Is the provision of housing still a major issue?
The demand for housing grows every day, as people migrate to cities and create new households. The global urban population, fuelled by both inward migration to cities and the natural population increase of existing urban residents, has increased more than five-fold since 1950, from 746 million to 3.9 billion in 2014.
This growth has greatly elevated the demand for adequate, safe, and accessible housing. The global urban population is estimated to grow by an additional 1.18 billion from 2014 to 2030, and 2.46 billion by 2050.
Responding to the existing housing deficit, while also planning for anticipated future housing needs – especially in areas experiencing high urban growth – forms the crux of the housing policy challenge. Effective response to this challenge will yield benefits beyond the housing sector itself, as housing not only drives urban development, urban form and density, but also plays an important role in generating employment and economic growth. Great strides have been made in the housing sector since the adoption of the 1996 Habitat Agenda. These include progress in the monitoring of global housing needs; the right to adequate housing; and reinforcement of local governments and their role in housing provision.
Notwithstanding this progress in many countries, the adoption of Habitat II did not produce the desired outcomes, and significant challenges remain in housing. Overall, Habitat II encouraged a significant change in housing provision approaches, with governments assuming the role of “enablers” in housing development, and backing away from direct delivery processes. The Habitat II Agenda encouraged governments to “expand the supply of affordable housing through appropriate regulatory measures and market incentives”.
However, most governments reduced their role in direct provision of housing supply, without providing compensatory incentives, planning and regulatory frameworks to encourage other actors to step forward to provide adequate housing to keep pace with growth in demand, and at affordable prices.
With few exceptions, resources and investments dedicated to housing were curtailed and the scope of state engagement reduced.
Less government intervention in the majority of cases resulted in fewer or no housing opportunities for the poorest and the most vulnerable.
To fund housing improvement projects, serious challenges remain. In a fiscally tight environment, social investments have not typically been prioritised at the local or national government levels. Furthermore, in an era of decentralisation, municipal or sub-national government agencies often face new responsibilities without sufficient capital transfers or statutory rights to mobilise local revenues.
Urbanisation will continue to be a major driver for social, economic, and political development in the future, affecting health, economic development, culture, and governance. As the United Nations Population Fund foresaw during Habitat II, “the growth of cities will be the single largest influence on development in the 21st century.”
The realisation of the new urban agenda will hinge upon the scope and effectiveness of housing policy. Two billion people will require new homes or upgraded homes by 2030. The global community must act with ambition to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal Target 11.1: “to ensure access for all, to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums [by 2030].” Reinvigorating global partnerships, strengthening cooperation between local and national governments, and monitoring progress will be essential to respond to the grand housing challenge.
Habitat for Humanity is an international, non-governmental, and nonprofit organisation.
