“As we work to formulate the post-2015 development agenda, the role of urbanization in supporting sustainable development is becoming increasingly important. The United Nations should continue to promote equitable urban development in our human settlements, villages, towns, cities and countries”. With this statement on 17 September 2014, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon set the tone for the discussions during the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Urban Development (HABITAT III) in 2016. The region covered by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) faces many challenges in urbanization, some of which are shared with urban areas around the world, and some of which are unique and rooted in the transition to a market economy which took place in the 1990s. To highlight these challenges and inform delegates, the UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management, in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of Slovakia and the Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic, organized a side event, “Priorities for HABITAT III in the UNECE region” during the Preparatory Committee session. Participants were given information on the Strategy for Sustainable Housing and Land Management in the UNECE Region 2014 – 2020 approved by the Region’s Ministers and how the activities of the UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management, including on the implementation of this Strategy and the preparation of a regional study on “Challenges and Priorities in Housing and Urban Development in the UNECE Region,” will contribute to the preparations for HABITAT III. Outcomes of the discussions at the HABITAT III Preparatory Committee session and the UNECE side event will be presented at the 75th session of the Committee on Housing and Land Management, which will take place on 8 and 9 October 2014 in Geneva.
Social housing was one of the challenges in the UNECE region that were discussed at the side event. The global financial crisis has made housing less affordable, resulting in increased demand for social housing for low income and other vulnerable groups. This increased demand cannot be met, even in high-income countries, by the existing social housing stock. For example, the social housing waiting list in England, is 1.800.000 households (Source: UK Government, 2014) and in France it is 1.700.000 households (Source: L’Union Sociale pour Habitat, 2014). In the European Union, 50 million, or about 10% of the population, spend more than 40% of their disposable income for housing (Source: European Commission, 2014). In many of the region’s cities, social and spatial segregation in cities are growing problems because the economic crisis has further amplified the effects from the gradual retreat of the welfare state (European Commission, 2011). These and many other challenges and priorities will be the focus of discussions within the UNECE region leading up to and contributing to discussions at HABITAT III in 2016.
For more information, please contact:
Gulnara Roll,
Head, Housing and Land Management Unit,
Economic Cooperation, Trade, and Land Management Division
[email protected]