Affordable Housing From Washington, D.C., to Johannesburg

March
16
2011
As the global population moves from rural to urban areas, demand for housing grows. Courtesy of Dhiru Thadani.

According to UN-HABITAT, by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities. To accommodate this growth, experts say we would need to build one city for a million people every week between now and 2050. Even at present levels, up to 100 million people are homeless globally.

In Washington, D.C.,'s Shaw neighborhood, the community development organization One DC organized a community brainstorming discussion about affordable housing in the District. Thanks to participants: Sirish Agarwal, Dewayne Brown, Patricia Penny, Eric Sheptack, Ann Wilcox, Jane Zara, Malcolm, Meron, and Vernice.

South Africa is known for progressive housing rights policies. Their National Housing Subsidy Scheme has built homes for more than 1.5 million South Africans. However, there are waiting lists for housing subsidies, and many homes are built far from jobs and transport. As a result, people build shacks in informal settlements and risk eviction. Reporter Miriam Mokoena spoke with Liza Cossa, the Chairperson of the Landless People’s Organization in the Protea South settlement in Johannesburg.

Throughout the discussion we hear from:

Celine D’Cruz, Shack and Slum Dwellers International

Eric Tars, Human Rights Program Director the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty

Dhiru Thadani, architect and urban planner, board member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, author of The Language of Towns and Cities: A Visual Dictionary.

 

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