Kutumb – An Approach for Affordability with Sustainability

Written by Amor Kool- Amor Kool is a Panel Member of National Building Code of India and Technical Committee Member to Bureau of Indian Standards and BEE ECBC. He's currently working as Environmental and Social Governance Lead at IIFL Home Finance Ltd.

In the last two decades, it is very well established that the climate is changing. What caused this change still being debated all over the world. The reason for this debate is mostly due to indifference, walls built over the years to break the chain of human solidarity, separating people by protecting the happiness of some to the misery of others. The rate of urbanization has doubled in the last twenty years. In 2000 the world's urban population was around 2.84 billion which increased to 4.03 billion by 2016 and counting. We are already in process of compromising climatic balance that has allowed us to develop for 12 thousand years. We've created a phenomenon we cannot control. As of 2014, an approximate 420 million people contribute to the Indian urban population and of this humungous population, 24% lives in slums or dilapidated conditions. It is estimated that by 2030, the urban population of India will be 40% of its total projected population. This scale of urbanization is going to put tremendous pressure on already struggling infrastructure and basic services. The slum population will increase proportionately to urban development, if not intervened appropriately at the right time.

As of today, the interventions are happening at two different aspects in the real estate sector, affordability, and sustainability. Although both interventions are effective, however, they create a perception, that both of these aspects are contradictory in nature. This is also true to an extent if we compare them in terms of profit and loss statements. Considering economic growth alone undermines the quality of life of its occupants. It is very critical to ensure, that fundamental infrastructure is in place, where affordable housing is being developed.

The financial benefits for affordability and sustainability are given based on separate parameters, these requirements do not intersect, such that it may help to ensure that affordable housing could be sustainable too. There is funding available for green buildings, and there are financial models for affordable housing, but as of today, none intersect and create synergy among developers, architects, sustainability and finances. IIFL HFL has made an effort by initiating a program named "Kutumb”, to establish a channel which will bridge this very critical gap of financial inclusion with design interventions on sustainability and the project still can be declared as affordable, rather been called as “Sustainable and Affordable”.