This is the first time in 16 years that a project implemented in Jordan has been shortlisted for the Award. The winners will be announced in early 2017 followed by an awards ceremony at a UN-Habitat event in April.
Housing refugees
Organised by the Building and Social Housing Foundation in partnership with UN-Habitat, the World Habitat Award was established more than 30 years ago to showcase a variety of housing solutions including post-disaster, community-led approaches, homes for marginalized and/or vulnerable groups. NRC’ Urban Shelter project implemented in Jordan since 2013 has been selected as a finalist for the award due to its innovative, integrated approach to housing refugees that also provides long-term assets for the host community, creates jobs and strengthens social cohesion between host and refugee communities.
“With around 80 per cent of Syrian refugees living outside of formal camps, our project was designed to provide an adequate and affordable shelter solution to vulnerable Syrian refugees” according to NRC Jordan’s Shelter Specialist Elias Jourdi.
“We are also investing in the local economy directly through cash grants to Jordanian landlords and indirectly by creating income opportunities for skilled and unskilled laborers in the construction sector,” he added.
Lack of shelter is a key challenge
NRC’s urban shelter project, implemented in close cooperation with concerned Governorate offices and the Local Development Department of the Ministry of Interior of Jordan, has improved over 5,000 housing units, provided housing for over 18,000 refugees and created over 20,000 short term employment opportunities. The project is currently funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).
“Lack of affordable, adequate shelter has been consistently identified as a key challenge for Syrian refugees living in host communities in Jordan. A number of aid agencies have been engaging in cash-for-shelter programming, an important response strategy that however cannot meet the versatile needs of the refugees and has overall failed to create sustainable solutions that also benefit whole communities. The increasing reliance on cash disbursements has also led to decrease in funding towards highly necessary innovative shelter solutions such as the one provided by NRC. The needs remain great and the project has the ability to expand further to answer these needs,” Jourdi said.
Founded in 1976, Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) is an independent UK based research organisation that promotes sustainable development and innovation in housing. The foundation introduced the World Habitat Awards in 1985 as part of their contribution to the UN International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. Each year BSHF in conjunction with UN-Habitat awards two projects that provide practical, innovative solutions to current housing needs, with a particular focus on decent, affordable housing.
