Confronting the Urban Housing Crisis in the Global South

Well-located, secure and affordable housing is lacking in many cities and is only projected to get worse – it is estimated that 1.6 billion people will lack adequate housing by 2025. Addressing the affordable housing gap should be a priority for cities, as it offers the trifold benefits of improved economic productivity, environmental sustainability and equity.

By identifying key challenges to providing adequate, secure, and affordable housing in the global South, this report details recommended approaches to combat the urban housing crisis:

1. Participatory upgrading of informal settlements
2. Encouraging rental use
3. Converting underutilized land and buildings into affordable housing

This report was produced by WRI and provides executive summaries in Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish.