Financial Innovation (Collection)

1. Housing Crises Go Global: The Boom, the Bust, and Beyond

Global Housing Crisis and the Demand for Shelter Capital

Rapid population growth and urbanization accompanied by a global housing crisis are creating massive shelter poverty in an era of financial chaos and emerging social and political instability. The shelter crises are more visible than ever as rural areas empty and megacities abound with unregulated housing districts circling urban cores.

In many developing world capitals, more than half of the housing stock is informal or squatter settlements without clear property rights or access to capital for housing or home improvements. Slums are the fastest-growing housing stock in the world (25% annually). According to United Nations statistics, ...