[Index]
Home for the
poor without ghettos
Geneva, 21 May 2003 - On
19-20 May, the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE) and
the European Liaison Committee for
Social Housing (CECODHAS) held a two-day
workshop on social housing in the
Czech capital, Prague, at the invitation
of the Czech Ministry for Regional
Development.
The workshop was attended by nearly
160 participants from 36 countries
and was preceded by a study tour,
which exposed the participants to
social housing projects in Prague
and the surrounding areas.
The impressions of the study tour
fed into the vivid and intense workshop
discussions, which pointed to the
dire need to raise concerns, share
experience, success stories but also
failures in the efforts to provide
housing to the poor.
How to provide adequate housing to
the poor without promoting social
ghettos? Does the building of social
housing complexes contribute to social
segregation? How to encourage private
owners to rent their apartments to
the socially vulnerable, who are so
often falsely stigmatized as not being
able to take proper care of the property
or pay the rent on time?
The workshop did not put forward
a "plug-in" solution, but some lessons
can already be drawn, for instance:
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Social housing
is important. Where people live
defines who they are, how they are
looked upon by others and by themselves.
Social housing is an instrument
for integration of the socially
weak and needy population groups
such as immigrants, ethnic minorities,
refugees. A bad neighbourhood is
the breeding ground for crime, drugs
and many other evils. Underestimating
the role of social housing therefore
means putting a whole society at
risk.
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The socially
disadvantaged are grown-up, responsible
and mature people and should be
treated as such. Therefore, their
participation in social housing
projects is important. Tenants should
be involved in the management of
their homes. One participant described
the social system in his country
of having been for many years "at
worst authoritarian and at best
patronizing. The tenants had little
say in why and how repair and maintenance
are done or in the setting of standards".
The same participant stressed that,
once a decision was made to listen
and engage the socially weak in
the planning, construction and maintenance
of social housing, it was found
that the results were not only better
than envisaged but also better than
before.
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Social housing
projects need commitment and investment.
Social housing, however, has been
marginalized in many countries.
The reasons are budget constraints
and, in the countries in transition,
the privatization process, which
has created "nations of homeowners"
with rates of over 90%. A new commitment
to social housing projects is therefore
needed. This might entail, in some
cases, strong shifts such as a renewed
focus on rental housing.
The workshop is over, but the work
will continue. To make sure that the
knowledge and experience gained are
not lost, UNECE, with the help of experts,
will draw up guidelines on social housing.
These will serve as reference for everyone
interested in social housing.
For further information please contact:
Christina von Schweinichen, Deputy
Director
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements
Division
Palais des Nations, office 340
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
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