• Theme: Social Production of Habitat
• HIC Networking
• Activities and events
• News from HIC members, regions and committees
• Contact

More than one-fifth of the world population lives in very precarious conditions or is entirely homeless. The global number of slum dwellers is projected to increase by five times the one million targeted in the period of the Millennium Development Goals. Families across the planet, especially in poorer countries, are forced to use their own assets to self-produce their settlements, homes and infrastructure, with no support and despite myriad economic and institutional obstacles.

Social production of habitat is a way of life. Social groups are gaining voice in various parts of the world, driving innovative and self-managed experiences capable of addressing the complex challenge of satisfying their needs and the integrated management of their productive, cultural, and community-living processes. The converging point of these processes is the organized struggle for land, housing, and basic services. Their most visible results: homes, housing complexes, and popular neighborhoods, produced and managed under the direct control of the social organizations and communities living there.

The local practices are testimonies of social effort and responsible citizenship, against marginalisation, social and urban segregation, and dispossession and private appropriation of common goods. On the other hand, public policies in a globalizing world increasingly reduce housing to a mere commodity, and measure human settlements in business terms, leaving millions of impoverished families aside from habitat policies, plans and programs. Most States and governments are unable to contain the resulting housing crisis and to uphold citizens’ human right to adequate housing.

People’s agency to improve habitat does not absolve the State of its obligations to citizens and residents. Governments hold the duty to refrain forced eviction, confiscation and repression of human rights defenders, discrimination, corruption, withholding of services and other violations. International commitments ratify the right to adequate housing and land. Though conscientiously applied only in rare cases, those long-established obligations and instruments of guidance for States and society remain a resource and reference that should be applied to all aspects of development.

Social Production and Management of Habitat (SPMG) and the Human Right to Adequate Housing (HRAH) are, and should be inextricably intertwined. Social movements and community organizations constitute one important source of human rights and HRAH through their priority-setting and implementation. Regardless of whether the SPMH actors are vociferously asserting claims, or quietly justifying their actions based on the moral principle of human necessity (in order to conduct a dignified life), their words and actions have become the very content of the human right to adequate housing and its jurisprudential guidance.

HIC Global Events of 2005 in Cairo, Egypt made focus on the linkages between peoples process and the housing and land rights approach. You can download the presentations and discussion papers.
 

New HIC Board Members:

• Anglophone Africa: Nellie Agingu from PLANACT, South Africa and Salvador Ferreira from Development Workshop, Angola.
• Representatives of Social Movements: Na Hyo-Woo, LOCOA, Philippines and Hanan Masri, NISCVR, Lebanon.

Middle East/North Africa approved as HIC Region:

• Since regions are defined on a membership basis and regional cooperation is the most effective level of campaigning, exchange strategies and advocacy, the Board approved the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Region.
  More information: www.hic-mena.org

Renewal of representatives to HIC Board:

• From November 2005 to December 2006, eight HIC structures will elect their representatives to HIC Board: Asia, Europe, Latin America, Francophone Africa, Middle East/North Africa, HLRN, HSEN and WAS.
• HIC Board proposes guidelines for electoral processes with full respect to the autonomy and specificities of each region and network.

2005 Global Events

• The General Assembly of Cairo, September 2005, adopted strategic lines for action for 2005-2007 and stated solidarity with Iraq, Afghanistan, U.S.A. Paris, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Morocco. (see: www.hic-net.org )
• The Board Meeting addressed HIC global activities and operative decisions, ie:
  • the Working Group on Globalization and Privatization of Habitat (reference person: Michael Kane or Knut Unger)
  • the Task Force Housing and Land Rights in War, Occupation and Armed Conflict (reference person: Joseph Schechla)
  • HIC global activities for 2006 will coincide with WUF 3 of Vancouver, Canada. This is a return to HIC's birthplace and an opportunity to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Coalition.

Housing and Land Rights Day (3 October 2005)

• On World Habitat Day, HIC called to make focus on the Right to the City. More than 50 actions or events have been organized by national and local social movements and housing rights groups on five continents.

Charter for the Right to the City

• HIC calls to focal points and HIC members to analyse the Charter for the Right to the City and translate its' contents to the specificities of their regions, promote participation and give background to the circumstances that cause exclusion in the cities.
• For more information on the contents and debate, contact: Enrique Ortiz or Joseph Schechla.

Highlighted events:

• Global Fundisation and Mass Privatisation of Housing, Towards alternative strategies for the defence of social rights &  interests opposing the globalising housing commerce, 20 and 22 November 2005 in Bochum, Germany. More info: Knut Unger, unger@mvwit.de
• World Social Forum 2006: The Right to the City will be part of the activities WSF, in its three polycentric expressions. (Bamako, Caracas, Karachi)

News from HIC members, regions and committees:

• UPC shares with us a video clip of the activities and efforts in the post-tsunami reconstruction at Banda Aceh.

• The Russian Housing Federation is putting forward a debate on regulations and practices for the maintenance of apartment houses (high-rise) in the frame of the Russian Housing Law.

• The Asian Coalition for Housing Rights ( www.achr.net ), celebrating Habitat Day in Bangkok, brought 300 stakeholders of the whole region to share experiences of community savings schemes for slum upgrading.

• WAS will design a strategy for internal repair and re-articulation of the network with the HIC strategy and programs. A first step is to breed a map of themes and organizations working on the field of gender and habitat. For more information contact: Maite Martínez, Olga Segovia or Marisol Dalmazzo.
   

Ana Sugranyes, HIC General Secretary: general.secretary@hic-net.org

Marie Bailloux, Membership Management: marie@hic-net.org

Andrea Carrión, Communications Coordinator: andrea@hic-net.org