Housing for All – A Better Urban Future

Today on October 5, 2020, we celebrate World Architecture Day along with World Habitat Day. World Architecture Day was introduced by the Union International

Today on October 5, 2020, we celebrate World Architecture Day along with World Habitat Day. World Architecture Day was introduced by the Union International des Architects (UIA) to thank and praise the work of some extraordinary architectural works and architects globally. With World Habitat Day 2020 also being celebrated today the theme iof the day is ‘Housing for All- A Better Urban Future’.

In the current situation of this pandemic where a large number of people all over the world struggled to afford a home and as a matter of life and death. The worst affected are the indigenous groups, migrants, and marginal groups influenced by housing precarity, homelessness, and overcrowding.

Introduction

Pertaining to the sustainable development goals, more than 8% of the world population still lives in poverty, millions live without a proper home or sanitation facilities. Around 3 billion people in the world still lack basic hand-washing facilities. Every human being should have the right to basic needs with proper infrastructure and healthcare.

Affordable housing is part of the New Urban Agenda and the UN SDG 11- to make cities and human settlements safe, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. To achieve these basic human rights there is an urge to make cities all over the globe more inclusive, smart, and sustainable through Transit-Oriented Development.

What is a Smart City?

It majorly focuses on the urban cities to be developed with the concept of integrating information and communication and technology (ICT) along with the Internet of Things (IoT). These help in optimizing the city operations and services through technology by connecting the citizens to this network. Smart city technologies ensure transparency through direct communication of communities with officials and monitor the city evolution simultaneously. ICT enhances the quality, performance, and interaction of urban spaces and also saves the cost, time, and energy consumption with real-time responses.

What is an Inclusive City?

As the name suggests, the inclusion of all citizens with equal opportunities irrespective of their identity in a city.  An inclusive city aims to create an equitable community by mobilizing people, ideas, and investments to reach their full potentials without facing any discrimination. The goal is to decrease the gap between the affluent and the poor by providing equal opportunities. To achieve this any discrimination on the basis of caste, color, creed, background, identity must be eradicated.

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)

In terms of urban planning, TOD aims to maximize residential, commercial, and leisure spaces within walking distance of public transport. It promotes the relationship between dense, compact urban form and public transport use to reduce the use of private vehicles and promote sustainable urban growth.

Affordable or Low-Cost Housing

It refers to the housing dwelling units that address the needs of low and middle-income households especially in developing nations where the majority population is unable to afford a house at market price. It is the prime responsibility of the government to cater to the rising demands of affordable housing through policies and public-private partnerships for the development of these units.

There is also a need to cater to rural development by improving the quality of life and economic well-being by eradicating poverty and exploitation of resources in rural areas as well.

There is still a long way to go to make urban and spaces more smart, inclusive, and safe but through these small steps and aid from the government it is achievable. Through a step by step sustainable approach it is possible to achieve a better living. From first catering to the basic needs like food, shelter, water then sanitation facilities , better infrastructure, and connectivity. Ultimately all these are monitored from a transparent network.