The Town Hall took place in the framework of the Local Social Covenant, a collective commitment by local and regional governments (LRGs), organized civil society, and institutional partners to re-imagine and re-negotiate the social contract from below. The Covenant builds on three core missions ¡ª people, planet, government ¡ª and translates them into care-centered services, democratic institutions, and a renewed multilateral system.

Housing and local finance were selected as entry points because they crystallize the contradictions and opportunities of our time: the commodification of basic rights and the persistent exclusion of those most in need, alongside growing demand for bottom-up approaches and recognition of community-driven solutions. Together, these issues embody the tension between extractive systems and the possibility of a caring, redistributive, and democratic urban future.