Equitable urban future

The news on the conditions of people in the world’s slums is mixed: there has been tangible improvement but it is not enough, and the mass of the slum population is growing. Since 2000, the lives of about 227 million living in slum conditions have improved and the Millennium Development target for shelter has been surpassed by 2.2 times. The State of World Cities 2010/2011 published by UN-HABITAT highlights this. The report also reminds us that the issue of adequate housing has not been solved. Rapid urbanisation has helped reduce urban poverty levels and improved access to services, but it has also made it difficult for the poor to find affordable housing. Every year, the global slum population swells by six million. The progress on slum improvement has been inadequate and the report exhorts governments to take urgent steps to ensure an equitable urban future. A `dignified and secure existence’, which is a part of the right to an adequate standard of living, is a core value enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). It will not be an exaggeration to say that, in the case of the poor in cities, this is inextricably linked with the peaceful future of city life.

What does this report hold for India? The country has been commended for the improvements made to the slums. Since 2000, about 59.7 million people have been lifted out of their slum conditions. However, the optimism generated by these figures fades before the worsening shortage in the supply of affordable housing. The 11th Five Year Plan estimates that the housing shortage for the poor, which was 24 million at the beginning of 2007, will increase to 26 million by 2012. Unless this huge gap is addressed, the report cautions, polarities within Indian cities will exacerbate. Investment and provision of land for affordable housing need to be scaled up. For example, if all the public money earmarked for this sector including the allocations made in the current budget is put together, the total amount would still fall short of the annual investment of about Rs.71,000 crore required for bridging the housing deficit. The state alone cannot be expected to bear the burden. Through a combination of regulations and incentives, the private sector must be persuaded to commit itself to social housing. Existing polices must be radically revised and imaginative financial incentives, such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit successfully implemented in the United States, need to be put in place. A lot can be achieved if individual cities take the lead without waiting for central or State government directives and devise their own progressive housing plans.