Post-2030: A Dedicated Housing SDG to Rebuild Urban Equity {translation}

By Christine Auclair, President of AdP – Villes en Développement. Housing and urban specialist at UN-Habitat from 1994 to 2024.

"We must reaffirm with force that housing is not a commodity. It is a right." — Leilani Farha, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing

A World Without Shelter?

With less than five years until the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline, housing indicators are alarming. Nearly 1.6 billion people currently live in inadequate housing conditions. Among them, approximately 150 million are homeless, and over one billion live in under-integrated neighborhoods, lacking basic services and tenure security[1].

These already dramatic figures do not fully account for the recent mass destruction caused by prolonged violent conflicts, natural disasters, and increasing climate-related displacement. In Gaza, 92% of homes have been destroyed or damaged according to the United Nations, leaving the surviving the population homeless. In Ukraine, more than 2.4 million homes have been damaged or destroyed since 2022. In Port-au-Prince, violence and institutional collapse render any housing policy almost impossible. Elsewhere, affordable housing crises are multiplying in large metropolitan areas, making a decent life unattainable for youth, single-parent families, and precarious workers. Housing is trapped in the nets of war, insecurity, and public disengagement.

A Vanishing Right

Despite being recognized as a fundamental human right since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[2] (1948) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights[3] (ICESCR, 1966), housing has no dedicated SDG. Implementation of the right to housing varies significantly across countries, and some Member States have long resisted recognizing it as a justiciable right, hindering the development of clear targets and frameworks.

Housing is diluted in Target 11.1 of SDG 11, which states: “By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.” Although noble in intent, this target remains largely unmet, and monitoring relies on weak, incomplete indicators that fail to reflect local diversity.

The primary indicator, 11.1.1, uses five technical criteria: access to water, sanitation, overcrowding, inadequate construction materials, and insecure tenure. It does not reflect the crisis in access, the magnitude of penalizing informality, energy insecurity, or massive evictions. It overlooks growing forms of exclusion, particularly among youth, elderly, and migrants.

The limited success of Target 11.1 is due to structural and political factors—chiefly a lack of political will to make housing a priority. In many countries, housing is seen as a secondary concern, left to local authorities without a clear national vision. Governments often avoid long-term investment due to cost and limited short-term electoral gain. Lobbying from land and real estate interests also slows progress. The right to housing is rarely enforceable, making compliance difficult.

Funding shortfalls are another issue. Despite vast needs, housing budgets remain low, often slashed during financial crises. International financing mechanisms—including development bank loans—rarely focus on housing. Recovery or resilience frameworks do not prioritize housing, often leaving the responsibility entirely to the private sector. Without sustainable financial tools, local governments are also powerless to implement lasting solutions.

SDG indicators are poorly adapted to living realities. Indicator 11.1.1[4] is based on technical norms that fail to account for real affordability, security, or quality of life. It ignores irregular housing trajectories, hidden forms of exclusion, or residents’ satisfaction. It cannot assess participation, land equity, or policy relevance. Entire populations—homeless people, evictees, those waiting for social housing—go uncounted.

The absence of a global housing strategy, especially in crisis or rapid growth contexts, is symptomatic of this failure. Housing is not sufficiently integrated into resilience, reconstruction, or climate adaptation strategies. In fragile countries (post-conflict, disaster, or migration-affected), responses remain short-term and fragmented. In the Global South, rapid growth outpaces institutional capacity to manage land, plan services, or ensure access. Poor coordination between governance levels worsens policy fragmentation. A dedicated Housing SDG would enable a better indicator system that combines quantitative and qualitative dimensions, sensitive to inequality, residential satisfaction, and participation—and provide a global strategic framework.

From Vancouver to Istanbul to Quito: The Evolution of a Global Agenda

The 1976 UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat I) in Vancouver was a key milestone in recognizing housing as a human right. It came in response to a global housing crisis marked by inadequate public policy, rapid unplanned urbanization, and slum proliferation. In the Vancouver Declaration, Member States took a strong stance: access to adequate housing is a fundamental human right[5]. They called for public investment, land regulation, mobilization of public finance, stronger local institutions, and inclusive urban planning.

This led to the creation of the UN Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS), also known as the “Shelter Agency,” later renamed United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), with a mission to support national housing strategies. Its logo—of a person under a roof—symbolizes the protective function of housing. But this social ambition was largely challenged in the 1980s by neoliberal approaches.

Structural adjustment policies and the debt crisis led many Southern governments to cut public spending. The World Bank, along with others, promoted housing as a market commodity: land deregulation, reduced public roles, and incentives for private investment.

This ideological shift was entrenched at Habitat II in Istanbul (1996). While the Habitat Agenda reaffirmed the right to housing, it introduced a key ideological shift: redefining the state’s role as a “facilitator” of private production[6]. Public housing construction was marginalized in favor of mortgage credit and private home ownership.

This liberal shift deprioritized rent regulation and social housing. The “enabling markets to work” doctrine, supported by the World Bank and to a large extent, by UN-Habitat, treated housing as an economic sector rather than a human right. The consequences are clear: land speculation, gentrification, exclusion of the middle class, growing informality in the Global South, and financialization of housing in the Global North.

At Habitat III (Quito, 2016), the New Urban Agenda (NUA) reaffirmed the role of housing in sustainable development, calling for inclusive land systems, slum upgrading, and resident participation. But it remains general and non-binding, with no operational indicators or timelines. It lacks a housing strategy or quantitative targets.

