A Global Issue Rooted in Wages
The cost of housing has become an unsustainable burden for nearly half the world’s population, according to experts from Mexico’s National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Millions of families allocate more than one-third of their income to rent or mortgage payments, limiting their savings, education opportunities, and social mobility.
- In sub-Saharan Africa, households spend up to 43% of their family income on housing expenses.
- In Latin America, nearly 30% of wages go towards rent or housing loans.
- In Europe and North America, the average is around 21%, though phenomena like gentrification and rising rental costs are on the rise.
Miguel Armando López Leyva, UNAM’s coordinator of Humanities, explains that access to housing has become a structural economic challenge. When housing expenses exceed one-third of income, families enter a zone of economic vulnerability, reducing their savings, increasing debt, and halting long-term projects.
Housing Without Access to the City: 1.12 Billion Live in Informal Settlements
Beyond the cost of a home, experts emphasize that having a roof does not guarantee access to urban life. Over 1.12 billion people worldwide reside in informal settlements or slums, lacking essential services like clean water, sanitation, public spaces, transportation, and legal certainty over their land.
The growth of these areas stems from the rising cost of urban land and the absence of social housing policies. Families, unable to find formal alternatives, resort to building on the city’s periphery or occupying irregular lands. The result is fragmented, distant, and unequal cities.
Informality and Urban Inequality: The New Face of Latin American Cities
Pedro Abramo, an urban planner from Rio de Janeiro’s Federal University, presented that Latin America faces a new era of urban informality. It’s no longer just about improvised homes; it’s about densely populated, vertically built neighborhoods without regulation where backyards become rental rooms and homes expand upwards without planning.
This transformation responds to the demand for affordable housing but also carries risks: lack of secure structures, overburdened services, limited mobility, and growing inequality between those who can afford central housing and those relegated to the periphery.
Housing as Part of a System: More Than Just Building Houses
UNAM experts argue that the housing challenge cannot be solved with isolated constructions. “The city is a system of systems; the economic, environmental, spatial, and social aspects are deeply interconnected,” explains López Leyva. Addressing the problem requires planning housing with transportation, employment, services, mobility, and public spaces—not just providing loans.
The experts stress that housing should be viewed as a right, not merely merchandise. Without comprehensive policies, inequality will continue to grow alongside expanding cities.
Key Questions and Answers
- Q: How many people worldwide struggle with housing affordability? A: Approximately 3 billion people face difficulties accessing or paying for a home.
- Q: What percentage of income do families spend on housing? A: Families allocate between 30% and 40% of their monthly income to rent or mortgage payments in many regions.
- Q: What challenges does excessive housing expenditure pose to families? A: When housing costs exceed one-third of income, families enter a zone of economic vulnerability, reducing savings, increasing debt, and halting long-term projects.
- Q: How many people live in informal settlements without basic services? A: Over 1.12 billion people reside in informal settlements lacking essential services like clean water, sanitation, public spaces, transportation, and legal land certainty.
- Q: What factors contribute to the growth of informal settlements? A: The rising cost of urban land and the absence of social housing policies drive families to build on the city’s periphery or occupy irregular lands.
- Q: What are the risks associated with the vertical growth of informal neighborhoods? A: Risks include lack of secure structures, overburdened services, limited mobility, and growing inequality between central and peripheral residents.
- Q: How should housing be approached to address the global crisis? A: Housing must be viewed as a right and integrated into urban planning that considers transportation, employment, services, mobility, and public spaces.
