interaksyon.com. Benjamin de la Peña is the director for community and national initiatives at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. He has a masters degree in urban planning from Harvard University and he has worked around the world on urban development issues.

Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, also known as the Lina Law, is controversial for decriminalizing squatting. (For detractors, please note that Marcos’ anti-squatting law didn’t really produce any results.) But 7279 also sets out our most comprehensive policy on housing and urban development. It created the funding mechanisms for our community mortgage program. It also required national and local agencies to cooperate on housing and urban development.
RA 7279 mentions “mortgage” twelve times. It mentions “rental” just once. The last line on Sec. 12 says: “Consistent with this provision, a scheme for public rental housing may be adopted.” (This section was amended in 2007 by RA 9397 but the amendments didn’t add anything to the discussion of rental housing.)
That’s it. As far as I know, we haven’t issued any law or scheme for public rental housing.

The law that governs rental housing is RA 9653, the Rent Control Law. This law does nothing to expand the rental housing market. In fact, it probably limits the growth of quality rental housing for the low and middle-income households. It also discourages landlords from upgrading their housing stock. (That’s for another article.)

Read more: http://www.interaksyon.com/benjamin-de-la-pena

reeep.org. April 4, 2014. REEEP and SANEDI (South African National Energy Development Institute) hosted an exciting workshop in Johannesburg recently covering the status of Energy Efficiency (EE) in the South African housing sector. Participants discussed key challenges and needs, drawing on their experiences in contribution and discussing possible pathways for stimulating forward movement of EE for housing.

REEEP and SANEDI (South African National Energy Development Institute) hosted an exciting workshop in Johannesburg recently covering the status of Energy Efficiency (EE) in the South African housing sector. Participants discussed key challenges and needs, drawing on their experiences in contribution and discussing possible pathways for stimulating forward movement of EE for housing.

Over fifty delegates gathered from key international and local hubs, including government representatives, scientists and researchers, financiers and foundation leaders, international organizations and the private sector, among others. With the international spotlight shining on an energy efficient future for South Africa, key entities such as the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation, German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Green Building Council contributed expertise along with private organizations regards achieving EE Housing aims and goals. The group represented the core Champions for Energy Efficiency in South Africa.

Read more: http://www.reeep.org/news/

An interview with Susan Parnell, Executive Member of the African Centre for Cities and Co-Editor of ‘Africa’s Urban Revolution’, published by Zed Books. Sue discusses informal settlements, the effects of global environmental change & the true economic potential of Africa’s cities.

The Open Urban Studies Journal is an Open Access online journal which publishes original research articles, reviews, letters and guest edited single topic issues in the field of urban and regional studies. Topics covered include the: theory, methods, planning, development, analysis, design, policies and programs applied to urban studies.

The Open Urban Studies Journal, a peer reviewed journal, is an important and reliable source of current information on developments in the field. The emphasis will be on publishing quality articles rapidly and freely available worldwide.

Read more: http://www.benthamscience.com/open/tousj/openaccess2.htm

BENTHAM OPEN publish over 230 plus peer-reviewed open access journals. These free-to-view online journals cover all major disciplines of science, technology, medicine and social sciences:

http://www.benthamscience.com/open/index.htm

“Prototype 1.2″, the first house built using the ideas developed by the collaboration. Image Courtesy of ETH Zurich

archdaily.com. March 20, 2014. Despite 20 years of government promises to improve the quality of housing following the end of apartheid, for many in South Africa‘s townships there has been little noticeable change. This is not to say that the South African government has not been working to meet these goals; however, the scale of the problem is so large, and with population growth and migration, the challenge is only getting greater.

That’s why Urban Think Tank, in collaboration with ETH Zurich and South African NGO Ikhayalami, have worked together on a design for a more immediate, incremental solution called “Empower Shack.”

Read more: http://www.archdaily.com/487675/urban-think-tank-takes-on-housing-in-south-africa-s-townships/

Today, the world is at a conjuncture where issues of exclusion and inclusion are assuming new significance for both developed and developing countries. The imperative for social inclusion has blurred the distinction between these two stylized poles of development. Countries that used to be referred to as developed are grappling with issues of exclusion and inclusion perhaps more intensely today than they did a decade ago. And countries previously called developing are grappling with both old issues and new forms of exclusion thrown up by growth. Nonlinear demographic transitions, global economic volatility, shifts in the international balance of power, and local political movements have had a large part to play in these shifting sands. These changes make social inclusion more urgent than it was even a decade ago. This report tries to put boundaries around the abstraction that is “social inclusion.” Placing the discussion of social inclusion within such global transitions and transformations, the report argues that social inclusion is an evolving agenda. It offers two easy-to-use definitions and a framework to assist practitioners in asking, outlining, and developing some of the right questions that can help advance the agenda of inclusion in different contexts.

This report builds on previous analytical work, especially by the World Bank, on themes that touch upon social inclusion, including multidimensional poverty, inequality, equity, social cohesion, and empowerment. There are seven main messages in this report: (1) excluded groups exist in all countries; (2) excluded groups are consistently denied opportunities; (3) intense global transitions are leading to social transformations that create new opportunities for inclusion as well as exacerbating existing forms of exclusion; (4) people take part in society through markets, services, and spaces; (5) social and economic transformations affect the attitudes and perceptions of people. As people act on the basis of how they feel, it is important to pay attention to their attitudes and perceptions; (6) exclusion is not immutable. Abundant evidence demonstrates that social inclusion can be planned and achieved; and (7) moving ahead will require a broader and deeper knowledge of exclusion and its impacts as well as taking concerted action. The report is divided into three parts. Part one is framing the issues. Part two focuses on transitions, transformations, and perceptions. Part three is change is possible.

Full text: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/