the theme “Towards real and sustainable inclusion: results and methods of the IN-HABIT Project”, brought together representatives from national, regional, and local institutions, as well as from academia, the social sector, and the community. Among the attendees were José Ramón Díez de Revenga, Senator and Spokesperson for the Spanish Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Agenda; Antonio Huertas Mateo, General Director for Social Protection and Priority Action Neighbourhoods for the Andalusian government; José Luis Rodríguez, director of the Homeless Programme at Cáritas Córdoba; and María del Mar Delgado Serrano, Professor at the University of Córdoba and Coordinator of the project.

One of the main themes of the meeting was the genuine possibility of replicating the IN-HABIT methodology, developed through its work in Las Palmeras, one of Spain’s most vulnerable neighbourhoods, where over 70% of families live below the poverty line. From this starting point, IN-HABIT has worked through listening, collaboration, co-creation, and building trust, achieving small but transformative changes that offer hope for a better future.

“The project brought life to an empty, abandoned space that had become a rubbish dump. It stands as a powerful symbol of what can happen when people work together with a common purpose: we are capable of creating beauty where there was only neglect,” said José Luis Rodríguez. “IN-HABIT has made it possible to create a space of the people, for the people, with the people and by the people. A place not just to live in, but to feel at home.”

Senator Díez de Revenga highlighted five key principles that, in his view, make IN-HABIT a model for 21st-century social policy: putting people at the centre of all action; the need to apply a logic of urban micro-surgery (small, precise, locally rooted interventions that can be replicated); using scientific methods and data as the foundation of the project; the need for a cross-cutting approach to tackling vulnerability; and the importance of professionalising social intervention, emphasising that just as we need trained professionals to build infrastructure, we also need trained professionals to build communities and foster lasting social change.

Project coordinator María del Mar Delgado outlined the core pillars of the methodology, which is based on an inclusive governance model where all voices are heard, involvement of community activators who drive the project forward, and engagement of end users in both the co-design and co-development of actions. She also emphasised the combination of physical interventions with social, cultural, and behavioural innovations that promote belonging, cohesion, and resilience. “The key lies in listening, understanding the dynamics of the area, and acting with people, not on them,” she stated.

Representing the Andalusian government, Antonio Huertas Mateo praised the project’s institutional impact and congratulated the University of Córdoba for its ability to innovate in the social sphere. “Innovation is the driving force behind the shift that has taken place in public social policy, especially in the inclusion of people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods,” he said. Huertas also emphasised that “networked work, shared governance and inter-institutional cooperation are more necessary than ever to achieve social cohesion and real inclusion”.

Throughout the breakfast, participants underlined the importance of building alliances between diverse actors: public administrations, social organisations, universities, the private sector and, above all, citizens. “We’re all in this together,” said Rodríguez. “If we work together (in terms of spaces, funding, management and research), we will transform society.”

IN-HABIT has shown that it is possible to rethink public policy from a place of proximity, scientific rigour, and with clear methods and evidence for decision-making. And, above all, from the perspective of people. In a country where more than 600 vulnerable neighbourhoods exist today, the methodology developed in Córdoba is not just an example: it is a roadmap. A guide for intervention rooted in humanity, listening and collective commitment. As the senator concluded, “This project is a ray of hope. Whatever position I may hold, I will do everything possible to replicate it wherever it may be viable. This is the kind of approach that 21st-century social policy needs.”