Sustainable solutions to the housing crisis what actions and what innovations

Falling construction activity, rising interest rates, difficulty in accessing credit, increasing scarcity of rentals, high land prices, falling real estate transactions, unaffordable housing - all these signs are accumulating to reveal a genuine international housing crisis, the severity of which is worrying industry professionals on all five continents. This housing crisis, which is becoming complex and multifactorial, no longer spares any country, whether developed or developing. No city or territory is spared the effects of this crisis. The housing crisis has now become a reality, as all indicators show. Worldwide, up to 2.8 billion people are affected by inadequate housing, including almost 1.1 billion living in slums and informal settlements, and an estimated 318 million are homeless. By 2030, more than 2 billion people will be in need of decent and adequate housing, which means that massive, high-quality construction will be required to meet these needs and, above all, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. If we don't reach the target of SDG 11 by 2030, billions of people will find themselves without adequate housing in unequal, polluted, poorly planned and costly cities. Some observed dynamics show that it is possible to ensure equitable access to adequate housing through comprehensive policies and programs encompassing land rights and security of tenure, investments to improve the quality and ensure the sustainability of the existing housing stock, and the construction of new affordable and sustainable housing to meet the demand of growing urban populations.

Scaling up these comprehensive policies and programs requires a coordinated and resourced approach at local, national and global levels, involving stakeholders including civil society, the private sector and financial institutions. It is also necessary to find innovative and inclusive solutions that can meet the diverse and changing needs of the population, while ensuring the environmental, social, cultural and economic sustainability of the housing sector. The UN Habitat General Assembly strongly recognized this by approving the resolution "Adequate housing for all", which calls on member states and local and regional authorities to expand access to safe, sustainable, adequate and affordable housing for all households, particularly low-income households and those facing the greatest housing difficulties. On the occasion of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, European housing ministers met in Liège on March 5 to discuss the ambition of making housing an absolute priority. Between 2010 and 2022, housing markets across Europe grew by 19%, and house prices by 47%. By 2022, almost one person in ten was facing an excessive housing burden, i.e. living in a household where total housing costs represented more than 40% of total disposable income.