Tamara Paseyro: Housing policy must create integration, not isolation

Housing policy should foster integration rather than isolation, Tamara Paseyro, Uruguay's Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning, said during an event held within the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Report informs.

She emphasized that housing is not just about construction but about creating habitats and living environments:

"If I had to highlight the most important lesson we have learned in Uruguay, it is that building housing also means creating a habitat. These are not two separate things, nor does one come before the other. This shows that housing affects communities and the opportunities people have in different ways, doesn't it? On paper, we may help reduce housing shortages, but not in reality. And by doing so, we end up creating segregation, isolation, and fragmentation. That is why in Uruguay we work on three dimensions to achieve this vision: first, the importance of land and its location; second, financing through public–private partnerships; and third, the institutional capacity that comes from state policy. When these three components align, we can provide accessible housing and achieve the kind of housing we aspire to, can't we?"