REPORT OF
HABITAT:
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Vancouver, 31 May - 11 June 1976
Part One
Decisions of the Conference
Chapter I - Declaration of Principles
...the nations of the world expressed their concern over the extremely serious condition of human settlements, particularly that which prevails in developing countries,
Recognizing that international co-operation, based on the principles of the United Nations Charter, has to be developed and strengthened in order to provide solutions for world problems and to create an international community based on equity, justice and solidarity,
Recalling the decisions of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, as well as the recommendations of the World Population Conference, the United Nations World Food Conference, the Second General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organizations, the World Conference of the International Women's Year; the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the sixth special session of the General Assembly of the United Nations and the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States that establish the basis of the New International Economic Order,
Inequitable economic growth, reflected in the wide disparities in wealth which now exist between countries and between human beings and which condemn millions of people to a life of poverty, without satisfying the basis requirements for food, education, health services, shelter, environmental hygiene, water and energy;
Social, economic, ecological and environmental deterioration which are exemplified at the national and international levels by inequalities in living conditions, social segregation, racial discrimination, acute unemployment, illiteracy, disease and poverty, the breakdown of social relationships and traditional cultural values and the increasing degradation of life-supporting resources of air, water and land;
World population growth trends which indicate that numbers of mankind in the next 25 years would double, thereby more than doubling the need for food, shelter and all other requirements for life and human dignity which are at the present inadequately met;
Uncontrolled urbanization and consequent conditions of overcrowding, pollution, deterioration and psychological tensions in metropolitan regions;
Involuntary migration, politically, racially, and economically motivated, relocation and expulsion of people from their national homeland;
Recognizing also that the establishment of a just and equitable world economic order through necessary changes in the areas of international trade, monetary systems, industrialization, transfer of resources, transfer of technology, and the consumption of world resources, is essential for socio-economic development and improvement of human settlement, particularly in developing countries,
...the New International Economic Order, became imperative:
I. OPPORTUNITIES AND SOLUTIONS
aimed at mobilization of economic resources, institutional changes and international solidarity by:
Strengthening bonds of international co-operation both regionally and globally;
Creating economic opportunities conducive to full employment where, under healthy, safe, conditions, women and men will be fairly compensated for their labour in monetary, health and other personal benefits.
The goals of settlement policies are inseparable from the goals of every sector of social and economic life.
II. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1. ....facilitate the rapid and continuous improvement in the quality of life of all people, beginning with the satisfaction of the basic needs of food, shelter, clean water, employment, health, education, training, social security without any discrimination as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, ideology, national or social origin or other cause, in a frame of freedom, dignity and social justice.
7. Every State has the sovereign and inalienable rights to choose its economic system, as well as its political, social and cultural system, in accordance with the will of its people, without interference, coercion or external threat of any kind.
8. Every State has the right to exercise full and permanent sovereignty over its wealth, natural resources and economic activities, adopting the necessary measures for the planning and management of its resources, providing for the protection, preservation and enhancement of the environment.
10. Land is one of the fundamental elements in human settlements.
11. The nations must avoid the pollution of the biosphere and the oceans and should join in the effort to end irrational exploitation of all environmental resources, whether non-renewable or renewable in the long term. The environment is the common heritage of mankind and its protection is the responsibility of the whole international community. All acts by nations and people should therefore be inspired by a deep respect for the protection of the environmental resources upon which life itself depends.
12....All countries should make a firm commitment to promote general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control, in particular in the filed of nuclear disarmament.....
III. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION
3. A human settlement policy must seek harmonious integration or co-ordination of a wide variety of components, including, for example, population growth and distribution, employment, shelter, land use, infrastrtucture and services. Governments must create mechanisms and institutions to develop and implement such a policy.
5. The demographic, natural and economic characteristics of many countries, require polices on growth and distribution of population, land tenure and localization of productive activities to ensure orderly processes of urbanization and arrange for rational occupation of rural space.
