With the new housing strategy, the government has committed to halving "chronic homelessness" by 2028

MUMBAI, Nov 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Canada's move to recognise housing as a fundamental right in its new national housing strategy marks a historic step towards ending homelessness, a senior United Nations official said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the long-awaited housing strategy on Wednesday in response to U.N. criticism of Canada's "persistent housing crisis".

In June 2005, demolition crews destroyed hundreds of homes in an impoverished suburb of Mutare, under ‘Operation Murambatsvina’ (Move the Rubbish), the government of Zimbabwe’s campaign to forcibly clear ‘slums’ across the country. Many of those made homeless joined housing cooperatives to collectively purchase land, on which to rebuild their lives, only to have that land taken by Zanu-PF supporters with backing from government ministers.

In the world's second most populous country, there is an estimated shortage of about 20 million homes in urban areas

CHENNAI, India, Oct 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Sustainable, low-cost homes must become the default option for builders and buyers amid increasing pressure on land and the environment, according to a leading architect in India, which has among the most densely populated cities on the planet.

BHUBANESWAR: Four bills including the much-awaited Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Bill, 2017 were passed in the Assembly on Wednesday.Introducing the Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Bill, 2017 in the Assembly, Housing and Urban Development Minister Niranjan Pujari said it is a historical decision of the State Government to provide land and housing units to the urban poor living in different slums. The Bill will provide land to slum dwellers residing in Municipalities and Notified Area Councils (NACs) of the State.

MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Female farmers urged the Indian government on Wednesday to protect their land rights and keep them safe from abuse as women increasingly run farms abandoned by men for jobs in the city.

Women own just 13 percent of land in India although they do two-thirds of all farm work, with ownership largely passing from fathers to sons.

Last month, the South African Independent Electoral Commission announced in frustration that it needs USD 22.9 million to collect addresses ahead of a court-mandated deadline, a problem compounded by the fact that most townships don’t have well-marked street names.

Residents of low cost housing can design their communities better than an architect, says legendary planner and designer Balkrishna Doshi

LONDON, Aug 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Balkrishna Doshi began his illustrious career as India was born, and many of the architect's most influential projects in the intervening 70 years have involved building almost nothing.

Investment in urban infrastructure such as new roads, public utilities or parks invariably increases real-estate prices. In Pakistan, stories of riches earned overnight due to new highways passing through agricultural lands are common.

NEW DELHI, Aug 21 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Upgrading slums and giving tenancy rights to residents is key to climate change adaptation and disaster mitigation in India's cities, an analyst said, as the country braces for extreme weather events of greater frequency and intensity.

With 1.3 billion people and densely populated cities, India is particularly vulnerable to damage wrought by drought, cyclones, floods and extreme heat.

“Us guys, we bust our butts. It’s dangerous work doing what we do, but I love it out here. There’s nothing like it.” So stated Tony Gale, a veteran logger from rural New York, in an interview with Huffington Post. The digital media company recently published a comprehensive piece on the intersection between suburban development and rural communities, and Gale is representative of many in America’s rural workforce who are challenged by the changing dynamics brought about by urban sprawl.

The President of Ghana Institutions of Surveyors (GhIS), Mr. Edwin Addo-Tawiah has said, it is time surveyors take strategic decisions for the development of the country, considering the United Nations Development Goal (UNDG) which has been estimated that, 60% of Africans would be living in the urban areas by 2020.

According to him, there is therefore, the need for land professionals to equip themselves in terms of decision making in developmental projects.