Hamburg is about to arrive in 2030 - where is it located?
The cities of Hamburg, Germany, and the European Union (EU) have collectively committed to ending homelessness and addressing housing shortages by the year 2030. This pledge is outlined in the Treaty of Lisbon, where EU member states have made a commitment to eradicate homelessness by the given deadline.
Currently, Hamburg has 32,410 people living in shelters due to housing shortages, which is approximately the population of Ahrensburg. An additional 3,787 people are estimated to be living on the streets, while 1,685 "hidden homeless" people do not have their own apartments but are staying with friends or relatives. In total, nearly 38,000 people in Hamburg are affected by homelessness or housing shortages.
The European Union is advancing several initiatives and strategies to achieve this goal. The European Pillar of Social Rights, proclaimed in 2017 and reinforced via the 2021 Porto Social Summit, sets out 20 key principles to promote fair labor markets and social protection. Its Action Plan defines concrete initiatives and EU headline targets to be achieved by 2030, aimed at building inclusive welfare systems that support housing access indirectly through poverty reduction and social inclusion measures.
Although housing is not explicitly prioritized in recent EU budgets, the European Commission supports financing social and affordable housing via tailored regional or national plans that address local needs. The Mayors4Housing Alliance and city coalitions call for mandatory urban chapters in EU spending plans with dedicated resources to effectively tackle the housing crisis.
The Danish EU Presidency in 2025 focuses on affordable and sustainable housing delivery, working with Member States and EU tools to improve housing conditions for citizens, which ties into cohesion policy and climate action efforts. The European Economic and Social Committee also advocates for a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy aiming at ambitious targets like cutting poverty in half by 2030, indirectly reducing homelessness risks by improving social safety nets and measurement tools.
In Germany, while specific current initiatives were not detailed, the country strongly participates in the EU frameworks described and often implements national and state-level housing strategies aligned with EU goals. Hamburg, as a major city and EU region, benefits from and contributes to EU and national efforts through integrating social housing projects, focusing on sustainability and inclusion, and engaging in initiatives like the Mayors4Housing Alliance to ensure local challenges of homelessness and housing shortage are addressed via dedicated resources and policies.
The Hinz&Kunzt vendors are the heart of a project in Hamburg, with magazines from the current issue available on Hamburg's streets for purchase. For those abroad, a print edition subscription is available. The city of Hamburg has also joined this goal to end homelessness by 2030.
It is important to note that these figures do not include the "hidden homeless" who are staying with friends or relatives, nor those living on the streets. Local governments actively push for stronger inclusion in EU funding to make measurable progress against homelessness and housing shortages by 2030. No other federal state in Germany has a higher proportion of homeless people per capita than Hamburg, according to figures from the Federal Statistical Office from July of this year.
- The European Union, through initiatives like the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Mayors4Housing Alliance, is striving to end homelessness and address housing shortages by 2030, similar to the commitment made by Hamburg, Germany.
- Hamburg, facing a significant homeless population of nearly 38,000 people, is part of the EU effort to eradicate homelessness by 2030, also aligning with EU strategies such as the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Mayors4Housing Alliance.