8. Adequate shelter and services are a basic human right....through the creation of better balanced communities, which blend different social groups, occupation, housing and amenities.
13. Land is an essential element in development of both urban and rural settlements....
17. A human settlement is more than a grouping of people, shelter and work places. Diversity in the characteristics of human settlements reflecting cultural and aesthetic values must be respected and encouraged and areas of historical, religious or archaelocial importance....
22. Guided by the foregoing principles........
A national settlement policy (v) Be devised to facilitate population redistribution to
accord with the availability of resources;
Human settlements and development (a) There are fundamental relationships among the distribution of population, environment, economic activities, and the pattern of human settlements.
(ii) Be formulated at the highest political level, in
cooperation and coordination with regional
and local levels as appropriate;
(iv) Be considered in all efforts to implement the
New International Economic Order - NIEO
New equitable distribution (b) HUMAN SETTLEMENTS POLICIES SHOULD AIM TO IMPROVE THE CONDITION OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PARTICULARLY BY PROMOTING A MORE EQUITABLE DIS-TRIBUTION OF THE BENEFITS OF DEVELOPMENT AMONG REGIONS; AND BY MAKING SUCH BENEFITS AND PUBLIC SERVICES
EQUALLY ACCESSIBLE TO ALL GROUPS.
(ii) The allocation of direct subsidies and priority
of investment, to selected disadvantaged regions
and groups;
Allocationofresources (b)THE IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE
IN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS MUST RECEIVE
HIGHER PRIORITY IN THE ALLOCATION OF CONVENTIONAL RESOURCES, WHICH OUGHT TO BE CAREFULLY DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF HUMANSETTLEMENTS;
Constant review (c)(i) A permanent national body reviewing human
settlement problems and issues;
(iii) A periodic report by the Head of State or
Government on the achievements and failures of the past period, and goals for the Future
(iv) Independent monitoring and evaluation
components in all major human settlement
programmes, projects and institutions.
B. Settlement planning - Preamble
3....it may be convenient to assume that planning is conducted at different scales of geographical coverage: national, regional, local and neighborhood. ...both "above" and "below" and ...
10. ...in the wake of natural emergencies, ...
Settlement planning in
national context
(b) SETTLEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT MUST
OCCUR WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PLANNING
PROCESS AT THE NATIONAL, REGIONAL
AND LOCAL LEVELS.
Indigenous planning
models (b) SETTLEMENT PLANNING SHOULD
REFLECT NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND
LOCAL PRIORITIES AND USE MODELS
BASED ON INDIGENOUS VALUES.
Availability of resources (b) SETTLEMENT PLANNING SHOULD BE BASED ON REALISTIC ASSESSMENT, AND MANAGEMENT, OF THE RESOURCES ACTUALLY AND POTENTIALLY AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT.
(iii) Definition of a coherent set of relationships between settlements or groups over the territory.
Regional planning for
rural areas (a) Regional planning is an essential tool foreconciling and co-ordination the objectives of urban and rural development. A major planning problem in predominantly rural areas is the
economical provision of employment
opportunities, adequate services, and
infrastructure to widely dispersed popula
tions.
(ii) Designation of towns of appropriate size as social, economic and cultural centres for their rural hinterland.
(v) Schemes for village amalgamation and programmes of shared services and facilities which cannot be provided to dispersed populations;
(vi) The need to save land from excessive exploitation of national and regional resources;
Regional planning for
metropolitan areas (iii) Co-ordinated provision of food, water and energy supplies, transportation, disposal of solid and fluid waste, pollution control measures, education and health delivery systems;
(iv) Protection of regional ecology.
Scope of local planning (iii) Provision of infrastructure networks and systems required to link activities on the basis of economy, safety, conveniences and environmental impact;
(vi) The need to eliminate personal alienation and isolation and social and economic segregation;
Urban expansion (b) URBAN EXPANSION SHOULD BE PLANNED WITHIN A REGIONAL FRAMEWORK, AND CO- ORDINATED WITH URBAN RENEWAL TO ACHIEVE COMPARABLE LIVING CONDITIONS IN OLD AND NEW AREAS.
