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Written
evidence submitted by Habitat for Humanity
1 Habitat
for Humanity:
1.1 Vision - a world where everyone has a safe,
decent and appropriate place to live.
1.2 Has a Christian ethos and works with people from
all faiths and none who are living in housing poverty, based on their need, in
rural, peri-urban and urban areas.
1.3 Was foundered internationally in 1976 and has
since assisted more than 300,000 families in over 90 countries.
1.4 Has a range of methods to assist families from
soft building loans, training, local capacity development, save and build
schemes, water/sanitation, house renovating, house building, land tenure,
advocacy....
1.5 Works in partnerships with many other
organisations.
1.6 Has so far assisted over 20,000 tsunami
families with new or renovated homes in 5 different countries.
2 How
effectively developing country governments and donors, particularly DFID, are
addressing the challenges presented by urban poverty:
2.1 Habitat for Humanity (HFH) believes that
governments in developing countries, and donors, are not effectively addressing
the challenges presented by urban poverty.
This is based on our extensive operations and presence in many
developing countries, as well as HFH's experience working with a number of
bi-lateral development organisations worldwide.
2.2 We believe that the two main reasons donors tend not to focus on
urban poverty is that they believe 1) that rural poverty is both more prevalent
and more acute in absolute dollar terms and 2) that urban poverty is very
complex and often requires multi-sectoral approaches, something aid agencies
struggle with due to structural reasons.
Both of these rationales miss the mark though, and we believe now is the
time for DFID to reassess the current status quo, in light of overwhelming
evidence that urbanisation is fast becoming a serious socio-economic issue
worldwide.
2.3 HFH certainly believes in the importance of
dealing with rural poverty, in fact, while we do not disaggregate our work with
a rural/urban lens, the majority of the work we implement is based in rural
areas. However, we strongly believe that
there is a great need to focus on urban poverty issues from a much more
holistic perspective - and by doing so, this should in fact support efforts in
rural areas. Urbanisation can create
engines of growth and, if managed properly, can have tremendously positive
impacts on reducing urban, peri-urban and rural poverty.
2.4 While it is true that urban poverty may be more
complex, it is also true that if handled well, the impacts on the poor can be
felt in much greater numbers and in more lasting, sustainable ways. Ensuring that cities have the ability to deal
with growth will enable large number of families to take advantage of the
opportunities afforded through living in cities. It is the need to ensure that the cities have
the policies and programmes in place to foster, rather than hinder, the
development of their citizens, that lies at the heart of our approach to
supporting the urban poor.
2.5 International Development agencies can and
should play a much greater role in developing, supporting, implementing and
tackling the urban poverty agenda.
3 DFID's
contribution to meeting the MDG 7 target which seeks to improve the lives of
slum dwellers:
3.1 Millennium Development Goal 7, Target 11 states
that by 2020, the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers must be
significantly improved. Slums, which are characterised by a lack of durable
housing, insufficient living areas, little or no access to improved water and
sanitation, and tenure insecurity, currently house over one billion people and
are growing daily. In 1990, there were
nearly 715 million slum dwellers in the world.
By the time the Millennium Development Goals were created, the population
of those living in slums had increased by over 30 percent. UN-Habitat estimates that if current trends
continue, there will be 1.4 billion slum dwellers by 2020. In a world with soaring urban populations,
urbanisation has become nearly synonymous with the development and expansion of
slums. According to UN-Habitat, cities in the developing world "will absorb 95
percent of urban growth in the next two decades, and by 2030, will be home to
almost 4 billion people."[1] At this rate, even if MDG Target 11 is met
by 2020, improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers will not be enough.
According to DFID's 2007 Annual Report, most countries have made "negligible"
or "negative" progress toward meeting the 2020 target.
3.2 What DFID is doing to help:
3.2.1 DFID is currently funding several organisations
and initiatives focused on the issue of urban slums. These include the
following:
3.2.2 Providing £1 million to UN-Habitat in 2007.
3.2.3 Providing Cities Alliance, a coalition of
cities and their development partners, with £3 million over four years.
3.2.4 Supporting the Community Led-Infrastructure Financing
Facility. The CLIFF was established in 2002 to provide finance to organisations
of the urban poor for infrastructure and housing demonstration projects. The
fund has changed the banking and municipal policies to promote slum upgrading,
and leveraged additional finance from public and private sectors. As of 2007,
roughly £5 million had been disbursed.
