Housing

Provide the poor wanderer with shelter

Affordable & Sustainable Housing

The Challenge

The world is experiencing a global housing crisis.  Worldwide, some 827.6 million people live in urban slums.  By 2020, it is estimated the world slum population will reach almost 1 billion. About 50 percent of the world’s population now lives in urban areas and this number is set to increase in the next 30 years.  In the United States, 48.5 million people are living in poverty. Minimum wage is not keeping up with the rising cost of living and many workers struggle to afford decent housing.

Decent, stable housing provides more than just shelter, it provides:

  • Stability for families and children.
  • Sense of dignity and pride.
  • Health, physical safety and security.
  • Increase of educational and job prospects.

Housing must become a priority

  • The percentage of people without access to decent, stable housing is rising.
  • Increasing the housing supply across the globe is essential.
  • Adequate housing is vitally important to the health of the world’s economies, communities and populations.
  • If we are to succeed in the fight against poverty, we must support the expansion of housing inventory both as policy and as practice.

The Strategy

In order to achieve a stable and sustainable housing initiative a comprehensive approach is needed that is not limited to environmental reform but also include social, economic, cultural, and institutional sustainability dimensions.

BMA adopts the approach that in order to cause an impactful dent to the global housing crisis a sustainable housing initiative would need to be connected to settlement planning strategies including specific urban forms such as compact city and mixed land use, infrastructure networks, employment possibilities and social services, and disaster risk reduction strategies.

BMA intends to work in countries where the need is the greatest and where BMA can make the biggest impact by funding organizations that provide the poor with affordable green housing, and, that usher opportunities for quality, dignified, and healthy living.

BMA seeks to support and fund Green and Affordable Housing Development Projects that adopt green building practices and that enhance the overall quality of life, physical health, economic mobility, and environmental footprint of low-income families and their communities.

As a foundation our funding mandate seeks to support and fund Community Development Projects that promote and advances green building strategies, best practice technologies, and that significantly reduce the impact on water quality, air pollution, global warming, and the depletion of natural resources.

BMA will seek to develop as well as Fund, Finance or Partner in Community Development, Construction, and Management projects that are based on achievable time frames, encompass immediate housing urgencies, and yield long-term sustainable green community solutions.

BMA will seek to develop as well as Fund, Finance or Partner in Community Development, Construction, and Management projects that are based on achievable time frames, encompass immediate housing urgencies, and yield long-term sustainable green community solutions.