Habitat agenda and global housing challenges

1 | Page I HABITAT AGENDA AND GLOBAL HOUSING CHALLENGES I PL6103 – HOUSING ASSIGNMENT 1 I TKMCE-2020
HABITAT AGENDA
AND
GLOBAL HOUSING
CHALLENGES
Submitted To - Dr Suman Panjikaran A
Submitted By - Josin Baby Mathew (20024)
Date - 10/12/2020
MUP 2020 - 21
TKM College Of Engineering, Kollam

HABITAT AGENDA AND GLOBAL HOUSING CHALLENGES
Foreword
Cities are, and will remain, the centres of global finance, industry and communications, home to a
wealth of cultural diversity and political dynamism, immensely productive, creative and innovative.
However, they have also become breeding grounds for pollution and congestion. Unsustainable
patterns of consumption among dense city populations, concentration of industries, intense economic
activities, increased use of motor vehicles and inefficient waste management all suggest that the major
environmental problems of the future will be city problems. Poor urban governance and bad policies
have further exacerbated environmental degradation and deteriorating living conditions in many
cities.
It is apparent that many governments are under−prepared and under−resourced in anticipating,
planning and preparing for an urbanizing world. However, 1996 marked a turning point in
international efforts to promote socially and environmentally sustainable cities. The Second United
Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 1996,
recognized that more holistic, inclusive and participatory policies, strategies and actions are
required to make the world’s cities and communities safe, healthy and equitable. Habitat II,
popularly known as the City Summit, was conceived as a conference of partnerships. It established a
historic precedent by including in its deliberations representatives from local authorities,
non−governmental organizations, the private sector, academia and other partner groups.
The Habitat II Conference
The purpose of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) is to
address two themes of equal global importance: "Adequate shelter for all" and "Sustainable
human settlements development in an urbanizing world". Human beings are at the centre of
concerns for sustainable development, including adequate shelter for all and sustainable human
settlements, and they are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
As to the first theme, a large segment of the world's population lacks shelter and sanitation,
particularly in developing countries. UN recognize that access to safe and healthy shelter and basic
services is essential to a person's physical, psychological, social and economic well-being and should
be a fundamental part of our urgent actions for the more than one billion people without decent living
conditions. Objective is to achieve adequate shelter for all, especially the deprived urban and
rural poor, through an enabling approach to the development and improvement of shelter that
is environmentally sound.
As to the second theme, sustainable development of human settlements combines economic
development, social development and environmental protection, with full respect for all human
rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, and offers a means of achieving
a world of greater stability and peace, built on ethical and spiritual vision. Democracy, respect for
human rights, transparent, representative and accountable government and administration in all
sectors of society, as well as effective participation by civil society, are indispensable foundations for
the realization of
AGENDA
A concerted global effort could help achieve the Habitat II goals of adequate shelter for all and
sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world. But first the challenge facing
cities and towns must be recognized. More than three billion people will live and work in urban areas
by the year 2000.

