Housing and Urban Management

In line with the overall objectives of Working Table II to promote economic reconstruction, development and co-operation in South Eastern Europe, the Housing and Urban Management Initiative (HUMI) promotes the development of vital housing markets, access to affordable housing options for all segments of society as well as sustainable urban development.

The newly established countries in South Eastern Europe have found that the break-up of the former Yugoslavia and the completely changed socio-economic environment thereafter necessitate new approaches in housing policy, housing finance and urban development. The former social housing stock has been hurriedly privatised with little regard for the housing sector implications in most of the countries in the region, while the former system of financing of social housing through the state-owned enterprises has come to a standstill. The lack of accessible shelter options and rapid urbanisation in South Eastern Europe (e.g. 5% annual urban growth of Tirana between 1990 and 2001), exacerbated by rural-urban migration flows, means that the urban housing market (where most of the shortages and market pressures are) in all countries in the region has tended to move rapidly into the informal sector. As a result, approximately 30 - 40 % of the housing stock in SEE is not appropriately registered and sustainable urban development is hampered by uncontrolled growth of spontaneous settlements.

As highlighted at the “High Level Conference on Housing Reforms in South Eastern Europe” (organised by the World Bank and the Council of Europe in Paris, April 2003) housing and spatial planning policies are vital components of economic growth, social cohesion and poverty reduction.
HUMI encourages regional co-operation among the SEE countries across a number of housing policy areas thereby enhancing the efficient use of technical and financial resources and facilitating the sharing of best practises.

The Housing and Urban Management Initiative supports SEE Governments in their efforts to develop and implement national housing policies and programmes in order to ensure efficient housing markets as well as sustainable urban development. More specifically, its activities comprise promotion of housing finance instruments, development of comprehensive social housing policy, maintenance and management of existing housing stock and more inclusive, strategic urban planning approaches are priority areas

The need to strengthen the technical and administrative capacities of national and local governments in SEE in this area has been highlighted repeatedly. Therefore, HUMI is also facilitating the development of a regional capacity building instrument, which can provide access on a regional basis to research and training, project support and information on best practices.