Constant population growth, especially in poor countries, is causing a global housing crisis. The world is dealing with a situation where more and more people are unable to afford safe, secure, and habitable housing. According to the United Nations, over 1.5 billion people still do not have basic sanitation services, such as private toilets or latrines and more than one third of the population lacks access to drinking water. It is also estimated that 100 million people worldwide are homeless. We asked DevelopmentAid experts about this dire situation and gained several opinions on the topic. Check out their insights below.
Key Takeaways:
- According to the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, every person has the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate living conditions.
- The UN estimates that the number of those living in poor neighborhoods will reach about two billion in the next 30 years.
- Housing is an essential human need, comparable to air, water, and food. The lack of adequate housing poses serious health and social challenges.
- Experts state that addressing the housing crisis requires a holistic approach involving various stakeholders to create a shared vision from a multidisciplinary perspective.
- Collaboration among central and local government institutions, private companies, NGOs, and research institutions is vital to create responsive policies, provide innovative funding tools, and develop cost-effective building materials and standards.
DevelopmentAid: What might the main consequences of the rising crisis in global housing be, and what are some potential solutions for this?
“The housing crisis needs to be addressed from a comprehensive approach that engages a variety of stakeholders to build a common vision from a multidisciplinary perspective. The challenge has far surpassed the technical considerations and will be the cornerstone of sustainable development involving stakeholders from central and local government institutions that lead responsive policies for land tenure and safe and functional land development to private companies and NGOs that ignite innovative funding tools (e.g., grants for housing innovative prototypes) and research institutions that provide key input to find more cost-effective building materials and technical standards. Civil society organizations should play a strategic role and take the initiative for pilot-testing. Volunteering could provide invaluable labour resources and build end-users’ skills in the long-term. Corporate responsibility has a long way to go before becoming more than just an ethical slogan or propaganda. If we do not change the long-lasting underlying logic that favours informality, the current scenario will become even worse as time passes. I think that there is a gap between the role of humanitarian aid agencies (short-term scope) and the long-term solution, from planning, to design and implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. The housing crisis has become a permanent humanitarian crisis.”
“Housing is an essential need for the human race to survive. It is a physiological/basic need following Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Housing falls in the same category of human needs as air, water, food, sleep and clothing. The provision of adequate, safe and affordable housing and the upgrading of slums is on the global agenda set out under the Sustainable Development Goal 11. The rising crisis in global housing is a threat to humanity comparable to climate change. The housing crisis in developing countries has seen a rapid increase in housing occupancy rates, with up to 8 people occupying a housing unit which poses public health and social challenges. The quality of housing is deteriorating, notably with up to 70% of urban dwellers living in slums under deplorable conditions. Evidently, slum dwellers live in tenements, metal housing/uniports, garages, aluminum housing and earth houses. In some slums, people sleep in shifts as a survival strategy to share the little accommodation space that is available. Because of the lack of privacy due to congestion in homes, children are losing moral values and social disharmony is on the increase. Conflicts over housing ownership are on the increase. Housing affordability is a challenge. The cost of housing is high because of the high cost of land, capital, materials, and labor. The public sector should provide affordable housing finance and housing subsidies in the form of tax holidays. Urbanization should be put under check by developing regional mini cities to create more job opportunities. Corruption by housing regulatory authorities should be checked through regulation and enforcement. The unfair laws and policies that hinder housing development should be amended or repealed. Rapid population growth, which is the main driver of housing demand, should be controlled through sensitization and public health interventions such as family planning. Globally, we need to enhance land tenure security as a precursor for housing tenure security.”
