People come to cities looking for opportunity and better living conditions. Cities come under pressure to house their poorest citizens through social or public housing, but low-to-middle income households often have to depend on market-based mechanisms to access affordable homes. This requires cities to access public confidence and investor confidence through efficient regulatory and governance measures. Cities are increasingly realizing the need for action. In 2016, for example, Habitat III in Quito adopted the New Urban Agenda, requiring states to promote “‘national, subnational and local housing policies that support the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing for all”’ by 2030. It encourages an integrated and inclusive approach to housing that interlinks education, employment, health and basic and social services through collaboration among governments, civil society organizations, major interest groups and the private sector, nationally, internationally and regionally.

As implied by the final point in the above list, affordability is not only about the cost of buying a home – it needs to account for operation and maintenance costs. Accessibility of work and social infrastructure also matter. UN-HABITAT defines affordable housing as “housing which is adequate in quality and location and does not cost so much that it prohibits its occupants from meeting other basic living costs or threatens their enjoyment of basic human rights” (UNHABITAT, 2011), the concept of financial affordability.