The most serious problems facing cities, towns and their people are:
• inadequate financial resources
• lack of jobs, spreading homelessness and expanding squatter settlements
• increased poverty and a widening gap between rich and poor
• growing insecurity and rising crime
• inadequate and deteriorating building stock, services and infrastructure
• lack of health and educational services
• poor use of land, uncoordinated development and insecure land tenure
• rising traffic congestion and more pollution
• lack of green spaces and inadequate water supply and sanitation
• increasing vulnerability to disaster.
The following ten principles guide the States in their actions:
1. Equitable human settlements. These are settlements in which all people have equal access to
housing, support systems, health services, food and water, education and open spaces. There must be
no discrimination in access to them on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or
other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status of any kind. They also have
equal opportunity for a productive livelihood of their choice and participation in making decisions.
They have equal access to economic resources, inheritance and ownership of land or other property.
The empowerment and full participation of women are fundamental to developing sustainable human
settlements.
2. Eradication of poverty is essential for making human settlements sustainable. It is linked to
meeting the basic needs of all people. The poor, the disadvantaged and the vulnerable are in greatest
need, especially in developing countries. It also aims to enable all women and men to find secure and
sustainable livelihoods through productive employment of their choice.
3. Sustainable development gives full consideration to the need to achieve economic growth, social
development and environmental protection. Particular attention should be given to the situation of
developing countries and of countries with economies in transition.
Development of sustainable human settlements includes:
• the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
• the principles of the precautionary approach
• prevention of pollution
• respect for the carrying capacity of ecosystems
• preservation of opportunities for future generations.
4. The quality of life of all people depends in part on the physical and spatial characteristics of
villages, towns and cities. People need community and want more livable neighbourhoods. Their
needs and hopes must guide the process of design, management and maintenance of human
settlements.
5. The family is the basic unit of society and society should strengthen it. Various forms of the
family exist in different cultural, political and social systems. Consent to enter marriage must be free.
Husband and wife must be equal partners. The design, development and management of human
settlements should enhance the role of the family.
6. All people have rights. They must also accept their responsibility to respect and protect the rights
of others, including future generations. They must contribute actively to the common good.
Sustainable human settlements encourage civic engagement by all people. Governments at all levels,
including local authorities, should make sure that people have access to education, and that their
health, safety and general welfare are protected.

7. Partnerships among all countries and actors from all sectors within countries are essential to
develop sustainable human settlements and provide adequate shelter for all. This principle encourages
organizations to form alliances, pool resources, share knowledge, offer their skills and benefit from
acting together.
8. Solidarity with those who belong to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, including the poor, is a
foundation of social cohesion. The international community, national governments and other relevant
actors should strengthen solidarity, cooperation and assistance to meet the challenges of human
settlements.
9. Safeguarding the interests of present and future generations is a goal of the international
community. Each country is primarily responsible for the development of human settlements at the
national and local levels. New and additional financial resources from various sources are necessary
to achieve adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development.
10. Human health and quality of life are at the centre of the effort to develop sustainable human
settlements. They depend on equal access to food and nutrition, housing, safe drinking water,
sanitation, primary health care and eradication of major diseases, quality education, safe places to
work and live, and a protected environment.
The States participating in Habitat II pledge to:
• integrate gender perspectives in legislation, policies, programmes, project implementation
and evaluation that relate to human settlements
• collect, analyse and disseminate gender−disaggregated data and information, including
statistics that recognize women’s unpaid work
• strengthen policies and practices to promote women’s full and equal participation in
human settlements planning and decision−making.
Habitat II renewed and expanded the focus on mobilizing financial resources for public infrastructure,
housing and targeted subsidies. The Habitat Agenda points out the need for healthy national and
international macroeconomic frameworks to achieve its goals. It highlights the financial needs of local
government as well as the potential for combining resources from both formal and community−based
institutions.
States commit themselves to strengthening existing financial mechanisms and mobilizing new
resources from public, private, multilateral and bilateral sources at the international, regional, national
and local levels. They recognize that local institutions involved in micro−credit may hold the most
potential for housing the poor.
States also pledge to:
• stimulate national and local economies by promoting sustainable development that will
• attract domestic, international and private investment and generate jobs
• strengthen fiscal and financial management capacity
• use fiscal measures to expand public revenue to assist sustainable human settlements
development
• strengthen legal frameworks to enable markets to work and promote socially and
environmentally responsible corporate investment in, and in partnership with, local
communities
• promote equal access to credit for all people
• improve mechanisms for allocation of resources
• make the market accessible for those excluded from participation by providing subsidies
and promoting credit and other mechanisms.