(i) Securing legislation, legal instruments and regulations;
(ii) Institutions for management of land acquisition and development;
(v) Protection of ecosystems and critical land;
(ix) Integration and improvement of squatter and marginal settlements.
Individual rural
settlements (i) Appropriate location of market places, community centres, potable water supply, health and education facilities and transport services including loading terminals;
(ii) Respect for local customs and traditions as well as to new needs and requirements;
Planning for disasters (v) Providing for a National Disaster fund;
C. Shelter, infrastructures and services
Preamble
4. Social justice depends on the way in which these facilities are distributed among the population and the extent to which they are made accessible.
9. In the fields of education, health, nutrition and other social services, the accent should be on relevance and justice, the latter being inseparable from the former.
10. ...employment-generating activities; activities to satisfy the needs of shelter, infrastructure and services; and activities necessary to encourage the public participation in the solution of these problems.
11. ...Governments should promote the community's cultural heritage, such as building styles in representative zones, open space usage, and historical monuments.
Shelter, infrastructure and
services as tools of development (ii) Redistribution of income to achieve equity and social justice;
Standards for shelter, (b) STANDARDS FOR SHELTER, infrastructure and INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES SHOULD services BE COMPATIBLE WITH LOCAL RESOURCES, BE EVOLUTIONARY, REALISTIC, AND SUFFICIENTLY ADAPTABLE TO LOCAL CULTURE AND CONDITIONS, AND BE ESTABLISHED BY APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT BODIES.
Energy (b) THE EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF ENERGY AND ITS VARIOUS MIXES, SHOULD BE GIVEN SPECIAL CONSIDERATION IN THE CHOICE OF DESIGNS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, ESPECIALLY THE RELATIVE LOCATION OF WORK PLACES AND DWELLINGS.
(i) Reducing energy consumption by changes in land-use planning, building design, living patterns and appropriate transportation systems including emphasis on mass transportation;
(vi) Developing and implementing special small-scale power generating, delivery and use systems more appropriate for water supply, rural electrification, and district heating and cooling, including the utilization of solar and geothermal energy and heat pumps as appropriate.
Long-term cost of shelter,
infrastructure and services (ii) Changes in public lending and subsidy policies to reflect total cost and provide incentives to minimize it;
National construction
industry (ii) Establishing performance standards suited to local requirements and capable of being met by local industry;
Construction by the
informal sector (i) Ensuring security of land tenure for unplanned settlements where appropriate or if necessary providing for relocation and resettlement with opportunity for employment;
(viii) Simplifying and adapting building and licensing codes without sacrificing recognized basic health requirements.
National housing
policies (b) NATIONAL HOUSING POLICIES MUST AIM AT PROVIDING ADEQUATE SHELTER AND SERVICES TO THE LOWER INCOME GROUPS, DISTRIBUTING AVAILABLE RESOURCES ON THE BASIS OF GREATEST NEEDS.
(ii) Low interest loans, loan guarantees and subsidies for housing construction and improvement of the existing housing stock;
(iii) Increased public role in renting, leasing and home improvement schemes;
(iv) Rent subsidies based on family needs and incomes;
(v) Improved availability of housing alternatives, e.g. low cost rentals near job opportunities, core housing, communal housing, mobile homes and so on;
Aided self-help (ii) Simplification of procedures for acquisition of sites, short- and long-term finance, building permits and codes, and zoning;
(iii) Provision of infrastructure, on a partially or totally subsidized basis, in conjunction with shelter being provided by the people for themselves;
(v) Stimulation of co-operatives for housing, infrastructure and services.
Infrastructure policy (a) The unequal distribution of wealth between population groups, within human settlements and between urban and rural settlements is exacerbated by the inequalities in access to goods, services and information.
(i) Enforcement of minimum and maximum standards of infrastructure for all segments of the population;
(vi) The provision of infrastructure in rural areas should be conceived to serve the needs of the rural population, good production processing and distribution.
