UN-Habitat: Promoting local materials important for sustainability in housing construction

Local materials should be promoted to ensure sustainability in housing construction.

Report informs that Ombretta Tempra, head of UN-Habitat's Land, Housing and Shelter Section and lead specialist on housing provision, said this at the "Open-ended Intergovernmental Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All: Intersessional Meeting on Housing Resilience and Sustainability," held as part of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13).

According to her, local construction materials should be specifically taken into account, assessed and promoted to ensure the sustainability of housing construction and the economy in general.

"If necessary, building norms and standards should be adapted to allow a more flexible approach to the use of local construction materials, which are sometimes not formally permitted," she said.