#World Habitat Day 2016

-
Everyone deserves a decent place to live. United Nation’s World Habitat Day is annually celebrated on the first Monday of October to reflect on the state of human settlements and people’s right to adequate shelter. The day serves as a reminder to the world of its collective responsibility for the habitat of future generations. As the global population increases so too have the challenges. Regrettably, the number of people especially the poor and vulnerable groups, including women, migrants and persons with disabilities find themselves living in less than desirable conditions as they face discrimination based on their circumstances. It is estimated that a billion new houses will be needed by 2025 to accommodate 50 million new urban dwellers. Access to affordable housing is not new phenomenon. It is a global challenge which requires commitment, resources and creativity from governments in order to reverse the growing trends of informal settlements and slums which many urban dwellers now call home.  Squatting on government and privately owned lands is now a common feature in many societies including Jamaica. The eradication of poverty should be a priority for all governments as this is a barrier to quality and affordable housing. The housing crisis in Jamaica is desperate. It is estimated that between 15 to 35 per cent of Jamaicans are living in abandoned buildings or in squatter settlements. This is most unacceptable and requires urgent attention by the government as it relates to land reform. The theme of the 2016 World Habitat Day is “Housing at the Centre”. Interestingly, the first World Habitat Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1986 to raise awareness about the plight of the 1.6 billion people in need of adequate shelter. Disturbingly, women are at a disadvantage regarding quality and affordable housing. This issue is made worse since a significant number of women work in the home and this unpaid work renders them ineligible for a mortgage and powerless to  pay rent for themselves and their children. The United Nations has outlined seventeen (17) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) which are geared towards transforming the world in which we live.  Goal 11, addresses the issue of making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. However, there are multiple challenges including a shortage of housing stock as more and more residential houses are being converted for commercial use and purpose. It is imperative that governments draft legislation or enforce existing laws in order to zone communities and protect the housing stock which are available for people. It cannot be that the rich and powerful are allowed to transform a community or neighborhood from residential to commercial without any sanction at the expense of the poor and vulnerable. Every one of us regardless of skin colour, religion, sexual orientation, social class and or sex deserves the opportunity for a better future. There is a collective responsibility on all governments to lead the way in empowering and engendering their citizenry to achieve quality and adequate housing in order to achieve sustainable development. In the words on Ban Ki-moon “building sustainable cities and a sustainable future will need open dialogue among all branches of national, regional and local government. And it will need the engagement of all stakeholders including the private sector and civil society, and especially the poor and marginalized”.     

#WorldHabitatDay #affordablehousing #Aleppo #sustainabledevelopment #Jamaica #poverty
Wayne Campbell
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insecticides, Air Travel And Safety

-
Image
We are not insects, we are human beings. To travel by air is a privilege. Air travel is a costly adventure as well.   Those of us who have been fortunate to travel oftentimes experience some amount of excitement leading up to that moment. This heightened sense of emotion happens to almost all of us irrespective of whether we are a frequent flyer or a first timer. This buzz never goes away regardless of whether you travel economy or first class. However, for some folks there is a sense of nervousness during travel. There are numerous lessons we can learn whenever we travel. For example, our outlook on life is often altered due to the interaction with other peoples and cultures. Once the airplane takes off and you begin to ascend into the clouds, sometimes of altitude unbelievable to those without this experience, one can feel like someone who is imprisoned until your flight lands and you disembark. It is usually at those altitudes that the airline crew informs you that they are going to
Read more

Vessels of Honour: Celestial Treasures

-
Image
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”- Psalm 51:10. Many of us have a skewed understanding of God our creator. In many instances we believe or are led to believe that in order to be used by God we must be pure and sinless. This tainted view undoubtedly also impacts our relationships we have with God. Having such a distorted view of God and what God demands from us oftentimes lead us into disobedience. The same is true concerning the weight of condemnation. It is for this reason why it is critical for us to spend time in the Word of God which is the Bible. We all need to know God for ourselves. We often make excuses to study the Bible, yet, we will spend hours on social media or hours gossiping people’s business. Nowhere is gossiping more pronounced than in the church. The church as we know it is not a place of honesty. Why do I say this? Oftentimes we turn to the church in our moments of weakness and vulnerability yet, the solace and compassion that
Read more

Interrogating Black Fatherhood

-
Image
“What I've realized is that life doesn't count for much unless you're willing to do your small part to leave our children all of our children a better world. Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”- Barack Obama. Fatherhood, especially black fatherhood oftentimes is not as celebrated as it should. As a result we continue to hear of the arguments surrounding my mother who fathered me. There are specific roles concerning the sexes and frankly speaking mothers cannot father children, likewise fathers cannot mother children. Indeed as a society we need to move the discussion away from these examples of oxymoron. This flawed premise has been around so long and unfortunately has become normalized in many societies. However, the time has come for us to have a serious and honest discussion as this argument must be interrogated and replaced with a sense of responsibility. In fact, there is one m
Read more