Affordable Housing - Paper
I- Context and issues
More than 4 billion people around the world are deprived of access to decent accommodation, including 150 million in developed countries.
In India alone 500 million people want and need better housing, 400 million of these are rural dwellers and 100 million live in the slums of India. There is an urgent need for all stakeholders to work towards creating solutions which can improve the living standards of a this large percentage of the population both in rural and urban settings.
It is important to note that affordable housing cannot just be restricted to mean a low cost shelter but refers to accommodation built using quality materials, connected to water, electricity and sewage networks, and benefitting from access to transport and economic activities. Affordable housing solutions therefore need to be grounded in the socio-economical realities of the locality.
II- Solutions
A] Companies’ strategy
Expertise in affordable housing is focused on 4 key areas:
1. Promoting projects to construct affordable housing, based on profitable economic models and bringing together local partners (NGOs, public authorities, developers, etc.);
2. Taking advantage of Forum companies’ local presence to better understand local needs;
3. Offering ‘responsible’ financing, in partnership with banking institutions, systematically linked to a measurement of social impact, to give projects a wider scope.
4. Create work streams where forum companies can work together to introduce intelligent and relevant building practices and systems to reduce the lifecycle cost of housing.
The aim is to provide bespoke solutions, tailored to local challenges and populations’ needs.
B] Examples of aaffordable housing from Lafarge
Lafarge has national initiatives providing affordable and efficient housing in India, Indonesia, Honduras and France. Our goal, through the Lafarge Affordable Housing Program, is to implement a range of initiatives to provide
More than 4 billion people around the world are deprived of access to decent accommodation, including 150 million in developed countries.
In India alone 500 million people want and need better housing, 400 million of these are rural dwellers and 100 million live in the slums of India. There is an urgent need for all stakeholders to work towards creating solutions which can improve the living standards of a this large percentage of the population both in rural and urban settings.
It is important to note that affordable housing cannot just be restricted to mean a low cost shelter but refers to accommodation built using quality materials, connected to water, electricity and sewage networks, and benefitting from access to transport and economic activities. Affordable housing solutions therefore need to be grounded in the socio-economical realities of the locality.
II- Solutions
A] Companies’ strategy
Expertise in affordable housing is focused on 4 key areas:
1. Promoting projects to construct affordable housing, based on profitable economic models and bringing together local partners (NGOs, public authorities, developers, etc.);
2. Taking advantage of Forum companies’ local presence to better understand local needs;
3. Offering ‘responsible’ financing, in partnership with banking institutions, systematically linked to a measurement of social impact, to give projects a wider scope.
4. Create work streams where forum companies can work together to introduce intelligent and relevant building practices and systems to reduce the lifecycle cost of housing.
The aim is to provide bespoke solutions, tailored to local challenges and populations’ needs.
B] Examples of aaffordable housing from Lafarge
Lafarge has national initiatives providing affordable and efficient housing in India, Indonesia, Honduras and France. Our goal, through the Lafarge Affordable Housing Program, is to implement a range of initiatives to provide