Integration of Socioeconomic Planning and Local Economic Development in Housing Planning

Currently over half of the world’s population live in urban areas. This number is expected to grow rapidly, and urbanization trends show that 68% of Earth’s inhabitants will live in cities by 2050. Urban areas face various problems, such as urban poverty, housing deficit, lack of access to adequate housing and basic infrastructure, informality, natural risks and climate change.

Most of such challenges can be strongly mitigated with effective housing planning, allowing for a sustainable and balanced local development and unlocking the extraordinary potential of urban areas, such as economic activity, social diversity, innovation, etc. However, frequently, and most specifically in the MENA Region, housing planning and building does not take into consideration socioeconomic factors and specific needs of regions.

This panel aims to spark a discussion on how to integrate housing with socioeconomic development, creating housing infrastructure that effectively contributes to, and builds on, all relevant socioeconomic aspects of the community, facilitating access to affordable and well-designed housing for populations (including, for example, elders, people with disabilities, and low-income groups), and ensuring a community-based approach in the decision-making process for housing planning.