Housing governance to support housing affordability: Focusing on challenges in the South-Eastern Europe

23-24 February 2020 – Deputy Secretary General for Transport and Urban Development Ayşe Asya represented the UfM in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) regional workshop organized by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning of Slovenia, in cooperation with UNECE, and with the support of the UfM, Housing Europe and UN-Habitat.

Deputy Secretary General Asya showcased, in her address, the draft “UfM Housing Action Plan for affordable and sustainable housing, as a vector for inclusive, integrated and sustainable urban development and regeneration”, which was developed under the draft “UfM Strategic Urban Development Action Plan 2040 for sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities and communities in the Mediterranean”.

The UNECE regional workshop facilitated exchanges on good practices in the UNECE region in promoting access to decent, adequate, affordable and healthy housing, as part of COVID-19 recovery plans. The event also paved the way for the UNECE Ministerial Meeting on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management on “Affordable, adequate, and resilient housing in liveable cities, including cities which face extreme weather conditions”, scheduled to be held in Geneva, on 6-7 October 2021. The UNECE Ministerial is expected to launch a report of the study “#Housing2030:  Improving Housing Affordability in the UNECE Region”, and to endorse a regional action plan for the UNECE region titled “#Housing 2030: promoting sustainable housing as part of the recovery and rebuilding plans after the COVID-19 pandemic”.