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Benefits Overview
Local Benefits
Impact on Slums
Global Benefits
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BENEFITS OVERVIEW
According to an excerpt of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal, prepared and reported by the United Nations task force, in 2002 almost two billion people lived in the urbanized regions of the developing world: by 2030 that number will reach four billion in a global population of about eight billion. The highest number of urban dwellers will live in regions that currently have the lowest GDP per capita (Millennium Project Task Force on Improving the Lives of Slums). Moreover, it is estimated that 78% of the urban population is low-income families living in slums, varying from one continent to the other.
The implications of this are enormous. Most of this population will face problems of poverty, insufficient income and increased vulnerability to environmental health problems, as well as inadequate, insecure or unhealthy housing. These squatter conditions are often characterized by
• the poor quality of the building environment and high-density accommodation;
• inadequate basic services and infrastructure;
• lack of access to affordable housing and secure land; and
• residential segregation and increased violence.
To aid these developing nations, the Global Housing Foundation
facilitates a program that helps fight back against poverty.
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