Habitat Related Events
Habitat II Timeline
U.N. Conferences
1990 1992 1993 1994 1995
World Summit for
Children, New
York World
Conference on
Education for All,
Jomtien,
Thailand.
United Nations
Conference on
Environment
And Development
(the Earth
Summit), Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil
171 member
nations commit to
Agenda 21 the
International
action plan for
Sustainable
development.
World Conference
on Human Rights,
Vienna, Austria.
World Conference
on Population
and Development
Cairo, Egypt.
Global
Conference
on the Sustainable
Development
of Small Island
Developing
States, Barbados.
World Conference
on Natural
Disaster
Reduction,
Yokohama, Japan.
World Summit
for Social
Development,
Copenhagen,
Denmark.
Fourth
Conference
on Women,
Beijing
People’s
Republic
1976 1978 1987 1988 1992 1995
Habitat: UN
Conference
on Human
Settlements,
Vancouver,
Canada.
UN Centre
for Human
Settlements,
UNCHS
(Habitat) is
established
in Nairobi,
Kenya.
International
Year of
Shelter for
the
Homeless
(IYSH). 55
countries
established
new shelter
policies or
strategies.
Global
Strategy for
Shelter to
the Year
2000 is
adopted by
UN General
Assembly. It
emphasizes
the need for
better
production
and delivery
of shelter,
new national
housing
policies and
“enabling
strategies”.
22 December.
UN General
Assembly
calls for a
second UN
Conference
on Human
Settlements
(Resolution
47/180).
PrepCom
Habitat
Geneva,
Switzerland.
25 April May.
PrepCom
Nairobi.
Informal
Drafting
Group meets
in
Nairobi work
on Habitat
Agenda.
October.
IDG meets
again, Paris,
France.

Adequate Shelter for All
UN reaffirm their commitment to the full and progressive realization of the right to adequate housing,
as provided for in international instruments. In this context, we recognize an obligation by
Governments to enable people to obtain shelter and to protect and improve dwellings and
neighbourhoods. UN commits to the goal of improving living and working conditions on an quitable
and sustainable basis, so that everyone will have adequate shelter that is healthy, safe, secure,
accessible and affordable and that includes basic services, facilities and amenities, and will enjoy
freedom from discrimination in housing and legal security of tenure. UN shall implement and promote
this objective in a manner fully consistent with human rights standards.
UN further commit to the objectives of:
(a) Ensuring consistency and coordination of macroeconomic and shelter policies and strategies
as a social priority within the framework of national development programmes and urban policies in
order to support resource mobilization, employment generation, poverty eradication and social
integration;
(b) Providing legal security of tenure and equal access to land to all people, including women and
those living in poverty; and undertaking legislative and administrative reforms to give women full
and equal access to economic resources, including the right to inheritance and to ownership of land
and other property, credit, natural resources and appropriate technologies;
(c) Promoting access for all people to safe drinking water, sanitation and other basic services,
facilities and amenities, especially for people living in poverty, women and those belonging to
vulnerable and disadvantaged groups;
(d) Ensuring transparent, comprehensive and accessible systems in transferring land rights and legal
security of tenure;
(e) Promoting broad, non-discriminatory access to open, efficient, effective and appropriate
housing financing for all people, including mobilizing innovative financial and other resources -
public and private - for community development;
(f) Promoting locally available, appropriate, affordable, safe, efficient and environmentally
sound construction methods and technologies in all countries, particularly in developing countries,
at the local, national, regional and subregional levels that emphasize optimal use of local human
resources and encourage energy-saving methods and are protective of human health;
(g) Designing and implementing standards that provide accessibility also to persons with disabilities
in accordance with the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities;
(h) Increasing the supply of affordable housing, including through encouraging and promoting
affordable home ownership and increasing the supply of affordable rental, communal, cooperative
and other housing through partnerships among public, private and community initiatives, creating and
promoting market-based incentives while giving due respect to the rights and obligations of both
tenants and owners;
(i) Promoting the upgrading of existing housing stock through rehabilitation and maintenance and
the adequate supply of basic services, facilities and amenities;
(j) Eradicating and ensuring legal protection from discrimination in access to shelter and basic
services, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or