Water supply and
waste disposal (a) In the less developed countries, nearly two-thirds of the population do not have reasonable access to safe and ample water supply, and even a greater proportion lack the means for hygienic waste disposal.
(b) ...CONSIDERED BY THE FORTHCOMING UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON WATER.
(iv) Plan water supply and the sanitary disposal of waste together in the framework of national resource planning;
(vi) Harmonize and co-ordinate the interests and efforts of local governments and other public bodies concerned through the appropriate planning by the central government;
(vii) Promote the efficient use and reuse of water by recycling, desalination or other means taking into account the environmental impact;
(viii) Take measures to protect water supply sources from pollution.
Waste management and
prevention of pollution (b) IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS THE QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT MUST BE PRESERVED. POLLUTION SHOULD BE PREVENTED BY MINIMIZING THE GENERATION OF WASTES;
(i) Adoption of pollution control measures including incentives and disincentives for location of waste- generating enterprises, and measures to selectively discourage production of materials which add unnecessarily to the waste load;
Transportation and
communication (a) Consideration should be given to the radical reversal of current trends, both in terms of facilities for and modes of transport in order to prevent further deterioration of the situation where large cities are congested with private vehicles which in most countries cater only to a minority while adequate public transport is unavailable to urban and rural residents.
(iii) The active development of a system of public transportation with adequate incentives for its use in preference to individual use of motor vehicles;
(viii) Innovative transportation systems need to be encouraged for reducing energy consumption and conserving resources and avoiding pollution;
(x) The study of new techniques to avoid the air and environmental pollution caused by the present automobile system.
Social services (iii) Decentralization of the administrative and financial machinery in order to provide a greater measure of management at the community level;
Reorganization of spontaneous
urban settlements (b) GOVERNMENTS SHOULD CONCENTRATE ON THE PROVISION OF SERVICES AND ON THE PHYSICAL AND SPATIAL REORGANIZATION OF SPONTANEOUS SETTLEMENTS IN WAYS THAT ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY INITIATIVE AND LINK "MARGINAL" GROUPS TO THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
Recreation (b) NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS SHOULD CO- ORDINATE AND CO-OPERATE WITH THE EFFORTS OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF LEISURE AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AND PROGRAMMES, FOR THE PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE.
(vi) Providing access to natural landscapes and wilderness areas, while ensuring that such areas retain their qualities unimpaired.
D. Land (Agenda item 10 (d))
Preamble
1. Land, because of its unique nature and the crucial role it plays in human settlements, cannot be treated as an ordinary asset, controlled by individuals and subject to the pressures and inefficiencies of the market. Private land ownership is also a principal instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth and therefore contributes to social injustice; if unchecked, it may become a major obstacle in the planning and implementation of development schemes. Social justice, urban renewal and development, the provision of decent dwellings and healthy conditions for the people can only be achieved if land is used in the interests of society as a whole.
2. ...Public control of land use is therefore indispensable to its protection as an asset and the achievement of the long-term objectives of human settlement policies and strategies.
3. To exercise such control effectively, public authorities require detailed knowledge of the current patterns of use and tenure of land; appropriate legislation defining the boundaries of individual rights and public interest; and suitable instruments for assessing the value of land and transferring to the community, inter alia through taxation, the unearned increment resulting from changes in use, or public investment or decision, or due to the general growth of the community.
Land Resource Management (a) Public ownership or effective control of land in the public interest is the single most important means of improving the capacity of human settlements to absorb changes and movements in population, modifying their internal structure and achieving a more equitable distribution of the benefits of development whilst assuring that environmental impacts are considered.
(b) LAND IS A SCARCE RESOURCE WHOSE MANAGEMENT SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE OR CONTROL IN THE INTEREST OF THE NATION.