Why a Dedicated Housing SDG Is Necessary

Looking ahead to Habitat IV in 2036, the post-2030 agenda must include a measurable, ambitious housing goal. It should bridge rights and policy, and prioritize housing amid urbanization, climate, conflict, and inequality.

A dedicated Housing SDG would:

• Give clear political visibility to housing on the global agenda

• Define structural targets: reduced evictions, universal access to decent housing, rent regulation, tenure security

• Orient financing toward inclusive, long-term policies

• Foster collaboration between states, cities, civil society, researchers, and professionals

• Recognize housing diversity—informal settlements, self-help housing, community-driven solutions, housing cooperatives—especially in the Global South

Housing and the SDGs: A Strategic Nexus

It is essential to recognize the strong interlinkages between housing and multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Housing is not an isolated sector—it is a powerful lever for progress across social, economic, and environmental dimensions:

• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): Poor housing conditions—such as overcrowding, dampness, and lack of clean water—directly contribute to ill health and the spread of disease.

• SDG 4 (Quality Education): Insecure or unstable housing disrupts children's learning environments, increasing the risk of school absenteeism and dropout.

• SDG 5 (Gender Equality): Safe and secure housing provides critical protection against domestic violence, especially for women and girls.

• SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): Spatial segregation and housing exclusion reinforce and reproduce social, economic, and racial inequalities.

• SDG 13 (Climate Action): Low-carbon, resilient housing plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and is central to adaptation strategies in the face of increasing climate risks.

Recognizing housing’s transversality acknowledges its capacity to catalyze transformative change for a just and inclusive society.

Global Housing Governance: New Levers

Housing is no longer a solely national concern. It requires multilevel governance and coordinated global action. A Housing SDG could prompt a global monitoring mechanism, supported by UN-Habitat, and encourage regular dialogue between states, local governments, and civil society. A Global Fund for Sustainable Housing, modeled on the Green Climate Fund, could emerge, with direct funding access for cities.

This would require recognizing cities and regions as co-actors in the right to housing. International human rights–based housing guidelines would help steer public policy. Governance should be long-term, positioning housing as infrastructure for peace, social justice, and ecological transition.

Mobilizing for a Dedicated Housing SDG

UNESCO is currently advocating for an SDG dedicated to 'Culture'. With institutional support, it seeks to move culture beyond its secondary presence in SDG 4 and 11. Similarly, UN-Habitat, World Bank, UNDP, OHCHR, and others could launch a bold campaign for a Housing SDG.

This effort would require lobbying not only from institutions but also civil society, housing professionals, researchers, and practitioners—documenting needs and solutions. AdP – Villes en Développement, in alliance with the Habitat Professionals Forum, could unite these voices.

The road won’t be easy—but it’s possible. And above all, it’s urgent.

Professionals Have a Central Role

Urban professionals—architects, planners, engineers, sociologists, economists, researchers—must go beyond designing housing to rethink its purpose: care, connection, inclusion. This means new frameworks, transdisciplinary approaches, and novel alliances. They can help develop better metrics of housing quality, shape shared narratives around the right to housing, and assist governments in fairer policy design.

They also bear responsibility for training future professionals, combining technical skill and social engagement. AdP and other platforms like the Habitat Professionals Forum are well placed to consolidate expertise and propose concrete global recommendations.

Toward a Recognized, Funded, Guaranteed Right to Housing

 A Housing SDG would structure and finance a right too long neglected or left to speculation. It would give governments, local authorities, and field actors a coherent framework, with measurable targets, financing, and strong institutional support.

It’s a political, social, and ecological urgency—and a tremendous opportunity to rebuild more inclusive cities. Now is the time to enshrine the right to housing in the global agenda and make it a pillar of the post-2030 development framework.

The future of SDGs is still uncertain. No decisions have been made about whether they’ll continue or evolve. But the UN is changing, and global development governance may be reformed. In this shifting context, some may say a housing SDG is premature.

But transitions are when structural ideas must emerge. Housing is fundamental and must be central to any new agenda. Even if future goals differ from today’s, the content—rights, policies, financing—remains essential. This is not just a call for a new institutional framework, but for a strong political vision.

Cities—more visible than ever on the global stage—have a key role. As the level of government closest to people's daily lives, they are uniquely positioned to understand housing needs, implement inclusive solutions, and innovate in response to crises. Their growing presence on the international stage—through forums, coalitions, and city diplomacy—gives them the legitimacy to influence global agendas. By leveraging their networks and practical experience, cities can be powerful advocates for a dedicated Housing SDG that reflects their frontline commitment to ensuring adequate, affordable, and dignified housing for all.

Housing professionals, researchers, civil society organizations, and local governments all have critical voices that must be heard in shaping the future of housing policy and global development.

To make housing a global goal is to affirm that every human being deserves a safe, dignified, and affordable home. It is an ethical and civilizational choice. A political, social, and ecological emergency.

[1] UN-Habitat, World Cities Report 2022; OHCHR, The Human Right to Adequate Housing

[2] Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25.1

[3] International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 11.1

[4] Indicator 11.1.1: Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing

[5] Vancouver Declaration: https://www.un.org/en/conferences/habitat/vancouver1976

[6] Habitat Agenda (1996): Article 8 and Article 9 9