other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status; similar protection should be
ensured against discrimination on the grounds of disability or age;
(k) Helping the family, in its supporting, educating and nurturing roles, to recognize its important
contribution to social integration, and encouraging social and economic policies that are designed to
meet the housing needs of families and their individual members, especially the most disadvantaged
and vulnerable members, with particular attention to the care of children;
(l) Promoting shelter and supporting basic services and facilities for education and health for
the homeless, displaced persons, indigenous people, women and children who are survivors of
family violence, persons with disabilities, older persons, victims of natural and man-made disasters
and people belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, including temporary shelter and basic
services for refugees;
(m) Protecting, within the national context, the legal traditional rights of indigenous people to land
and other resources, as well as strengthening of land management;
(n) Protecting all people from and providing legal protection and redress for forced evictions that
are contrary to the law, taking human rights into consideration; when evictions are unavoidable,
ensuring, as appropriate, that alternative suitable solutions are provided.
Sustainable human settlements
UN commit to the goal of sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world by developing
societies that will make efficient use of resources within the carrying capacity of ecosystems and take
into account the precautionary principle approach, and by providing all people, in particular those
belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, with equal opportunities for a healthy, safe and
productive life in harmony with nature and their cultural heritage and spiritual and cultural values, and
which ensures economic and social development and environmental protection, thereby contributing
to the achievement of national sustainable development goals.
UN further commit to the objectives of:
(a) Promoting, as appropriate, socially integrated and accessible human settlements, including
appropriate facilities for health and education, combating segregation and discriminatory and
other exclusionary policies and practices, and recognizing and respecting the rights of all, especially
of women, children, persons with disabilities, people living in poverty and those belonging to
vulnerable and disadvantaged groups;
(b) Creating an enabling international and domestic environment for economic development,
social development and environmental protection, as interdependent and mutually reinforcing
components of sustainable development, that will attract investments, generate employment,
contribute to the eradication of poverty and provide revenues for sustainable human settlements
development;
(c) Integrating urban planning and management in relation to housing, transport, employment
opportunities, environmental conditions and community facilities;
(d) Providing adequate and integrated environmental infrastructure facilities in all settlements as
soon as possible with a view to improving health by ensuring access for all people to sufficient,
continuous and safe freshwater supplies, sanitation, drainage and waste disposal services, with a
special emphasis on providing facilities to segments of the population living in poverty;

(e) Promoting integrated water use planning with a view to identifying effective and cost-efficient
alternatives for mobilizing a sustainable supply of water for communities and other uses;
(f) Implementing the social and development goals already agreed to by the international community
in the areas of basic education, primary health care and gender equality;
(g) Acknowledging, harnessing and enhancing the efforts and potential of productive informal and
private sectors, where appropriate, in creating sustainable livelihoods and jobs and increasing
incomes, while providing housing and services for people living in poverty;
(h) Promoting, where appropriate, the upgrading of informal settlements and urban slums as an
expedient measure and pragmatic solution to the urban shelter deficit;
(i) Promoting the development of more balanced and sustainable human settlements by encouraging
productive investments, job creation and social infrastructure development in small and
medium-sized cities, towns and villages;
(j) Promoting changes in unsustainable production and consumption patterns, particularly in
industrialized countries, population policies and settlement structures that are more sustainable,
reduce environmental stress, promote the efficient and rational use of natural resources - including
water, air, biodiversity, forests, energy sources and land - and meet basic needs, thereby providing a
healthy living and working environment for all and reducing the ecological footprint of human
settlements;
(k) Promoting, where appropriate, the creation of a geographically balanced settlement structure;
(l) Giving priority attention to human settlements programmes and policies to reduce urban
pollution resulting especially from inadequate water supply, sanitation and drainage, poor industrial
and domestic waste management, including solid waste management, and air pollution;
(m) Encouraging dialogue among public, private and nongovernmental interested parties to develop
an expanded concept of the "balance-sheet", which recognizes that the economic, environmental,
social and civic consequences for directly and indirectly affected parties, including future generations,
should be taken into account in making decisions on the allocation of resources;
(n) Improving access to work, goods, services and amenities, inter alia, by promoting effective
and environmentally sound, accessible, quieter and more energy-efficient transportation
systems and by promoting spatial development patterns and communications policies that reduce
transport demand, promoting measures, as appropriate, so that the polluter bears the cost of pollution,
taking into account special needs and requirements of developing countries;
(o) Promoting more energy-efficient technology and alternative/renewable energy for human
settlements, and reducing the negative impacts of energy production and use on human health and on
the environment;
(p) Promoting optimal use of productive land in urban and rural areas and protecting fragile
ecosystems and environmentally vulnerable areas from the negative impacts of human settlements,
inter alia, through developing and supporting the implementation of improved land management
practices that deal comprehensively with potentially competing land requirements for agriculture,
industry, transport, urban development, green space, protected areas and other vital needs;
(q) Addressing population issues affecting human settlements and fully integrating demographic
concerns into human settlements policies;