(iv) The preservation and improvement of valuable components of the man-made environment, such as historic sites and monuments and other areas of unique and aesthetic social and cultural value;
Control of land use changes (b) CHANGE IN THE USE OF LAND, ESPECIALLY FROM AGRICULTURAL TO URBAN, SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO PUBLIC CONTROL AND REGULATION.
(i) Zoning and land-use planning as a basic instrument of land policy in general and of control of land-use changes in particular.
(ii) Direct intervention, e.g. the creation of land reserves and land banks, purchase, compensated expropriation and/or pre-emption, acquisition of development rights, conditioned leasing of public and communal land, formation of public and mixed development enterprises;
(iii) Legal controls, e.g. compulsory registration, changes in administrative boundaries, development building and local permits, assembly and replotting;
(iv) Fiscal controls, e.g. property taxes, tax penalties and tax incentives;
(v) A planned co-ordination between orderly urban development and the promotion and location of new developments, preserving agricultural land.
Recapturing plus value (b) THE COMMUNITY MUST BE SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATE RECAPTURE BY PUBLIC BODIES (THE COMMUNITY), UNLESS THE SITUATION CALLS FOR OTHER ADDITIONAL MEASURES SUCH AS NEW PATTERNS OF OWNERSHIP, THE GENERAL ACQUISITION OF LAND BY PUBLIC BODIES.
(i) Levying of appropriate taxes, e.g. capital gains taxes, land taxes and betterment charges, and particularly taxes on unused or under-utilized land;
(ii) Periodic and frequent assessment of land values in and around cities, and determination of the rise in such values relative to the general level of prices;
(iii) Instituting development charges or permit fees and specifying the time-limit within which construction must start;
(iv) Adopting pricing and compensation policies relating to value of land prevailing at a specified time, rather than its commercial value at the time of acquisition by public authorities;
(v) Leasing of publicly owned land in such a way that future increment which is not due to the efforts by the new user is kept by the community;
(vi) Assessment of land suitable for agricultural use which is in proximity of cities mainly at agricultural values.
Public ownership (a) Public ownership of land cannot be an end in itself; it is justified in so far as it is exercised in favour of the common good rather than to protect the interests of the already privileged.
(b) PUBLIC OWNERSHIP, TRANSITIONAL OR PERMANENT, SHOULD BE USED, WHEREVER APPROPRIATE, TO SECURE AND CONTROL AREAS OF URBAN EXPANSION AND PROTECTION; AND TO IMPLEMENT URBAN AND RURAL LAND REFORM PROCESSES, AND SUPPLY SERVICED LAND AT PRICE LEVELS WHICH CAN SECURE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT.
(iii) Rational distribution of powers among various levels of government, including communal and local authorities, and an adequate system of financial support for land policy.
Patterns of ownership (a) Many countries are undergoing a process of profound social transformation; a review and restructuring of the entire system of ownership rights is, in the majority of cases, essential to the accomplishment of new national objectives.
(b) PAST PATTERNS OF OWNERSHIP RIGHTS SHOULD BE TRANSFORMED TO MATCH THE CHANGING NEEDS OF SOCIETY AND BE COLLECTIVELY BENEFICIAL.
(i) Redefinition of legal ownership including the rights of women and disadvantaged groups and usage rights for a variety of purposes;
(iv) Transitional arrangements to change ownership from traditional and customary patterns to new systems, especially in connexion with communal lands, whenever such patterns are no longer appropriate;
(v) Methods for the separation of land ownership rights from development rights, the latter to be entrusted to a public authority;
(vii) The land rights of indigenous peoples so that their cultural and historical heritage is preserved.
Increase in usable land (b) THE SUPPLY OF USABLE LAND SHOULD BE MAINTAINED BY ALL APPROPRIATE METHODS INCLUDING SOIL CONSERVATION, CONTROL OF DESERTIFICATION AND SALINATION, PREVENTION OF POLLUTION, AND USE OF LAND CAPABILITY ANALYSIS AND INCREASED BY LONG-TERM PROGRAMMES OF LAND RECLAMATION AND PRESERVATION.
