Some causes and consequences

Housing is a basic need and a human right, and as such it has also been enshrined in Article 11 of the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UN Social Covenant). At the 12th World Urban Forum, organized by UN-Habitat every two years and held from November 4, 2024, in Cairo, Egypt, the biggest setback was discussed once again: SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) is the sustainable development goal that has suffered the greatest setback. Today, 2.8 billion people live in inadequate housing or spend more than 50% of their net income on housing (UN-Habitat). However, housing has increasingly become a commodity and an object of speculation in the real estate market. This was particularly evident in Spain, where a real estate bubble was artificially created with the construction of hundreds of thousands of apartments and single-family homes.