January 2012

To encourage a new generation of urban policy makers and promote early career research, USAID’s Urban Programs Team, International Housing Coalition (IHC), World Bank, Woodrow Wilson Center’s Comparative Urban Studies Project (CUSP), and Cities Alliance are co-sponsoring a third annual paper competition. The competition seeks paper submissions for an upcoming policy workshop and paper competition on urban poverty in the developing world. Winning papers will be published and selected authors will present their papers in a policy workshop to be held in Washington, D.C. in October 2012. The grand prize winner will also present at the World Urban Forum in September, 2012 in Naples, Italy. The full call for papers is available here

January 2012

The IHC 2011 Annual Report is now available online. The report details the work of the IHC for fiscal year 2011, running from October 2010 through September 2011. The IHC went through many organizational changes, including the hiring of a new CEO, Research and Policy Associate and bringing on our first intern. We successfully published and distributed four new research papers, on a wide variety of subjects, and actively participated in policy formation and advocacy. We look forward to a successful 2012! A full version or the 2011 Annual Report is available here.

November 2011

On November 1, the IHC, in partnership with USAID, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Cities Alliance hosted a workshop for the winners of the Second Annual Graduate Student Essay Competition.  Over 70 students submitted paper abstracts to the competition which focused on reducing urban poverty in three areas: land and tenure, health, and livelihoods. The papers of six finalists were printed in a book, Reducing Urban Poverty,  published by the Woodrow Wilson Center.

The competition’s three winners, Lesli Hoey, Fatima Wajahat, and Daniel Warshawsky were invited to Washington, DC to participate in the recent workshop.  These students received feedback on their papers from subject matter experts including Anthony Kolb of USAID, Billy Cobbett of Cities Alliance, and Christopher Williams of UN-HABITAT.

Electronic copies of the three winning papers, a link to Reducing Urban Poverty publication, are available here and a webcast of the event is available here.

The IHC’s participation in this competition was supported by the Leonard P. Reaume Foundation.

When: Friday, October 7th  9:00 am – 11:00 am
Where: 5th Floor Conference Room, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC USA

In the United States today, there are people living in informal settlements without lacking access to basic shelter, electricity, water and sanitation.  For example, in Texas alone, more than 400,000 people live in these conditions.  In recognition of World Habitat Day, please join us for a discussion on informal housing settlements in the United States and abroad, and the lessons we can learn from international shelter efforts across the globe.

The program will include:

Opening Remarks, Chris Wiliams, Washington Representative, UN-HABITAT

Keynote Address, Mercedes Marquez, Assistant Secretary, Community Planning and Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development  (invited)

Followed by a Panel Discussing Featuring:

• Moises Loza, Executive Director, Housing Assistance Council
• Julian Baskin, Senior Urban Specialist, Cities Alliance
• Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, Visiting Scholar, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University

Moderated by: Chris Herbert, Director of Research, Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University

Light breakfast will be available.  Please RSVP to cusp@wilsoncenter.org with your name and affiliation. Note: picture ID is required to pass through security.

This event is being co-sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Center, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Housing Assistance Council, and the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

September 2011

Representative Howard Berman (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, recently introduced a draft Global Partnerships Act of 2011, a proposal to reform and modernize foreign aid.

The IHC is pleased to see that Title I of the proposal includes “improving access to safe water, sanitation, and shelter” as one of the eight goals for development assistance.  We are particularly pleased to see the inclusion of Sections 1602-1604, which would require the creation of a global strategy on water, sanitation, and shelter and would authorize the use of funds for assistance to water, sanitation and shelter projects.

We are grateful to Representative Berman for including these important issues in this draft.  The IHC has emphasized the importance of shelter, water, and sanitation with Representative Berman and his staff throughout the creation of this draft proposal and has strongly advocated for the inclusion of these issues as part of foreign assistance reform.  We look forward to continuing to work in a bipartisan way with Congress and the development community on foreign aid reform.

The full text, an executive summary, and a section-by-section analysis of Rep. Berman’s proposal are available here.

September 2011

Gender equality in property rights is a critical human rights issue and a key driver of overall economic development.  Women have less access to shelter, income, water, food, education, and healthcare when compared to men, leading to what is often called the “feminization of poverty.” While women are increasingly heads of households, today women and girls make up 70 percent of the estimated 1.2 billion people living in absolute poverty, defined as living on less than $1 a day. In addition, women hold only an estimated 1-2 percent of all titled land in the developing world.

This new paper prepared by the International Housing Coalition and the Urban Institute and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation looks at the nexus of three issues in a specifically urban context: (1) The rights of women to participate in property use and ownership with full legal and societal protection; (2) the importance to economic development of property rights in urban areas; and (3) the role of women in economic development. Arguing that improving the property rights of women is not only a matter of human rights and equality but a fundamental principle that underlies economic development for all people, the paper offers recommendations for more effective development programming and implementation through the integration of these issues in urban areas and especially slums.  The full paper is available here.

August 2011

Global climate change will have enormous impacts on urban areas in the developing world.  Within cities, the poor are typically the most vulnerable. This paper explores some of the emerging issues that cities in the developing world confront as they begin to develop plans and strategies to adapt to the effects of global climate change.

In the coming years, cities must substantially improve their capacity in precisely the areas that have historically caused the creation of informal settlements. These complicated local and national level issues will impose large costs on many cities and while the bulk of these resources will need to come from private sources, international donors have an important role to play in supporting the science and the development of effective practices and methodologies for countries to employ in policy and program formulation. Full Paper Available Here

August 2011

As of September 1, 2011 the IHC will be located within the DC office of Habitat for Humanity International, one of our founding sponsors who has generously donated the space. Phone numbers and emails will remain the same. The new address is:

International Housing Coalition
1424 K St NW, Suite 600
Washington DC, 20005

The IHC will be co-sponsoring a panel discussion with Habitat for Humanity International at this year’s InterAction Forum on August 12th. Titled “Addressing the Future Bottom Billion,” the panel will feature Jessica Rosen from USAID’s Urban Program, Mario Flores, from Habitat For Humanity’s disaster response division, and Kirti Devi of TCG International. All three will speak about the importance of cross-sector programming and planning when addressing poverty in urban areas. For more information about the panel or the Forum, visit InterAction’s website here.

WHERE: InterAction Forum
Walter E. Washington Convention Center Room 151A
Washington D.C.
WHEN: Friday August 12, 2011 11:30am – 1:00pm

**Please note you must be registered for the Forum to attend the event**

June 2011

The IHC has announced major leadership changes, effective July 1, 2011. At its May meeting, the board approved the appointment of Susan Corts Hill as the new President and CEO while electing Bob Dubinsky as IHC board chairman following his retirement as President and CEO in July. Dubinsky replaces Peter Kimm who retired as IHC board chairman in April.

Ms. Hill has extensive expertise in the field of housing and urban development, public policy analysis and development, advocacy, research and non-profit management. Prior to joining the IHC, Ms. Hill worked as the director of public policy for Habitat for Humanity International and a special assistant to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary’s Chief of Staff. Most recently she was in private practice with the law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge.

“I am grateful to be following such a competent and successful CEO and Board Chairman,” said Ms. Hill in a statement. “I am excited to be joining the IHC, and look forward to developing new and innovative ways increase visibility of urban poverty issues worldwide.”

How to Contact IHC Staff and board chairman

• Susan Corts Hill: 202-408-8506 or Hill@Intlhc.org
• Bob Dubinsky: 202-244-6312 or Dubinsky@Intlhc.org
• Anjali Bean: 202-408-8507 or Bean@Intlhc.org

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