(ii) Control of soil erosion, e.g. through reforestation, flood control, flood plain management, changes in cultivation patterns and methods, and controls on indiscriminate grazing;
Information needs (iv) Introduction of new surveying and mapping technologies suitable to the conditions of the countries concerned;
(v) Consolidation and effective use of existing or innovative legislation and instruments to implement land policies;
(vi) Development and use of methods for assessing economic, social and environmental impacts from proposed projects in a form useful to the public;
(vii) Consideration of land use characteristics including ecological tolerances and optimum utilization of land so as to minimize pollution, conserve energy, and protect and recover resources;
E. Public participation (Agenda item 10 (e) )
Preamble
2. Public participation is the dynamic incorporation of the people in the economic, social and political life of a country which would ensure that the beneficiary is an effective participant in collective decisions with regard to the common good.
8. The basis of public participation is the incorporation of the population into the production, consumption and distribution of goods in a country.
Role of public participation (i) Strengthening the role of the population, men and women, in taking decisions affecting all aspects of the development of human settlements;
Two-way flow (iii) Information and possibly legal aid services to inform the citizen of legal rights and duties in relation to human settlement issues as well as to provide legal assistance;
(iv) Appeal and arbitration bodies to reconcile public interest and individual rights;
Wide involvement (i) Expanding and strengthening the role of community organizations, voluntary groups, workers' organizations, tenants and neighborhood organizations;
(ii) Assisting in the formation of non-governmental organizations devoted especially to human settlement issues and encouraging the existing ones to focus their programmes on such issues;
(iii) Decentralizing planning and public administration institutions and establishing or strengthening locally elected bodies so as to ensure the democratic character of popular participation;
New forms of participation (iii) Encouragement of the formation of farmers' and landless labourers' organizations, in the rural areas, in order to improve their condition;
(iv) Recognition of the changing role of women in society and encouragement of their full participation in development;
(v) Public accountability required of large corporations;
(vi) Public interest research and public interest law;
Mobilizing resources (a) Public participation is a human right, a political duty and an instrument essential for national development, especially under conditions of resource scarcity; unless their participation is encouraged by the appropriate political, economic and social institutions, people cannot identify with the decisions which affect their daily lives.
(iv) Decentralizing planning institutions and implementation machinery and especially management operations to the maximum possible extent, to enable local communities to identify their own needs and fields of action;
APPENDIX
Proposals relating to the annex
Section III
(c) The establishment of the human settlements secretariat proposed in section III should be based on a restructuring and strengthening of the United Nations Centre for Housing, Building and Planning.
(d) The executive Director who would be in charge of such a secretariat should not have the rank of Assistant Secretary-General or Under-Secretary-General.
(e) The United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation should remain under UNEP.
Chapter XI - SUMMARY OF THE GENERAL DEBATE
Starting with #79 -
79. 149 representatives from national delegations, intergovernmental organizations, United Nations specialized agencies and programmes, and NGO's participated.
80. A message from Pope Paul VI was delivered...
82. A predominant of group of countries whose present situation is largely a consequence of periods of foreign domination and exploitation, have entered only recently the rapid process of development and urbanization....inequities in development, weaknesses in naqtional economoic bases, shortage of resources and urgent needs for the iimprovement of basics int he quality of life, such as health conditions, nurition, water supply, basic shelter, housing the homeless and job opportunities.
Inequity of countries--basic needs--food,water, work, health/education--need to be provided
87. The background of stark poverty and human degradation to which the majority of mankind was subjected, in a world of glaring disparities in economic and social opporunity, was constantly emphasized....in preparing strategies for the transformation of human settlements, it was essential that all other basic needs--food, water, work, health and education -- were provided.
89. The fact of the "population explosion" over the past 30 years, and the virual certainty that the world's population will double again over the next 30 years, constitutes anotehr dominant cause for concern.
