Affordable housing as the key to sustainable cities
This year’s United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) focused on a number of issues, including Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11): ‘Sustainable cities and communities’. In view of ongoing urbanisation – already more than half of the world’s population lives in cities – this issue is becoming increasingly important worldwide. Consequently, both the challenges and the opportunities of sustainable development are concentrated in cities, a point highlighted by Switzerland at an event in New York.
A key focus of SDG 11 is ensuring access to safe and affordable housing. While over a billion people worldwide continue to live in informal settlements, housing is also becoming increasingly unaffordable in many wealthy countries. This exacerbates social inequalities and fosters the unsustainable expansion of populated areas.
Against this backdrop, Switzerland organised a joint event with Brazil within the framework of the HLPF, entitled ‘Scaling affordable and sustainable housing in a rapidly urbanising world’. Participants shared their experiences and discussed innovative approaches to providing affordable and sustainable housing in countries with different economic conditions. At this year’s HLPF, both countries also presented their national reports (Voluntary National Reviews, VNRs), which set out the progress made in implementing the 2030 Agenda.
The reports make it clear that the housing sector in both countries faces significant challenges, albeit under different circumstances. In Brazil, the proportion of the urban population living in informal settlements or inadequate housing has fallen from 39 to 31 per cent (2010–22). However, the current rate of progress is insufficient to provide adequate housing for everyone by 2030. In Switzerland, on the other hand, affordable housing is becoming an increasing challenge. Pressure on the housing market is mounting, particularly in urban centres and tourist regions, with low- and middle-income households being particularly affected by rising rents. According to the federal government’s housing indicators, a monthly rent of more than 25 per cent of gross income is considered critical for low-income households.
The discussion made it clear that a sustainable housing policy can only succeed through cooperation between all levels of government. Representatives of national governments and cities discussed how such an initiative can be effectively implemented and which innovative approaches have already been successfully put into practice.
Daniel Dubas, the Federal Council’s representative for the 2030 Agenda, emphasised the central role of cities in implementing the 2030 Agenda: “Cities are key innovation hubs for sustainable energy supply, climate-friendly mobility, the circular economy, climate adaptation and social integration.” This is particularly important given that around three-quarters of the Swiss population live in urban areas. The federal government supports the cantons and communes through a coordinated spatial and transport policy, as well as through the national action plan to tackle the housing shortage, which was launched in 2024. ‘We have also updated the Spatial Strategy for Switzerland this year, thereby strengthening the sustainable development of towns and urban agglomerations.’
According to Lavito Bacarissa, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the SDGs (CNODS) and Secretary-General of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, it is important, on the one hand, to adapt solutions to the respective local circumstances and, on the other hand, to provide targeted support to cities in their implementation.
The city representatives shared these views. “With the ‘Basel Builds the Future’ project, we are implementing very concrete measures that, in collaboration with investors and the local population, tackle the challenges of urban housing policy. Such initiatives are necessary to secure affordable housing in the long term,” explained Conradin Cramer, President of the Cantonal Council of Basel-Stadt. At the same time, Ildo Gusmão, the mayor of Francisco Morato, a city on the outskirts of São Paulo in Brazil, addressed the situation in particularly high-risk areas and explained how his city uses geodata to identify risk areas and implement specific protective measures for at-risk settlements.
A growing number of sub-national authorities are publishing Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, thereby making an important contribution to the achievement of the SDGs at local level. In Switzerland, the cities of Geneva, Bern and Basel, as well as the Canton of Aargau, have drawn up such VLRs.
At the end of the event, there was a consensus that affordable housing is a key prerequisite for inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities. Although the challenges vary from country to country, many solutions are already in place. The key now is to scale up successful models, further strengthen cooperation between the various levels of government, and promote sustainable urban development as a joint responsibility of all levels of government. The mixed delegation in New York, comprising representatives from the federal government and local authorities, has contributed to dialogue and cooperation in this regard.
Links
Contact
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA
Prosperity and Sustainability Division