World Shelter Day, Habitat Day

The human right to housing is enshrined in the constitutions of most countries of the world, the European Social Charter, international covenants and other documents Urban population of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in the 19th century needs comfortable houses and apartments To designate them, the term “habitat” is used (habitabilis in Latin - “fit for life”, “inhabited”) Comfort and convenience should also be at the forefront of the architecture of buildings and urban infrastructure The UN drew attention to the problem of lack of housing among the 150 million people inhabiting our planet at a 1976 conference in Vancouver, Canada 20 years later, Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar said in his speech that the wishes of city residents should be taken into account when organizing a comfortable living environment In order to attract public attention to the realization of the economic and social human right to housing, a holiday was established Every year since 1986, Habitat Day is celebrated on the first Monday in October World Habitat Day calls on local authorities in cities and towns to pay attention to people living below the poverty line Today, the streets of dozens of US cities are lined with tents filled with homeless people Some of them do not even have such shelter and sleep on the ground in the open air Most of the representatives of the “heroin ghettos” of America, located in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Sacramento, California, belong to socially dangerous categories of citizens But this should not deprive them of their basic human right to housing Somalia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan lead the way in terms of the number of homeless people per capita In honor of World Housing Day, round tables, forums and conferences are held that offer solutions to issues related to the lack of a roof over their heads among citizens of these and other countries Opening shelters does not solve this problem Thus, in Finland, Italy and Ireland there is a Housing First program - municipal housing in exchange for participation in socialization: getting rid of bad habits, work and education In these and other countries, entrepreneurs who take on the employment of homeless people are provided with tax breaks and other preferences Every year, World Habitat Day is dedicated to a specific topic: cities of the future, the participation of women in the leadership of settlements, municipal solid waste management, slum dwellers, etc The UN draws attention to the fact that housing for people should be comfortable, and its location should have a developed infrastructure Favelas - Brazilian slums - do not meet these criteria In these areas, the spartan living of the “dwellers of the city bottom”, living in poverty, is accompanied by a high level of crime and unsanitary conditions The UN calls on government authorities, public organizations and commercial structures to unite in resolving the issue of providing shelter to citizens of their countries The laureates of the Habidat World Prize, established in 1985, should come to their aid The award recognizes the best innovative projects aimed at meeting the housing needs of citizens of all ages, gender and social status Addressing the world's poorest people will have a positive impact on both civil society and the environment