Increasing homelessness and World Housing Day
Cyprus International University (CIU) Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture Faculty Member, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Devrim Yücel Besim, within the scope of "World Housing Day", stated that the basic actions of architecture became difficult during the uncertain processes experienced due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Reminding that the epidemic has enabled us to understand the value of 'having a home,' no matter what the conditions, Besim stated that 'planning', 'designing' and 'building' became increasingly difficult during this period, and in addition stated; "While we chose to protect ourselves, our family and our society by staying at home, we also saw that our homes are not ‘simple’ dwellings".
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Besim also reminded that the Covid-19 epidemic seems to have overridden everything across the world, and that according to the 2017 OECD reports, "22 developed countries have still more than 2 million homeless", and with the reality of a world population of 7 billion, we should not forget that this is increasing.
Pointing out that natural disasters and painful consequences of which, have increasingly affected the poor and vulnerable populations in recent years, Besim added that this segment often does not even have clean water and clean air facilities in crowded cities.
‘The right to adequate and healthy housing’
Expressing that in our country, no quantitative problem in housing is prevalent; Besim drew attention to the fact that problems are observed in life quality.
In her statements, Besim stated that together with positive developments in architecture, there is no environmentally friendly constructions, and went on to say, “As a result of uncontrolled construction, there have been visible negativities in our daily life for the last five years. Most of these buildings are multi-storey apartment-type residences.”
Besim stated that during World Housing Day, those who have a role in architectural education have reiterated that making human settlements better is an urgent problem. The UN established World Housing Day in 1985, with the idea of the right to "adequate and healthy" shelter equally for all people.
Finally, while expressing our concerns arising from the problems related to the structural environment developing in our country, Besim said, “Not only do we want shelter for all people of the world; we also wish for them to live in healthy, safe and beautiful homes and environments ”.