Turning Vacant Homes into "Safe Housing": Recruiting Student Renovation Plans to Propose Rental Housing for Those Requiring Housing Support

Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture, is recruiting students until Friday, May 15th, to propose model renovation plans that are tailored to the lives of vulnerable individuals, with advice from experts.

■ Background and Purpose

In recent years, the number of people struggling to secure housing has increased due to factors such as the rise in single-elderly households and a decline in homeownership rates. To meet the housing needs of these individuals requiring housing support, Toyohashi City has initiated housing support efforts in collaboration with housing and welfare organizations and businesses.

Meanwhile, the increase in vacant homes within the city is also an urgent issue requiring immediate action.

To address these challenges, Toyohashi City aims to create new value for vacant homes by "supporting the lives of vulnerable individuals," thereby simultaneously promoting the supply of rental housing and the circulation of vacant homes.

■ Expecting "Perspectives Beyond Conventional Wisdom" from Students

Therefore, we are recruiting students studying architecture and welfare to propose renovation plans for vacant homes for those requiring housing support.

For example, in the case of single-elderly individuals, there is a current situation where they are often shunned from rental housing due to concerns about lonely deaths. We ask students to envision the lives of individuals requiring housing support and to devise innovative plans that can support their lives, such as installing monitoring equipment.

Toyohashi City expects "flexible ideas unconstrained by conventional values," and for students, this will be a valuable opportunity to consider local issues.

Proposals from students will be utilized in the future for raising awareness among vacant home owners and other initiatives.

■ Project Overview

Name: "Project to Create Safe Housing Together"

Participating students will propose affordable and attractive renovation plans for vacant homes to be used as rental housing for those requiring housing support, with advice from advisors.

The initiative will run from late May 2026 to the end of October 2026.

① Introduction: Lecture by advisors and explanation of the project's purpose and challenges.

② Inspection: Understanding the current state of existing homes through existing home condition surveys.

③ Workshop: Sharing issues and improvement points for existing homes (exchange of opinions with advisors and housing/welfare practitioners).

④ Fieldwork: Researching reference cases (student's independent activity).

⑤ Brush-up: Interim report and advice from experts (exchange of opinions with advisors and housing/welfare practitioners).

⑥ Public Presentation: Proposal of renovation plans and critique (exchange of opinions with advisors and housing/welfare practitioners). Awards will be given to several highly-rated proposals.

⑦ Submission of Report: Final report summarized on one A3-sized sheet per plan.

Student Recruitment

We are recruiting students currently enrolled in domestic universities, graduate schools, junior colleges, and technical colleges, who are studying architecture/housing or welfare fields. Groups of up to four people are generally accepted, but individual participation is also possible. The capacity is about 10 groups. An activity support fund of 12,000 yen per person will be provided.

Application Period: Friday, April 24, 2026 – Friday, May 15, 2026

Details on how to apply:

Toyohashi City Housing Division Website

URL: https://www.city.toyohashi.lg.jp/64527.htm

Advisors:

Machiko Okabe: Associate Professor, Graduate School of Human Culture, Nagoya City University / Welfare Housing Environment Development and Housing Support

Emiko Kameya: Associate Professor, Department of Architecture and Urban Systems, Toyohashi University of Technology / Architectural Planning and Welfare Housing Environment