Sustainable Social and Priority Interest Housing: An Opportunity to Develop a Sustainable Urban Habitat in Colombia

Abstract

Latin America is a continent with several densely populated cities, and much of its population lacks decent housing. Colombia reflects this situation at a local scale, sharing a common feature with the broader regional picture: the imminent phase of massive housing development projects. This means that, in this and coming decades, intensive consumption of materials and energy will be required to build housing, along with heavy resource use throughout buildings' service life. This article shows how this challenge can and must be addressed with the utmost care in the design and construction of buildings that will need to be built in the medium term. Natural ventilation and lighting; efficient water use; eco-materials; and environmentally friendly urban design and landscaping, among other factors, are variables that must be inherent to regional-scale projects and driven through public policy.