Affordable housing for all (diverse income and multi-generational cities)

The objective of the session is to explore and promote policies and technical solutions in favour of affordable housing, as well as means to monitor and record progress in this area. Thus, the session will:

• Highlight principles and goals of affordable housing,
• Share good and replicable case scenarios of implemented policies and projects,
• Review modalities for success and known obstacles to affordable housing programmes, - discuss ways of recording and monitoring progress against the indicator of Sustainable Development Goal 11.1., which is the proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing.

Housing affordability is a fundamental requirement for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. Innovations in very different areas contain the potential to improve affordability and accessibility. Examples include financial elements – such as central housing funds, housing cooperative funds, national housing banks, community mortgage finance, and community savings –, innovation construction techniques, as well as smart regulations, the use of development rights and inclusionary zoning.

Other mechanisms to help the poorest gain access to incremental sustainable financing and achieve security of tenure are necessary. Micro-financing, guarantee funds and special purpose entities can help increase access to housing finance for many who have been traditionally excluded and offer tailored products that can facilitate access to adequate housing.

Measuring and recording progress in the field of affordable housing will be a key element in assessing the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal Sub target 11.1., to “ensure (by 2030) access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.

Q1: What are the main drivers of unaffordability and what steps have been taken to mitigate them?

Q2: What does research tell us about the determinants of housing unaffordability, the pre-requisites to address them, and the conditions of success for affordability programmes?

Q3: What are the political and social barriers to large-scale pro-poor programmes in favour of affordable housing?

Q4: What institutions (new, if necessary) could contribute to country-wide or region-wide programmes in favour of housing affordability?

Q5: What steps has your institution (local, regional, national) taken to provide for precise and timely reporting on affordability?

Q6: What ways can be explored to strengthen the quality, reliability and ubiquity of reporting on indicator 11.1.1?

Introduction
- Christophe Lalande, Head of the Housing Unit

Opening Remarks
- Joan Clos, former Executive Director of UN-Habitat

Moderator
- Horacio Terraza, Lead Urban Specialist for the World Bank

Speakers
- Soledad Nuñez, Minister for Housing and Habitat of Paraguay
- Jayaselan A/L K. Navaratnam, Director-General of Malaysia’s National Housing Department, in the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government
- Farook Mahmood, World President of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI)
- Carlos Zedillo, Director of Infonavit’s Centre for Research on Sustainable Development
- Steve Bevington, Managing Director of Community Housing Limited Group (CHL)
- Derek Ballantyne, Incoming Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
- Clément Larrue, Urban Lead for the Agence française de développement (AFD)