Where are the solutions coming to these negative trends developing? Where is the sustainability of our societies?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-28/older-people-at-risk-of-homelessness-jumps-50pc-in-nsw/9198420
Well, this is how I look at this issue - Affordable housing is a solution for housing affordability issue in high density urban areas. No country is exceptional for the issue of housing affordability when moving towards higher level of urbanization. Providing more affordable housing has, thus, become the national agenda for every country in the world.
However, affordable housing in the past has never been designed to last as it was aimed to meet the urgent housing demand in the shortest possible time. Changes in the demographic make-up due to the diversity of family typologies and household arrangements have generated a need for housing that can adapt to different privacy, space, use requirements, and life styles. These trends, overlain with the demands for better environmental performance, suggest the need for affordable housing that is intrinsically sustainable reducing construction cost and life-cycle costs (i.e. building operations, long-term maintenance, refurbishment) while maintaining liveability.
Realizing that sustainability is increasingly embedded into building regulations and is no longer perceived as a novel idea pertinent to certain locations, populations, or building typologies, affordable housing development should be planned and designed to last into the future without becoming obsolete.
Many people think that sustainability is about planting more trees. Yet even more people believe that sustainability is about producing green energy with more solar panels. But very few realize that sustainability is all about ensuring the dynamic balance of people and the environment throughout the life cycle of the building construction, operation, and maintenance process.
No country is exceptional in facing the issue of housing affordability when moving towards a higher level of urbanization. Providing more affordable housing has, thus, become the national agenda for almost every country in the world. Affordable housing in the past has never been designed to last as it was aimed to meet the urgent housing demand in the shortest possible time. However, changes in the demographic make-up due to the diversity of family typologies and household arrangements have generated a need for housing that can adapt to different privacy, space, use requirements, and life styles. These trends, overlain with the demands for better environmental performance, suggest the need for affordable housing that is intrinsically sustainable – reducing construction cost and life-cycle costs (i.e. building operations, long-term maintenance, refurbishment) while maintaining liveability.
The Sustainable Development Goals that were approved in 2015 suggest the sustainability of societies has to do with far more than housing. Notwithstanding, SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) is directly relevant to this query. SDG 11 aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Its targets are:
- 11.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums
- 11.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
- 11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
- 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
- 11.5 By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations
- 11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
- 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
- 11.A Support positive economic, social, and environmental links between urban, per-urban, and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
- 11.B By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels
- 11.C Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials
PS: See item 11.1 on the subject of affordable housing. The related indicator will monitor the proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements, or inadequate housing.
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