The Chamber of Real Estate & Builders’ Associations Inc. (CREBA) pushes for transit-oriented affordable housing developments on sites acquired by government as part of a long-term solution to address housing needs which could triple to 20 million by 2040.
In a statement, CREBA said it has petitioned the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development to include sites for affordable housing in areas within walking distance of the railway stations the DOTr is either currently constructing, designing, or planning.
CREBA said with government providing the land, private housing developers can take care of constructing the housing units in transit-oriented locations.
“Attempts by previous administrations to address the massive housing need and relocate the informal settler families to disaster-free areas have failed miserably.The main obstacle is the lack of available land in places where jobs and livelihood opportunities are concentrated,” CREBA said. The group said the DOTR’s various transport projects have opened up enormous opportunities to address the need for affordable housing with easy access to jobs and livelihood centers via improved mass transit systems.
CREBA cited as an example the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) that DOTr has started to construct to connect the Clark International Airport in Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna presents a promising solution through transit-oriented development (TOD).
Under the TOD concept, including sites for affordable housing near the stations upon land acquisition for the station buildings and its support facilities will provide private housing developers with sites to build the required housing units.
Housing backlog is estimated ar 7 million of which 1.9 million are informal
settler families and that 478,899 families live within Metro Manila, occupying many of our waterways and danger zones.
CREBA said if only 10 percent of the 500-meter radius TOD areas of the 6 stations under Phase 1 of the NSCR were allocated for affordable housing, this can produce at least 37,000 housing units that can accommodate some 185,000 people. – Irma Isip