(r) Protecting and maintaining the historical, cultural and natural heritage, including traditional
shelter and settlement patterns, as appropriate, of indigenous and other people, as well as landscapes
and urban flora and fauna in open and green spaces;
(s) Protecting holy places and places of cultural and historic significance;
(t) Promoting the redevelopment and reuse of already serviced but poorly utilized commercial and
residential land in urban centres in order to revitalize them and reduce development pressures on
productive agricultural lands on the periphery;
(u) Promoting education about, and training on, environmentally sound technologies, materials
and products;
(v) Promoting equal access and full participation of persons with disabilities in all spheres of
human settlements and providing adequate policies and legal protection against discrimination on
grounds of disabilities;
(w) Developing and evaluating policies and programmes to reduce the undesired adverse effects and
improve the positive impact of structural adjustment and economic transition on sustainable human
settlements development, especially on those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, and
women, inter alia, through reviewing the impact of structural adjustment on social development by
means of gender-sensitive social impact assessments and other relevant methods;
(x) Formulating and implementing programmes that contribute to maintaining and strengthening the
vitality of rural areas;
(y) Ensuring that the importance of coastal areas is recognized in the national development effort
and that all efforts are made to ensure their sustainable use;
(z) Preventing man-made disasters, including major technological disasters, by ensuring
adequate regulatory and other measures to avoid their occurrence, and reducing the impacts of
natural disasters and other emergencies on human settlements, inter alia, through appropriate
planning mechanisms and resources for rapid, people-centred responses that promote a smooth
transition from relief, through rehabilitation, to reconstruction and development, taking into account
cultural and sustainable dimensions; and rebuilding disaster-affected settlements in a manner that
reduces future disaster-related risks and makes the rebuilt settlements accessible to all;
(aa) Taking appropriate action to manage the use of heavy metals, particularly lead, safely and
effectively and, where possible, eliminating uncontrolled exposure in order to protect human health
and the environment;
(bb) Eliminating as soon as possible the use of lead in gasoline;
(cc) Developing housing that can serve as a functional workplace for women and men.

Habitat Agenda Goals
1. SHELTER
2.SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT AND
ERADICATION OF
POVERTY
3.ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT
4.ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
5. GOVERNANCE
Promote the right to
adequate housing
Provide equal
opportunities for a safe
and healthy life
Promote geographically-
balanced settlement
structures
Strengthen small and
micro-enterprises,
particularly those
developed by women
Promote
decentralization and
strengthen local
authorities
Provide security of
tenure
Promote social
integration and support
disadvantaged groups
Manage supply and
demand for water in an
effective manner
Encourage PPP and
stimulate productive
employment
opportunities
Encourage and
support participation
and civic engagement
Provide equal
access to credit
Promote gender
equality in human
settlements development
Support mechanisms to
prepare and implement
local environmental
plans and local Agenda
21 initiatives
Ensure transparent,
accountable and
efficient governance
Provide equal
access to land
Prevent disasters and
rebuild settlements
Promote access to
basic services
Promote effective and
environmentally sound
transportation systems
Reduce urban pollution
Habitat Agenda And Indicators
CHAPTER/ HABITAT AGENDA
GOALS
INDICATORS CLUSTER
1. SHELTER
Promote the right to adequate housing
Key Indicator 1: Durable Structures
Key Indicator 2: Overcrowding
check-list 1: right to adequate housing
extensive indicator 1: housing price and rent-to-income
Census
Census
Provide security of tenure
Key Indicator 3: Secure Tenure
extensive indicator 2: authorized housing
extensive indicator 3: evictions
Census
Provide equal access to credit check-list 2: housing finance
Provide equal access to land extensive indicator 4: land price-to-income
Promote access to basic services
Key Indicator 4: Access To Safe Water
Key Indicator 5: Access To Improved Sanitation
Key Indicator 6: Connection To Services
Census
Census
Census

