Thomas Kergonou Jimenez - (OECD)

Thomas Kergonou Jimenez is an Economist and Policy Analyst in the Inclusive Growth in Cities Unit at the OECD in Paris. His work has primarily focused on housing policies as well as on the challenges facing urban centres, including retail vacancy and decline. He previously worked at the French Treasury on housing economics and at the French local authority of Aubervilliers, within the urban planning and housing department. He holds master’s degrees in Geography and Urban Planning from the École Normale Supérieure, in Urban Planning from Université Paris Nanterre, and in Economics and Management from ESSEC Business School.

Housing an ageing society: Lessons from France’s overseas territories

16 April 2026 Thomas Kergonou Jimenez - (OECD) and Romain Bayona-Ruiz

Reading Time: 4 minutesBy 2030, Guadeloupe and Martinique are expected to have between 70 and 80 elderly people for every 100 people of working age, compared with around 60 in mainland France. This highlights the particularly rapid pace of demographic aging in these territories.

What lessons can be drawn from housing in France’s overseas territories to manage this transition effectively?

When density pays back: Using densification to finance social housing in São Paulo

10 October 2025 Thomas Kergonou Jimenez - (OECD)

Reading Time: 3 minutesOver the last decade, housing costs in big cities soared by 68% – far higher than in smaller cities or rural areas – stretching household budgets, and pricing young people and families out of urban centres. São Paulo offers a glimpse of what’s possible when cities use densification not just to build higher, but to build fairer. Can São Paulo’s new approach show the way for other cities?