Exploring new ways of understanding and addressing the housing problem

Abstract

The privatization of public services, the rapid increase of housing prices, the mortgage foreclosures by maturity or late payment of rent, the anomalous expansion of urban building, with an excess of empty homes and extreme pressure on the territory, the critical situation to groups lower income, minorities and population considered illegal; massive expulsions by armed conflict or mega development projects, are some of the current manifestations of the housing problem, in public policy framework developed with the approach of the state as facilitator and subsidiary of private initiative. Today, the housing deficit increases exponentially worldwide and affects over one billion people, and it will increase by 700 million in 2020, demonstrating the failure of housing policies. This situation requires a radical change of direction. This article explores this stage and proposes some lines of thought trying to contribute to a necessary debate.