CHAPTER/ HABITAT AGENDA
GOALS
INDICATORS CLUSTER
2. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ERADICATION OF POVERTY
Provide equal opportunities for a safe
and healthy life
Key Indicator 7: Under-five Mortality
Key Indicator 8: Homicides
check-list 3: urban violence
extensive indicator 5: HIV prevalence
Census
Promote social integration and support
disadvantaged groups
Key Indicator 9: Poor Households Census
Promote gender equality in human
settlements development
Key Indicator 10: Literacy Rates
check-list 4: gender inclusion
extensive indicator 6: school enrolment
extensive indicator 7: women councilors
Census
3. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Promote geographically-balanced
settlement structures
Key indicator 11: urban population growth
Key indicator 12: planned settlements
Census
Census
Manage supply and demand for water
in an effective manner
Key indicator 13: price of water
extensive indicator 8: water consumption
Reduce urban pollution
Key indicator 14: wastewater treated
Key indicator 15: solid waste disposal
extensive indicator 9: regular solid waste collection
Census
Census
Prevent disasters and rebuild
settlements
check-list 5: disaster prevention and mitigation instruments
extensive indicator 10: houses in hazardous locations
Census
Promote effective and environmentally
sound transportation systems
Key indicator 16: travel time
extensive indicators 11: transport modes
Support mechanisms to prepare and
implement local environmental plans
and local Agenda 21 initiatives
check-list 6: local environmental plans Census
4. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Strengthen small and micro-
enterprises, particularly those
developed by women
Key Indicator 17: Informal Employment Census
Encourage public-private sector
partnership and stimulate productive
employment opportunities
Key Indicator 18: City Product
Key Indicator 19: Unemployment
Census
5. GOVERNANCE
Promote decentralization and
strengthen local authorities
Key Indicator 20: Local Government Revenue
Check-list 7: decentralization
Encourage and support participation
and civic engagement
Check-list 8: citizens participation
extensive indicator 12: voters participation
extensive indicator 13: civic associations

Housing At The Centre Of The New Urban Agenda
In October 2016 national and city leaders, multilateral, unilateral and NGO representatives, academics
and private sector leaders gathered at the Habitat III conference in Quito to endorse the New
Urban Agenda, which sets a new global standard for sustainable urban development and
guidelines for global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in an era defined by
climate change.
In February 2018, many of the same representatives convened again to discuss “Cities 2030. Cities for
All: Implementing the New Urban Agenda” at the 9th World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur. This
white paper is a contribution to the World Urban Forum series sponsored by the Penn Institute for
Urban Research and the Perry World House of the University of Pennsylvania presented for
discussion at the World Urban Forum.
Shelter is a necessity of life and an anchor of economic activities by households. Availability of
affordable housing with access to transport, jobs, and necessary public services for health and safety,
is a prerequisite for inclusive and diverse cities. Housing is the most important asset for the majority
of households and homeownership is key for building wealth. Housing is also the anchoring
component in the construction and expansion of cities and the main driver that catalyzes sustainable
and resilient territorial development through land-use, infrastructure and transport sectors. Location of
housing relative to employment and other service centers has a direct implication for transport and
mobility, and hence energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission. The siting and design of
dwellings affect their vulnerability to natural disasters. In other words, housing policies and
interventions are an integral part of a holistic vision of urban areas contributing to inclusion, resilience
and sustainability.
In order to place housing at the centre of national urban development, the following fundamental
guiding principles should be considered:
a) Housing is inseparable from urbanization. Housing policies and strategies at national and
local levels should therefore be integrated into urban development policies and orchestrated
with economic and social policies.
b) Housing is a socioeconomic development imperative. Housing is a true support for survival
making a substantial and prolonged contribution to socioeconomic development of people and
cities. While housing provision is important for improving livelihoods, standards of living and
welfare, it also accounts for a significant share of wealth and resources that can be an
important source of economic growth, employment generation and a major component of the
economic development agenda.
c) Systemic reforms, strong states and long-term policy and finance are needed to enable
access to adequate housing for all. National and local authorities should reassume a leading
role in responding to housing needs and affordability constraints especially of the poorest
segments of the population, being at the helm of formulating, regulating, implementing and
monitoring policies. Finance for housing should be established and increased.
d) A simultaneous twin-track approach with curative (slum upgrading) and preventive (new
provision) housing policies and programmes should be promoted ensuring participatory and
coordinated efforts of national and local governments, development finance institutions, the
private sector and civil society.

