Application of the 5A principles of Adequate Housing to the National Housing Policy of India

Housing is understood as more than a house. Access to adequate housing is a basic need and a human right. An integrated approach to housing provision means that both the house unit, the neighbourhood and the services that flow through it are part of a complex ecosystem that interrelates with a number of social, economic, and environmental factors. A well-performing housing sector contributes to sustainable urbanization. The access to adequate housing is a perpetual global challenge which has resulted in the current housing (affordability) crisis. Shifting housing paradigms, translated into policy approaches, have provided valuable learning experiences of what does and what doesn’t work. There is a need to practically evaluate current housing policy approaches and critically reflect on the usefulness of applying innovative analytical frameworks that can impactfully contribute in devising the best possible approaches to address the housing challenges. Adequate housing has perhaps the most relevant role in addressing urban challenges, from planning of cities to urban environmental concerns related to Climate Change and forced migration, and urban issues such as urban poverty, gender inequality, housing financialization and gentrification. The training event focuses on evaluating policy approaches aimed at providing adequate housing that address these urban challenges. The training event will combine two practical analytical frameworks to evaluate housing policy approaches using a specific case study. The frameworks are the 5 A Principles of Adequate Housing and the House Value Chain (HVC). analytical framework considers five principles, namely, availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and adaptability. These principles take as their starting point the definition of adequate housing according to the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights. An analysis using the HVC looks at the steps along the housing production process, from land acquisition, to house construction to provision of social and economic infrastructure. The main objective is the application of the 5 A Principles along the HVC. Participants will be able to identify policy opportunities, problems and gaps along the HVC in relationship to these principles. The training will use the PMAY-U 2.0 housing policy approach of India with the aim to evaluate its status-quo and critically reflect on what is the outcome in practice of its policy approaches.