3.2.5 Providing the UN-Habitat managed Slum Upgrading
Facility, which provides technical assistance to help municipal governments
mobilise domestic capital, with £7.3 million.
SUF is currently focused on four countries: Indonesia,
Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Ghana.
3.2.6 Funding several research initiatives including
their 2007 paper on land rights and is also working on water and sanitation
projects in several regions.
3.3 While these are certainly noteworthy
initiatives, they are relatively small investments compared to the size of the
problem. Housing focused programmes
comprised a particularly small percentage of DFID's £4.5 billion budget in
2007-less than one percent. As
urbanisation continues to intensify, slums are no longer peripheral
settlements; rather they have evolved into central, distinctive components that
have become the defining characteristic of cities in the developing world. Surely, more attention and resources
must be devoted to addressing this crucial issue.
4 The
provision of basic services and infrastructure in slums, including energy,
housing, transport, sanitation, water, health and education:
4.1 "Slums" are defined in various ways, but the
core elements come down to three factors.
First, slum households lack security of tenure. Second, their physical housing is inadequate,
in terms of living space, durability, and safety. Third, slum households lack access to basic
services.
4.2 Poor infrastructure and service provision to
urban slum-dwellers significantly decrease their life chances and make it more
difficult for them to participate effectively in evolving urban economies, thus
perpetuating their poverty and marginalisation.
While slum-dwellers can sometimes self-produce adequate shelter, they
typically cannot provide infrastructure and services, for which they rely on
the state and/or the private sector.
Lack of public service provision increases the cost of living for
slum-dwellers (in terms of both money and time) and undermines their ability to
accumulate assets and improve their life chances.
4.3 Additionally, slum conditions have a
disproportionately negative impact on health, particularly when it comes to
children. As Lisa Harker points out, children
living in poor or overcrowded conditions are more likely to experience
respiratory complications, be at risk for infections and suffer from mental
illness and behavioural problems.[2] Rates of disease have also been associated
with the quality and specific attributes of the housing available. These issues, in turn, have an adverse affect
on children's chances later in life, especially in education.
4.4 For this reason, public programmes that
address infrastructure, and service provision for slum dwellers are critically
important in order to address the cycle of urban poverty and marginalisation. Although private sector initiatives can and
do address part of the problem (particularly transport), there is no substitute
for state investment in infrastructure and service provision to urban slum
areas. Such investment is the
quintessential "public good", provision of which underpinned the evolution of
urban economies in the developed world.
4.5 The problem is that many cities in the developing
world do not recognise slums as "official", permanent parts of the city, and
therefore do not prioritise such "public good" investment. The first, critical step for public
policy therefore, is to develop ways to encourage municipal governments in the
developing world to recognise the permanence of slum populations and their
responsibility to provide infrastructure, services and planning procedures that
are a precursors to development.
Of course, the political will to do so depends greatly on the
availability of resources to provide infrastructure and services. For this reason, development aid
strategies must combine advocacy for slum acceptance with resources flows to
enable infrastructure and service provision.
5 Supporting
opportunities for employment and livelihoods for the urban poor:
5.1 One of the key issues contributing to urban
poverty (as well as rural poverty) is lack of income and limited employment
opportunities. While the urban economy
provides opportunities for many and is the basis for growth and job creation,
not all those living in cities benefit from these opportunities. The urban poor
face challenges of low skills, low wages, unemployment and under-employment, a
lack of social insurance and unsatisfactory working conditions. In some countries, the spatial location of
slums, inadequate infrastructure, and negative stigma are also constraints to
employment. The heavy reliance on the cash economy means that the urban poor
are particularly vulnerable to shocks.
5.2 The majority of the urban poor work in the
informal sector. Available estimates suggest that the size of the sector ranges
from 30 to 70 percent of GDP in developing countries. While the informal sector
provides employment for many who cannot enter the formal labour market and
supplies goods and services typically not offered by the formal sector, it is
also characterised by relatively poor working conditions, lack of social
insurance, operating outside the legal system, and is more vulnerable to
economic fluctuations, which particularly affect the poor who have relatively
little savings.