e) Housing and slum upgrading policies should be accompanied by national strategies with a
detailed plan of action, time frame, and provisions for ensuring that resources are available to
implement the actions proposed as well as indicators for monitoring and evaluating. These
processes need to be guided by the human rights principles of transparency and
accountability.
f) Human rights principles and standards are of outstanding relevance for urban devel-
opment to lead to socially sustainable and inclusive cities. Targeting the most poor and
groups in vulnerable conditions is crucial if the situation is not to deteriorate, and interven-
tions cannot depart from addressing the root causes that prevent their access to adequate
housing.
The New Urban Agenda - Housing At The Centre
Principle Goals
In order to place housing at the centre of cities and urban planning practice, the following
fundamental guiding principles should be considered:
a) Housing is an integrating element of urban planning. Housing should therefore be cohesive
to the different elements of urban development – land, infrastructure, finance and local
economic development - and orchestrated with urban planning strategies for the extension,
infill, in-situ upgrading and revitalization of cities.
b) Place matters and urbanization will not be inclusive without providing access to housing,
services and livelihood for all. Location and transportation are important attributes of housing
as they determine the entry point for accessibility and opportunities in cities. Housing projects
that encourage spatial inclusion of low-income and people in vulnerable conditions by
locating affordable housing in central areas should be seen as a condition for a socially in-
clusive and environmental friendly urban development process. This includes promoting the
upgrading of informal settlements and urban regeneration as key strategies to provide well-
located and affordable housing in the core of cities and contribute to urban diversity and in-
clusion.
c) Urban planning and legislation should contribute to maximize affordability of housing and
spatial inclusion. Mixed land-use, planned city extensions, urban in-fills and upgrading
combined with better transport infrastructure and inclusionary zoning should
contribute to improve affordability, location and accessibility of housing especially
for the poor in in vulnerable conditions. Legal mechanisms should be in place to
protect people against forced evictions and guarantee security of tenure.
d) Sustainable Housing is a litmus test of Sustainable Cities. Sustainable building design, cli-
matic and cultural adequacy of housing must be considered for their impact in the urban
environment, climate change as well as for their potential to improve the resilience of cities.
Residential practices should be integrated into the wider urban systems in order to meet the
challenges of energy consumption and risk mitigation.
e) Urban planning policies and programmes should be geared toward the progressive
realization of the right to adequate housing for all and contribute to efforts by countries to
comply with their international obligations. Approaches that integrate people and draw on a
more complete understanding of existing community dynamics should guide planning
practice and housing responses.

