By Akanimo Sampson
Habitat for Humanity, a global nonprofit housing organisation, says through its Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, it is facilitating more efficient and inclusive housing market systems making affordable housing possible for millions more families.
The housing group formally launched the Terwilliger Center at the historic Habitat III, which took place in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016. Terwilliger is one of Habitat’s key commitments toward the implementation of the United Nation’s member states’ New Urban Agenda.
The centre consolidates more than a decade of experience in developing market-based solutions for housing and the body of work resulting from these early efforts, formerly referred to as the Center for Innovation in Shelter and Finance.
Through the Terwilliger, Habitat was accelerating and facilitating better functioning inclusive housing markets to enable more than eight million people access to improved shelter solutions by 2020.
The group has always maintained that most of the world’s people acquire shelter incrementally building homes step by step as their families grow and as their limited finances allow.
According to the group, the great majority of families in countries where it is working have no access to formal-sector housing options, such as traditional mortgage products or developer-built housing.
‘’Housing microfinance helps fill that enormous gap by empowering people to build better, more durable homes through a combination of capital and housing support services’’, Habitat for Humanity says on its website.
Through the Terwilliger Center, Habitat for Humanity points out that it has been able to work within housing market systems to support local firms and expand innovative and client-responsive services, products and financing so that households can improve their shelter more effectively and efficiently.
Housing market system
In addition to buyers, sellers and support services, a housing market system also includes political, legal, cultural and economic environments that structure the system, making it possible for market actors to exchange goods and services. A housing market system includes the “who” and the “how” of homebuilding:
Who makes housing available and influences the process.
How a family obtains housing products and services, such as financing, construction materials, solar panels, sanitation and technical advice.
Families partner with Habitat to build strength, stability and independence through safe, sustainable and affordable shelter. Yet, with more than 1.6 billion people across the globe still lacking adequate and decent shelter, local markets prove critical in addressing this challenge.
Indeed, most low-income people already use available market options to put a roof — no matter how modest — over their heads, then build, repair and improve these structures incrementally. We strive to make markets work more effectively for people in need of decent, affordable shelter.
To that end, Habitat established the Terwilliger Center to work with housing market systems by supporting local firms and expanding innovative and client-responsive services, products and financing so that households can improve their shelter more effectively and efficiently.
The Terwilliger Center’s approach stays true to Habitat’s original principles of self-reliance and sustainability by focusing on improving systems that enable families to achieve affordable shelter without needing ongoing direct support.