5.3 Unemployment is typically higher for the urban
poor, as is underemployment. For example in Dhaka, Bangladesh
unemployment rates for the poorest male workers are about 10 percent, twice
that of the wealthiest (5 percent). For women, about 25 percent of the poor are
unemployed compared to 12 percent of the non-poor (World Bank, 2007a). Youth
unemployment is a major problem in many cities, and increasingly linked to
growing social problems and urban unrest. Average youth unemployment rates for
2003 were highest in the Middle East and North Africa Region (25.6 percent) and
Sub-Saharan Africa (21 percent), and lowest in East Asia
(7 percent) (ILO, 2004).
5.4 The deplorable slum living conditions,
including the lack of employment, the low status accorded to residents by those
in better neighbourhoods, foster stress and low self esteem and affect youth in
particular. These problems manifest
themselves in a variety of ways. One is
violence. A study of three Rio de Janeiro favelas over
a 30-year period found a broad improvement in the economic standing of those
remaining in these areas and of the one-third of original families who had
moved to better neighbourhoods. But the increased violence in the favelas had
caused some families to relocate and had sharply reduced the social capital of
those who remained because they were afraid to be on the streets.
5.5 Low-income populations in the developing world
use their home as both an asset and an income strategy, for example, renting a
room or operating a small shop or home-based industry. Typically these families do not have access
to affordable financing. Being forced to
improve their housing incrementally, consistent with their current household
income, reduces their opportunities to leverage their skills and assets. The costs of incremental construction are
often compounded by their limited building experience and lack of access to
construction consultation and affordable materials, severely compromising their
access to durable, healthy, secure shelter.
5.6 Habitat for Humanity has developed Habitat
Resource Centres (HRC) to provide support to thousands of low-income households
in countries which include Afghanistan,
Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand,
Vanuatu, Pakistan, and Vietnam. The HRC provides resources based on a housing
value chain analysis and market demand through a range of shelter-related
economic and livelihood development strategies.
This pilot was successfully taken to scale following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
6 The
role of property rights in improving the lives of slum dwellers:
6.1 Habitat for Humanity focuses on the issue of
property rights by looking at the much broader issue of secure tenure. Insecure tenure often lies at the heart of
poverty housing, depriving the poor of even the most basic physical, economic
and psychological security of adequate shelter. More than 20 percent of the
world's population struggles, on a daily basis, to stay in houses or on land
where they live.
6.2 Security of tenure, or the ability to live in a
place without fear of eviction, provides a catalytic asset that can enable people
to better their housing, their environment and their life chances. It can increase economic growth, address
inequalities, and reduce poverty in developing countries. Security of tenure
can provide opportunities for investment and the accumulation of wealth and in
some cases can encourage business development. Furthermore, security of tenure
is about more than just economic assets. Secure tenure can provide a source of identity,
status and political power and serve as a basis for the pursuit and acquisition
of other assets like electricity, clean water and sanitation. Still, barriers
to tenure security remain in many countries. These barriers include
insufficient legal and regulatory systems, excessive land regulation, gender
discrimination, corruption, inefficient or inadequate land registration
systems, the disintegration of customary and traditional protections and the
lack of political will around the issue. In addition, millions of people are
displaced each year by natural disasters and violent conflicts.
6.3 Nowhere is the issue more pressing than in slum
communities where secure tenure not only helps families overcome barriers to
better housing, but also fosters other social and economic benefits, creating
greater opportunities for families who need them the most. Slums and squatter settlements are growing
daily in urban areas, sprawling farther and farther from city centres as land
prices continue to rise. The price of even the cheapest home in the formal
sector excludes the majority of residents in many cities. These residents are
forced to build, buy or rent in informal (or "squatter") settlements, where
housing is neither restricted nor protected by laws and regulations. Such
informal settlements now house an estimated 1 billion people.
6.4 Tenure security for the poor is flexible and
varied. It includes a politician with the will to issue a proclamation against
eviction, a municipality or government extending basic infrastructure and
services to informal settlements, and issuing state-backed titles to every
individual homeowner in an informal settlement. Legal literacy training and
writing wills can be an effective means of improving tenure security as well.
