For years homelessness has increased in the EU. It is currently estimated that every night around 700,000 people sleep rough or in shelters, most of them in cities. While many policies and initiatives have been implemented to manage homelessness, there is still a need for better knowledge and comparative data to improve such interventions.

Recently, the COVID-19 crisis has put a spotlight on homelessness, forcing the construction of emergency shelters and services throughout the EU. For this reason, it is assumed that data on homelessness has improved with many territories now having a clearer image of the size and profiles of their homeless population, in particular that of rough sleepers. At the same time, innovative measures have been taken. To get a better understanding of these developments and their implications for future policy on homelessness, the Joint Research Center’s unit of urban and territorial development is conducting a survey among EU cities. If you represent a city, please feel free to distribute the survey to colleagues working on homelessness. You can access the survey here. For more details, you can also contact us at sjoerdje.van-heerden@ec.europa.eu.