f) A continuous, participatory and inclusive urban planning process should be the starting
point for integrating housing into urban growth and development strategies with the goal to
increase density, improve urban efficiency, promote social mix, enhance productivity while
providing an opportunity for social, economic and spatial integration.
Global Housing Challenge
Access to decent, affordable housing is so fundamental to the health and well-being of people and the
smooth functioning of economies that it is imbedded in the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Yet in developing and advanced economies alike, cities struggle with the dual
challenges of housing their poorest citizens and providing housing at a reasonable cost for low- and
middle-income populations. In this report, we look at the dimensions of this problem—and how it will
grow over the next decade—and offer a set of solutions that can narrow the affordable housing gap.
Among the key findings:
a) We estimate that 330 million urban households around the world live in substandard
housing or are financially stretched by housing costs. Some 200 million households in the
developing world live in slums; in the United States, the European Union, Japan, and
Australia, more than 60 million households are financially stretched by housing costs.
b) Based on current trends in urban migration and income growth, we estimate that by 2025,
about 440 million urban households around the world—at least 1.6 billion people—would
occupy crowded, inadequate, and unsafe housing or will be financially stretched.
c) The housing affordability gap is equivalent to $650 billion per year, or 1 percent of global
GDP. In some of the least affordable cities, the gap exceeds 10 percent of local GDP.
d) To replace today’s substandard housing and build additional units needed by 2025 would
require an investment of $9 trillion to $11 trillion for construction; with land, the total cost
could be $16 trillion. Of this, $1 trillion to $3 trillion may have to come from public funding.
e) We identify four ways to reduce the cost of delivering affordable housing by 20 to 50 percent:
unlock land at the right location (the most important lever), reduce construction costs through
value engineering and industrial approaches, increase operations and maintenance efficiency,
and reduce financing costs for buyers and developers.
f) These largely market-based measures can benefit households in all income groups and, with
some cross subsidies, can reduce costs sufficiently to make housing affordable (at 30
percent of income) for households earning 50 to 80 percent of area median income.
g) Affordable housing is an overlooked opportunity for developers, investors, and financial
institutions. Building units for 106 million more poor urban households by 2025 could

require more than $200 billion a year and account for 7 percent of mortgage
originations.
These findings indicate that new approaches are needed. Standard approaches to affordable housing
will yield only standard—and inadequate—results. Cities need to think more broadly and creatively
about a housing ladder that includes affordable housing but accommodates citizens of all income
groups and their changing needs. For the poorest citizens, the ladder may start with very basic housing
that places people in decent accommodations and connects them to employment and society. To turn
these aspirations into reality, cities will need smoothly functioning “delivery platforms.”

The struggle to obtain decent, affordable housing could affect at least 1.6 billion people globally
within a decade, leaving more than a third of all urban dwellers in unsafe or inadequate housing or
financially stretched by housing costs. The four levers that we lay out in this report, combined with
effective local delivery, can bring decent homes within reach of hundreds of millions of households
and narrow the affordable housing gap.
Affordable housing is a global challenge—and an opportunity
Affordable housing is a global challenge for cities in both developing and advanced economies. Based
on a broadly accepted definition of affordable housing 330 million urban households around the world
today lack decent housing or are so financially stretched by housing costs that they forgo other basic
needs, including food, health care, and schooling for children.
Global Housing Challenges - Monetary Terms
1. In monetary terms, it is estimated that the affordability gap could be $650 billion per year,
approaching 1 percent of global GDP.
2. This figure includes housing payments that exceed 30 percent of income by households in the
2,400 cities.
3. It analyze, the cost of government housing assistance programs, and the implied cost of
bringing substandard housing up to standards.
4. More than two-thirds of the gap is concentrated in 100 large cities.
5. In several low-income cities, such as Lagos and Mumbai, the affordable housing gap can
amount to as much as 10 percent of area GDP.

Global Housing Challenges - Non - Monetary Terms
1. Since a household can spend a limited share of its income, say 30 to 50 %, on housing.
2. The cost of a house consists of building costs and serviced land costs. The former
depends on wages and building materials and techniques and tends to be lower in
developing economies. The latter depends on the supply of developable land and
transport to provide access to jobs.
3. Poor quality of housing is a problem not just for the poor but for a much larger
proportion of the urban population
References

1. McKinsey Global Institute A blueprint for addressing the global affordable housing
challenge
2. Penn: Current Research on Sustainable Urban Development | Housing Challenges and
the New Urban Agenda
3. https://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/habitat_agenda.pdf
4. https://www.hlrn.org/img/documents/Cities%20and%20Homes%20for%20All_0.pdf
5. GaMboup, Chief Global Urban Observatory on Habitat Agenda and MDG, Goals,
Chapters & Indicators
6. Source :
https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/hlm/Meetings/2018/04_26_Kiev/0_UN-
Habitat_introduction_housing.pdf
7. Source : https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/documents/2019-
05/housing_at_the_centre_of_the_new_urban_agenda.pdf

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