“The escalating global housing crisis is leading to a rise in informal settlements in cities, ghettos, and overcrowded living conditions that pose serious health risks. These conditions also leave children and women vulnerable to abuse, contribute to negative cultural influences on children, and foster a generation that may become disillusioned and lawless due to their dissatisfaction with middle-class living standards. Ultimately, this crisis will result in unstable socioeconomic conditions in the affected countries. To address this, a focus on engineering excellence is crucial. The management of the design and construction of housing projects must prioritize innovative engineering solutions to ensure that each housing unit is affordable, safe, and delivered promptly. Rather than investing in extravagant skyscrapers, there should be a shift towards designing cost-effective housing solutions through appropriate material selection and construction techniques. In addition to engineering excellence, economic development strategies that promote the fair distribution of economic benefits and provide equal access to finance must be implemented in developing countries. Policies related to land ownership and the development of construction materials will also play a significant role in reducing construction costs. For example, in Addis Ababa, where I reside, these challenges are prevalent. Government ownership of land and restrictive policies prevent private land ownership, leading to the construction of substandard housing on the city outskirts and wasteful demolitions by government forces. Limited access to finance forces citizens to rely on a few real estate developers for housing, resulting in inflated prices being determined by these developers and unfair banking practices. In conclusion, addressing the global housing crisis requires a multifaceted approach that combines engineering excellence, economic development strategies, and policy reforms to ensure affordable, safe, and sustainable housing for all.”
“In my view the problem is exacerbated by four intertwined factors, in fact any development platform requires foundation on the following:
- A sound institutional foundation based on democracy and justice for all. This is the antithesis of the institutionalized corruption that prevails in most underdeveloped countries. Without democracy, there will be no progress whatsoever.
- Emphasis on developing and maintaining the most effective education system. Lots of human resources are lost because the population does not have access to a sound education system. Without education, we cannot prosper, let alone compete in the global market. Thus, without education we cannot liberate our talent and competitiveness and irremediably become dependent on others for our livelihood.
- Sound environmental management including resource conservation. This is a key factor to maintain an equilibrium between the availability of resources to meet our basic needs. Fertile land has become very scarce due to our mismanagement and pure neglect. This results in higher production costs, with basic food items becoming out of the economic reach of a large portion of the population worldwide.
- Population growth paired with global warming is a recipe for a despairing situation. The ever growing population exerts a higher demand for dwindling resources that are exposed to catastrophic weather conditions such as drought. Thus, we need to stop population growth.”
“The recognition for, and establishment of, an anthropogenic global organization to manage and care for planet Earth is long overdue. Cultures, boundaries, and religions must take second place to embracing and developing a living environment for all species. Territories for all nations on earth must be identified, taking into consideration rising seas levels, together with environmental guarantees for all mankind, and indeed, all species. The understanding of building materials that are suitable for dwellings and the related cultures must be established. A compilation framework for complete sets of suites of environmental impact analysis books must be identified and utilized as integrated management tools and embrace recycling and safe disposal. The impact of all life cycles must be understood. Innovative methodologies to produce new building materials, coupled with a reduction of carbon emissions from recycled wastage, is essential. Advanced project management solutions for all environmental projects must be achieved. We only have one small earth, and it is man’s responsibility to care and maintain that environment, which embraces everything we see and understand.”
“The affordability of housing, amongst other parameters, is highly correlated with the density of the population in economical hubs. By allocating feasible transport to such areas, people may tend to relocate even further which may drastically reduce the overall construction cost. However, governments need to subsidize this scenario despite the high costs of new infrastructure and may be reluctant at first but such projects may yield a rise in GDP. Once the pilot areas have been selected, the reasons for unaffordable housing can be better analyzed in detail and future activities can be identified depending on other crucial parameters. One of the live labs for such analysis could be those countries where millions need to move due to rising sea levels. In any case, the construction industry will have to develop some humanistic concepts to bridge the gaps in coordination and calibration with other stakeholders.”
“The excessive heterogeneity of the unstable balances is decreed by the lack of coordination, knowledge and resources available on a single site. Sometimes bureaucracy also limits common development and consequently not everyone has or will have an equal right to own a home for their family. Demographic development further determines a forced decline in the balance between man and resources and this leads to an even greater cultural, economic and financial gap. The solution? To create social value and consequently the principle of village sharing.”
See also: The widening human development gap between rich and poor states | Experts’ Opinions
Building a career is sometimes associated with building a house. It takes brick by brick, job by job, to establish a strong foundation and eventually secure better job opportunities. On the DevelopmentAid platform, experts with varying levels of experience in international development, ranging from none to over 20 years, can explore more than 6,000 jobs, grants, and tenders for individuals. To access all of these, become an Individual Professional Member and stand out from the competition.
