Over the years, the participation of residents has become an indispensable instrument to facilitate a sustainable bottom-up implementation of housing regeneration initiatives. Participatory processes are expected to contribute to identifying the needs of the people, empowering local groups, integrating local knowledge systems in the design and planning, reinforcing a variform learning process and to ensuring political support. Participatory actions in the regeneration of residential areas are of special importance because they strengthen community spirit and consequently intensify the sense of place. The engagement of inhabitants can significantly increase the efficiency of planning proposals and facilitate other viewpoints that are normally not considered in a formal planning process. Community-driven initiatives, NGO-led actions, as well as pedagogic activities can bring together the different actors involved in housing regeneration processes. Several case studies collected in this article exemplify a variety of collaboration models for participatory planning, design and implementation.