Podcast: Solving housing crisis through out-of-the-box thinking

Every day, the editors at IO+ are busy publishing stories. But which stories from 2025 really made an impact? Welcome to our mini podcast series The story behind the story, in which Elcke Vels talks to the editors at IO+. Each editor chooses a story that he or she wrote this year. Today: Linda Bak, editor and head of partnerships at IO+. She wrote: The solution to the housing shortage: 'Train more engineers'.

Linda, what is your story about?

"A few months ago, I interviewed 4TU Bouw. That is the partnership between the four technical universities in the Netherlands, specifically the architecture faculties.

We discussed a solution to the housing shortage, as well as the renovation of infrastructure. These are the biggest problems in construction at the moment. This was one of those interviews where everything fell into place. A vision of the future was sketched out: how can we really solve these problems?"

What solutions were mentioned?

“One of the solutions is to train more engineers, with a key role for technical universities. That will be a challenge in the coming years. One point that was not mentioned in the story, but was discussed during the interview, is that there are fewer young people in the Netherlands. Finding and training enough engineers will therefore be an additional challenge in the coming years.”

And, we need to start thinking across sectors and faculties. Everything is interconnected. It's not just about building a house, but also about where to build it, how to make it accessible, and how to make people feel comfortable there."

Why did this story have an impact on you?

“Because it was more about how we can solve it. Not just: there's a problem, there's a shortage of houses, or the infrastructure needs to be renovated. But really: what can we do?”

What might a follow-up story look like?

“I'm already working on that. This one is about specific solutions, such as adding extra floors to houses. And about more things that are possible, in terms of construction. Or think about splitting houses. I spoke to someone who had come up with something together with his neighborhood. People have been living there for a long time, their children have left home, and now there are just two of them in a large single-family home. Why not let students live there?”

Is innovation the solution to the housing crisis?

“It's an important part of the solution. The government also plays an important role. But if we continue as we have done for the past few decades, we won't make it. We have to come up with other ideas. Think outside the box.”

What do you hope the reader will remember?

“Thinking outside the box. Whether that's as a company, as a government, or as a university. The solution is so much broader than the boxes we're stuck in.”