Habitat for Humanity often builds row houses in urban areas, much like these in Philadelphia.

Behind the Scenes:
Habitat for Humanity's Urban Programs

Triple Threat

	Stephen Seidel has directed Habitat's Urban Programs among U.S. affiliates since October 2004.

In his recent book, The City, Joel Kotkin makes the case that cities come into being as an expression of three fundamental human impulses--the desire to create spaces for sacred worship, the need to band together for safety, and the opportunity to engage in commerce. When cities provide these opportunities, they flourish; when they fail to do so, they dissipate and decline.

While cities the world over share these three basic purposes, each is different from every other because of the endless variation by which inhabitants organize themselves to accomplish these three functions. Add to that the unique geographic characteristics of their locations, and we get the remarkable diversity in the way cities look, feel and perform.

It makes sense to me that cities exert an almost tractor-beam effect on us. The desire to find a place to worship (and find others with whom to share the experience) that matches our most deeply held values; the chance to band together to create a community that will make us feel more secure; the opportunity to utilize our best talents in pursuit of making a decent living. Cities often provide the best settings for these powerful human aspirations.

And yet, it is equally understandable that cities confound and scare us. Too many are getting too crowded; there is often too much crime and too much traffic; it is increasingly difficult for cities to satisfy the human need for some space, for some peace and quiet at the end of the day. These realities undermine cities' ability to fulfill the three primary purposes that Kotkin assigns to them.

Given the complexity, it is not surprising that the work of Habitat for Humanity in urban settings is so challenging. The environment in cities is in such constant and rapid flux, and there is so much variety: extremes of wealth and poverty, diversity of beliefs and opinions, so much desire to preserve elements and values of the past alongside strong impulses to rush headlong into the future to catch the next wave of change.

But despite the great diversity of our urban settings, the people who live in cities have some basic, fundamental needs. Foremost among them is the need for a place to rest one's head, a place of refuge from the hectic pace of the day, a place where the family can gather to eat and study and laugh and pray.

While the value and meaning of a home in any location is a deep, even primal experience, the impact of a decent home is perhaps most keenly felt in urban settings. And that is why Habitat for Humanity must work in cities, despite the challenges and obstacles encountered in producing homes there. The Urban Programs department grew out of the Urban Strategies Initiative, in which HFHI examined the factors that provided the best prospects for urban affiliates to be successful. Foremost among them is a commitment to strategic planning, working in close collaboration with other housing providers, and engaging in public education and policy to advance the cause of affordable housing. These themes are among the top priorities of the Urban Programs department and its support of urban affiliates.

--Stephen Seidel, Urban Programs director

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Speaking Out

The oft-quoted goal of Habitat for Humanity is to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness worldwide by building adequate, basic housing. But there also is a second sentence to the official goal statement: "Furthermore, all of our words and actions are for the ultimate purpose of putting shelter on the hearts and minds of people in such a powerful way that poverty housing and homelessness become socially, politically and religiously unacceptable in our nations and world."

Advocacy, in other words. And in urban areas, where so many citizens, media and decision-makers congregate, advocacy can be an effective tool in eliminating poverty housing around the world.

"The United Nations estimates that more than 1 billion people are inadequately housed," says Jennifer Lindsey, director of international communications for Habitat for Humanity International. "When we talk about the statistics, we sometimes don't take the next step to ask why. What are the systems and policies and attitudes that contribute to 1 billion people living without a roof over their heads or a safe place to sleep at night? And what can Habitat for Humanity realistically do to address them?"

A group of about 50 people from the Habitat universe-directors from the international board, staff from HFHI, affiliate representatives and partners-spent several months earlier this year working to prepare for an organization-wide initiative that will provide direction, parameters and support to advocacy efforts.

The task force members agree there is a need to address the comprehensive nature of housing and its relationship to other issues related to poverty-including health, education and economic and community development. The work of developing advocacy goals and objectives continues.

"Habitat for Humanity has succeeded for the past 29 years on the principle of grassroots mobilization and volunteer support," Lindsey says. "In this way we can proudly say we have built 200,000 houses around the world. But by advocating for changed policies and greater attention to the issues that lead to poverty housing conditions, Habitat staff and supporters can change the lives of millions more."

--Rebekah Daniel