Metropolitan housing governance in Spain: a policy review with European reflections

Abstract

This Policy Review analyses the evolving institutional landscape of metropolitan housing governance in Spain, a country characterised by deep decentralisation and persistent housing affordability challenges. Metropolitan areas are where housing pressures are most acute, due to high demand, rising costs, and increasing socio-spatial inequalities, making them critical arenas for innovative and coordinated policy responses. Drawing on a systematic review of inter-municipal cooperation instruments, this paper identifies a continuum of governance mechanisms — ranging from highly institutionalised structures to more flexible arrangements — that are used to address housing policy across multiple jurisdictions. Findings reveal a fragmented yet increasingly dynamic system in which innovation and policy learning emerge through both formal and informal mechanisms. While the absence of a consolidated metropolitan tier constrains coherence and long-term strategic planning, new collaborative arrangements are helping local authorities to manage shared housing problems, particularly in metropolitan contexts affected by rising housing demand, gentrification, and spatial inequality. By situating the Spanish case within broader European debates, this review contributes to understanding how institutional capacity and professional networks are reshaping the housing governance in complex territorial systems. The paper concludes with policy implications for improving coordination and promoting housing at a metropolitan scale. Keywords: metropolitan governance; housing; Spain; multi-level policy; institutional innovation.