90. Many speakers also saw the problem in the context of inequitable income distribution within nations.
91. In relation to the unequal distribution of population and of opportunities within countries, it was pointed out that some 60% of the population of the developing nations live in rural areas....Some speakers told of the value of resettling agricultural workers in other areas and giving basic advice on soil conservation and land use....
94. It was emphasized by many speakers that technical problems,not as significant as political ones. The political commitment was the essential first step in creating housing policies....
96. ...human settlement invovled all the elements of a techical infrastrucutre and of all necessary functions and services of the economic and soical system if it was to be effective and successful. In many countries that infrastructure of good communications, water, waste disposal, employment, social opportnities did not exist and wou dl ahve to be created. Thus at the heart of the porblem lay the whole issue fo development and the task of reducing the vast gulf that stills eparates the majority of humanity form the minority. Without this, matters uch as scattered rural poplation, shanty towns, urban pollution and health hazards could not be met.
97. Some speakers called attention tot he characteristic dichotomy which areises in speedily growing urban areas between the shortage of a skilled labour force on one hand and rapidly growing numbers of unskilled and unemployed immigrants to those cities.
Land - Need
98. Another major issue is that of land. A substantial number of speakers favoured public ownership or public control of land or added value taxation so that benefits provided by commuity activities could be reclaimed as portection against land specualtion, which many regarded as a major source of the settlements against land speculation, which may regarded as a major source of the settlements problem. Others favoured national policies that protected the community from excessive speculations while safeguarding private property rights...need to double food production--in developing countries---over the next 30 years.
103. ...It is a remarkable feature of our time that the responsibility of the State to provie, or assist in providing homes for its citizens is now universally recognized.
Nuclear Power -
105. The point was also made by certain representatives of States as well as of NGO's that caution should be exercised about the development of large-scale pwoer systems based on nuclear energy, and doubts were expressed about the safety, practicality, and economic value of nuclear power. Investment in the development of other forms of energy, including wind, solar and water power.
107. Several speakers emphasized the value of regional and subregional organizations in the interchange of knowledge and experiece. One referred to the potentialities in habitat research of the UN University.
Environment
109. The failure in the past to include ecological and environmental factors in planning human settlements has resulted in deterioration of urban conditions in developed and developing countries that represents a clear threat tot eh health and happiness of their inhabitants and to the ecological systems in broad terms.
110. Participation of NOG's such as trade unions and organizations or esidents and tenants in the decision-maknig process should be encouraged. MANY SPEAKER EMPHASIZED THE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THE ROLE AND RIGHTS OF WOMEN, OF CHILDREN AND OF THE ELDERLY IN THE CRATION AND IN THE LIFE OF EVERY HUMAN SETTLEMENT.
111. ...some spoke of the need for a new body that could draw together all the activirties in human settlement affiars...a numbe expressed that settlement matters should remain int he UNEP.
112. in the better exchange of information and knowledge, but many speakers reiterated the point that human settlment issues could only be understood and resolved as a part of an amibitious, comprehenxive and coherent global development strategy....
113. It was pointed out that a particular field for greater international co-operation lay in natural disaster relieve programmes, and especially in pre-disaster planning.
New International Economic Order
119. Many representatives emphasized the important of the New International Economic Order....
Heritage Areas - Conservation, Water, Energy, Food and Health 120. ...IT WAS ALSO FELT ...ENSURE THE RIGHTS OF ALL IMMIGRANTS. POINTED OUT THAT IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO HIGHLIGHT (A) RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE HARMONIZATION OF URBAN/RURAL STRUCTURES; (B) CONSERVATION, WATER, ENERGY, FOOD AND HEALTH; (C) PRESERVATION, ESPECIALLY OF HISTRICAL AREAS, AND REHABILITALTION OF EXISTING HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SETTLEMENTS; (D) EDUCATION AND TRAILNING IN THE HUMAN SETTLEMENT AREAS. |
Disarmamant
"The waste and misuse of resources in war and armaments should be prevents. All counries should make a firm commitment to promote general and complete disarmament under strict and effective internatonal control, in particular in the field of nuclear disarmament.".....