Understanding and Tracking Affordable Housing Investment Opportunities in Africa

By |2024-01-03T10:25:12+01:00March 12th 2019|Finance, Housing and Construction|

Housing has become a policy issue that interests not only housing departments and local construction authorities, but Central Banks and financial players as well. Kecia Rust from the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) explains why housing has become an investment opportunity, and the role that policy makers play.

“An Urban Habitat is Not Only Brick and Mortar”

By |2024-01-02T18:46:31+01:00December 5th 2018|Housing and Construction, Integrated Planning|

Daniel Kerber is the founder and CEO of More than Shelters, a social business that brings a creative and innovative approach to the humanitarian context. Since it was founded in 2012, More than Shelters has been active in various places: parts of Jordan that border on neighbouring Syria, transit routes, and places where migrants and refugees arrive, such as Greece and Berlin, Germany. URBANET asked Daniel Kerber what More than Shelters brings to the housing debate.

Casa Minha Nosso Bairro: Inclusive Urban Development in Maputo, Mozambique

By |2024-01-02T18:54:10+01:00November 8th 2018|Housing and Construction, Integrated Planning|

Projects aimed at the upgrading of settlements often face the question of how to increase living standards for all residents – while keeping housing costs at a level affordable for the original population. The initiative "Casa Minha Nosso Bairro" takes an innovative approach towards this issue, aiming at living conditions that nurture a peaceful living environment for all urban residents

Shortcomings of Brazil’s Minha Casa, Minha Vida Programme

By |2024-01-02T15:57:36+01:00September 27th 2018|Gender and Inequalities, Housing and Construction|

Brazil's social housing programme Minha Casa, Minha Vida prides itself on having delivered an enormous amount of affordable housing. But putting a roof over people's heads is not sufficient if the settlements are located on the far outskirts of a city, depriving residents of access to urban resources, claims Clarisse Cunha Linke.

6 Features That Make Brazil’s Affordable Housing Programme Good for People and the Environment

By |2024-01-02T16:00:01+01:00September 26th 2018|Gender and Inequalities, Housing and Construction|

“Minha Casa, Minha Vida” (My House, My Life) is Brazil’s largest affordable housing project to this day. Priscila Pacheco describes the buildings’ sustainability features that benefit the residents and the environment.

Policy Reform, not Evictions! The Case of Slum Urbanisation in Khartoum, Sudan

By |2024-01-02T16:00:54+01:00September 20th 2018|Good Governance, Housing and Construction|

A radical reform of Khartoum’s housing policy is required to improve the living conditions of slum dwellers. For this, we need to examine the socio-economic situation of the urban poor and of those who live in the city’s informal settlements.

Room for Improvement: How to (Better) Integrate Housing and Labour Markets

By |2024-01-02T16:01:20+01:00September 19th 2018|Finance, Housing and Construction|

Housing and labour are mutually dependent, but their connection is overlooked in economic policies most of the time. Edmundo Werna, Ramin Keivani and Youngha Cho argue that a closer look and a different understanding of how the two markets are linked will lead to more effective solutions and better housing and livelihood conditions, especially in the Global South.

Urban Regeneration: Viewpoints of a Mexican City

By |2024-01-02T16:03:39+01:00September 12th 2018|Housing and Construction, Sustainable Infrastructure|

The city of Morelia, Mexico is planning to combat urban sprawl by densification and regeneration. With “District 4.0”, the city is hoping to attract investments from the creative-digital industries.

Let’s talk about Urban Governance − Abidjan, Ivory Coast

By |2024-01-02T15:37:04+01:00July 2nd 2018|Finance, Good Governance|

There has been consent in international debates that implementing the SDGs requires approaching them from a local perspective. In this very personal account, Alexis Gueu talks about the challenges the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast is facing – and the urgent need for the municipality to develop urban governance structures to tackle these problems.

Cities and scientists join forces in the fight against climate change

By |2024-01-02T11:35:11+01:00March 5th 2018|Housing and Construction, Resilient Cities and Climate|

More than 700 climate scientists and city planners have gathered in Edmonton this Monday for the CitiesIPCC—Cities and Climate Change Science Conference. The three-day gathering marks the first time cities rather than nation states are offered a seat at the table of the U.N.'s top scientific authority on global warming. At day one, data collection and analysis for effective emissions reduction and their potential for social inclusion has been the main focus, writes Stephen Leahy.

A Better Climate for Cities: CitiesIPCC Aims to Launch a New Research Agenda

By |2024-01-02T12:14:04+01:00February 28th 2018|Integrated Planning, Resilient Cities and Climate|

At next week’s CitiesIPCC conference, the urban and climate communities will brave the cold of Edmonton, Canada, to discuss some of the century’s hottest issues. From March 5-7, more than 700 delegates will seek to close a significant gap in our collective understanding of the role of cities in adapting and responding to climate change, and launch a global research agenda to inform the IPCC. Julie Greenwalt explains how the organising partner Cities Alliance is working to ensure that issues critical to the Global South will be emphasised at this landmark event.

“The New Urban Agenda lacks a human rights focus” – Interview with Shivani Chaudhry from the Housing and Land Rights Network

By |2023-12-19T15:10:12+01:00March 23rd 2017|Gender and Inequalities, Housing and Construction|

The absence of a human rights approach and the lack of a focus on social justice in the New Urban Agenda is an cause of concern, says Shivani Chaudry from the Housing and Land Rights Network. In her interview with URBANET, she discusses these issues in relation to housing.

“We need to empower the people living in informal settlements” – An interview with Howaida Barakat from the Ministry of Housing, Egypt

By |2023-12-19T15:10:31+01:00March 21st 2017|Gender and Inequalities, Integrated Planning|

In Egypt there are almost 850 000 people living in unsafe areas. We talked to Howaida Barakat, International Cooperation Advisor at the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities in Egypt about how the country deals with informal settlements, how the government is attempting to understand and include the people living in informal settlements and what sustainable housing in Egypt could look like in the future.

“Some very important elements were left out of the New Urban Agenda” – Interview with Lorena Zárate from Habitat International Coalition

By |2023-12-19T15:11:38+01:00March 16th 2017|Gender and Inequalities, Housing and Construction|

National and local governments must value and support community-driven development, says Lorena Zárate. In her interview with URBANET, she discusses viable and non-viable approaches to housing, democracy, and everybody's Right to the City.

How Women and Men Experience the City. Gender in an Informal Urban Context

By |2023-12-19T14:49:48+01:00March 7th 2017|Gender and Inequalities, Integrated Planning|

Cities have complex relationships with gender. They challenge some models of traditional femininity and masculinity, and reinforce others. Our author Paula Meth explains how gendered relations play out in informal urban settlements.

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