The Seminar “Improving Slum Conditions through Innovative Financing” will show the chain of links needed for a just and sustainable provision of adequate shelter for all. Policy coordination with land, infrastructure, legal, and financial systems, appropriate regulations in respect to land-use, zoning, and building, enforceable property rights and a range of tradable property rights, a sustainable finance system for the housing sector including effective assistance to those unable to look after their own shelter needs, and timely provision of infrastructure.

The seminar is built on exchange of experiences and lessons leared from various parts of the world. Amongst the core issues are various forms of individual and collective rights, womens equal access to land and finance, spatial planning, security in tenure, financial instruments etc.

We are the real world actors in this chain, and we need to act!

Just and sust’ shelter – for all …, Despite decades of dedicated efforts to tackle the slum problem, it is still growing! It can not be solved by a project by project approach. Thirty years of experience is out there to be tapped trough a well-prepared dialogue between actors prone to assume responsibility for their link in the chain, and understand how to connect to the other links. You can see the Programme and the five themes for the Dialogues by navigating on www.justnsustshelter.org. The Dialogues will address the issue of Property Rights and its connection to financial conditions, pro-poor management Practices and tools, Reinventing Planning, how to link the various Financial Sources and how to expand the outreach and Access to Finance.

Access to reliable, transparent and validated information is essential. Such institutional capacity need a clear ownership to be sustainable. It is the ‘institutional’ rather than ‘technical’ obstacles that present the biggest barriers.

The experts in land and real estate markets and the financial markets rarely meet. This gap needs to be bridged, and the mutual understanding enhanced. Sweden is actually one of few exeptions to this rule. In fact, the surveying discipline in Sweden encompasses also valuation and housing finance, and it is often surveyors providing the core expertise in efficient banking, loan products, mortgage, guarantees etc. In fact, the Swedish real estate market is ranked at the top when it comes to functioning. For us the missing link is obvious. This initiative has been taken by the two responsible agencies in Sweden for key public goods in housing markets and housing finance, read more at National Land Surveying Agency and National Housing Credit Guarantee Board.
We aim for a valuable contribution to the next World Urban Forum to be held in China, Nov 2008, where the results from this event will be presented.

We need a dialogue to create our future. How can the need for a just and sust shelter be met? We are all influenced by the global markets, their conditions and their fluctuations. We can contribute by bringing our legal, economic and technical skills together. To a sustainable use of our shared resources of land and water. Fulfiling our own needs without jeopardizing the needs of the future generations.

Welcome to the FIG Working Week in June - ”Integrating Generations”!

For more information on the full programme of technical sessions and proceedings, please visit: www.fig.net/pub/fig2008 and about the Working Week at: www.fig.net/fig2008