While all of these solutions are viable and realistic, change will not come
easily or quickly. An incremental strategy focusing first on increasing the
perception of tenure security (de facto tenure security) and moving slowly
towards formal, legally protected tenure security (de jure tenure security)
should be most effective. This gradual process would channel initial benefits
to current residents while giving the market time to fully mature so current
low-income residents who decide to sell their rights might receive greater
compensation.
6.5 Without international support, the
poor in many developing countries will never come close to realising the degree
of tenure security that can be such a catalyst to a better life. It is
imperative that governments of developed nations, through foreign assistance
funding and other appropriate channels, set measurable goals and increase
resources to support the poor's access to secure tenure around the world.
7 The
implications of the current global financial downturn for urbanisation in developing
countries:
7.1 For the first time ever, it is said that as of
last year, the majority of the world's population is now urban-based as opposed
to rural. Traditionally this is seen as
an outcome of urbanisation i.e. the migration of people from rural to urban
areas. However we believe - and there is
growing evidence to suggest - that urbanisation is driven by three
factors:
7.1.1 Differential population growth, i.e. faster
population growth and new household formation within existing urban areas,
compared with in rural areas, is the main driver of global relative
urbanisation.
7.1.2 Growth of rural towns into urban centres is
another major factor. People are not
necessarily leaving rural areas to come to existing cities - rather, smaller
cities and towns are growing and in many cases incorporating rural populations
who have not physically moved.
7.1.3 Physical migration continues to be significant,
but it is probably fair to say that the great historical rural-to-urban
migrations have already taken place in much of the world, excepting Africa.
7.2 The implication of this is that contemporary
urbanisation is no longer primarily driven by the "attraction" of cities to
rural dwellers. Given this, the current
global economic downturn is not likely to slow urbanisation - indeed, it may
well increase it.
7.3 First, rural economies will suffer the effects
of the downturn as export markets for agricultural commodities, particularly
non-food crops, weaken. Established
processes of consolidation of agricultural production, in which smaller
producers sell land or lose lease agreements to larger landowners, will gather
pace.
7.4 Second, loss of rural livelihood strategies has
not been the only factor impelling rural-to-urban migration. Urban areas provide a much wider variety of
livelihood strategies than rural areas.
Manufacturing and service activities in urban areas can be parsed into
smaller and more specialised activities, allowing millions of households to
make a survival living doing some small thing as part of a larger value chain. This process attracts migrants even when rural
economies are strong.
7.5 Third, reduced development aid flows, and
public sector investments in rural areas (including investments in
infrastructure, such as dams and railway lines, that just happen to be located
in rural areas), will probably diminish, reducing the supply of rural jobs.
7.6 Fourth, reduced investment in property
development in regions such as the Persian Gulf has already dramatically
reduced the demand for migrant labour from South Asia and the Philippines. Many of these migrants originate in rural
areas, and may well go to cities in their own countries in search of work. In China reduced
property and industrial investment has already resulted in significant reverse
migration out of the coastal cities - but in many cases these migrants return
not to farms, but to larger urban towns and proto-cities in the hinterland.
7.7 It is impossible to say exactly what will
happen, but the safest interpretation would be that the world's urban
populations will continue to grow, both absolutely and as a proportion of the
global population.
8 Conclusion
8.1 In conclusion, increased urbanisation and
consequently the growth of slums can no longer be viewed as a secondary
problem. While we support DFID's
contributions to meeting MDG 7 Target 11, we must acknowledge that more
resources and focus need to be given to urban areas and improving the lives of
slum dwellers.
8.2 Habitat for Humanity has demonstrated effective
ways to improve the lives and life chances of those living in urban poverty.
What this has taught us is that urban poverty is very complex, yet if it
is properly addressed-by combining housing and shelter with other
key interventions and services- the impacts on the poor can be felt in much
greater numbers and in more lasting, sustainable ways.
8.3 We are grateful to the committee for taking a
serious look into urbanisation and poverty and any additional focus you can
bring to this very important issue will be greatly appreciated. We look forward to working with the committee
in the future on this and other important international development issues.
[1] UN-Habitat (2006),
State of the World's Cities 06/07, viii
[2] Harker, Lisa, Chance
of a Lifetime: The Impact of Bad Housing on Children's Lives, Shelter,
2006.
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