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PAGE 22, WEDNESDAY, SETlEMBER 2, i198i. WlIITBY FR1E PRESS (0iilRER1lRL PRIn TInG, 218 HARWOOD AVE- S.,JAX SHOPPING PLAZA TE LEPHONE- 683 1968 By MACK PARLIAMENT Faced with histori- caliy high ï1nterest rates, A V ising energy costs, a shortage of rentai ac- FRANK commodation in REALTOR major metropolitan areas and low housing production, Canadians have many unfavorable factors working against their access to the 225 Brock St. N. housing of their dreams WhibyOntrl as they visuialize it. Whitby, OntarioIt is easy to attach the 668-6171blame for al the 25 ACRES IN AREA OF EXECUTIVE HOMES - Two road frontages, asking $84,900. For more informa- this country, but that tion call Tamara Nellpa 668-6171 or 668-8240. sto aesie WAITING FOR YOU - Lovely 2 storey townhome, tastefully decorated, central air, complex has pool and playground, financing available at 10¾%. Cali Judy Raymond at 668-6171 or 571-2362. DON'T PUT OFF -SEEING THIS HOME -.or 101 BrockSt.S. you'll pass up a rare buy. Century solid brick twin, Whitby h668h8865i e *%air% k-ihocallyiihighscinterest ratesn anaditans are better off bear for those affected-- and that is just about everybody in one way or another. Fortunately, all of the factors work- ing against housing can be reversed. Interest rates can be reduced to more reason- able levels; rental ac- commodation can be built, and energy prices will work their way through the system. Forecasters are in con- flict as to when correc- tive measures will be taken, but agree a return to the days of more choices in accom- modation without the barriers existing today MARY WRIGHT MERV PARCMMNT Blair Buchanan, The management of F.R.l., District W. Frank Real Estate Manager of Family Limited, 225 Brock St. Trust is pleased to N., Whitby, wishes to announce the ap- congratulate MERV pointment of Mary PARCHMENT on his Wright to the Whitby outstanding achieve- Sales Team. Mary ment of sales in ex- brings to the job her cess of $2,000,000. natural talents and for 1981. He aiso enthusiasm in coun- qualifies for a trp to selling the public in the Bahamas. We in- their real estate vite you to cali Merv needs. Mary may be at 668-6171 or 668- reached at the office 8040 to assist you 668-8865 or residence with your real estate 666-3851. needs. Sals ssoiae, ttndLimited25rckst. Corporation CAREER UN REAL ESTATE SEMINA-R TH URSDAY, SEPTEM BER 10 AT 7:30 P.M. This seminar wîil give you the opportu- nity to evaluate your place n this rewar- ding industry. Seating is lmited. For reservation and fmurther information cal: ~V~flIi ~ EDNA TATCHELL Tùst 668-8865 WANTED HOMES IN WHITBY & BROOKLIN FOR PROSPECTIVE PURCHASERS. REAL ESTATE FEE CAaL 668-0515 ASTON BRUMLEY REAL ESTATE LTD is possible with changes in government policy. Nevertheless, the current situation could be worse - much, much worse -- and, by com- -parison with an ex- tremely large part of the world's population, Canadians are in a highly favored position. Many other countries are in dire need of ac- commodation with lit- tie, if any, hope of ever reaching the standard or quantity per capita of housing found in Canada. If they ever at- tain the level of Canadian housing it will not be within the fore- seeable future and cer- tainly not before the turn of the century. MULTIPLE PROBLEMS Conditions are so bad in some of the developing (Third World) nations that there is a growing num- ber of people who count housing as only one of their serious problems. They have no secure source of livelihood; no access to unpolluted water; no access to basic health services; no adequate arrange- ments for removal of wastes and education is far from universal. Compared with their problems Canadians are living in a utopia. Back in 1976 estimates from the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements held in Vancouver were that "population growth and rapid changes in the location of human ac- tivities are proceeding at such a pace that we shall have to build 'another world on top of the present one' by the end of the century." As the clock ticks toward that day it has become evident there is no hope the target will be reached. By that time more than half the world's population will likely live in cities. This transformation is oc- curring so rapidly that proper provisions for such a population ex- plosion are not being made. It takes little imagination to visualize the ghettoes of poverty, deprivation and disease being created. While established cities like London are losing population, some in the developing world are going in the opposite direction. According to the World Bank, urban areas of developing countries added 400 million to their population between 1950 and 1975. By the year 2000 this figure is expec- ted to reach almost a billion, compounding already serious existing problems. Thirty years ago only one city in the develop- ing world, Buenos Aires, had a population of more than 5 million. But a staggering 40 cities are expected to reach or exceed that number by the year 2000 in the Third World, compared with only 12 in developed countries. As many as 18 of them are forecast to be able to claim 10 million or more inhabitants, and at least one -- Mexico City -- may have about 30 million. RESOURCES LACKING "Today we simply do not have the experien- ce, skills, resources or institutions to manage or even cope with cities of that size. But we clearly must acquire them soon," observed Robert Munro, senior advisor to the executive director of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. He was speaking to the Annual World Con- gress of the Inter- national Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) in Stockholm, Sweden earlier this year. The Canadian Real Estate Association is a member of the inter- national organization and will host the Annual Congress in Toronto next year from June 6 to 12 when delegates will grapple with housing and other international real estate problems. Representatives from 40 member countries are expected to attend. But Munro holds out little hope that a single year will bring any significant change to the shelter plight of .Third World countries. Mean- while, the majority of their inhabitants build shelter for themselves, using their own limited resources without bothering to obtain per- mission and without meeting necessary standards. Some of the shelter is little more than boxes nailed together. "Given economic, population, urbanizing and development assist- ance trends, it is unlikely that govern- ments or the inter- national community will be able to provide suffi- cient financial resour- ces to significantly change that situation by the year 2000," Munro maintained. Conclusions from a recently completed1 study of 17 Third World countries (which ap- plies to many more than the 17) by the Inter- national Institute for Environmient and Development (IIED) bear out Munro's fears. OVERCROWDING COMMON Excerpts from the report revealed: "Most of the population are faced with poor and deteriorating living con- ditions. The labor force generally has grown far faster than secure em- ployment opportunities. The population of these urban centres has grown faster than their stock of housing and the network of basic infra- structure and services. "There is generally overcrowding in existing houses, while the construction of new units to official stan- dards meets only a small proportion of the growth in housing needs every year." Governments of the affected countries are not unmindful of the magnitude of the housing problems con- fronting their inhabitan- ts and many implemen- ted what they consi- dered major initiatives in the sunset years of the 1970s. In evaluating these programs, however, the IIED study concludes: "Government action is virtually always inade- quate and often ill- directed. In many nations urban based publicly funded housing problems have made lit- tle impression on im- proving living condi- tions, especially for lower income groups." The fact is that in developing countries a large proportion of the population cannot af- ford even the lowest priced unit, built either by public or private con- tractors. Worse still, they cannot even afford the price of a bare lot on which to build a house. The governments them- selves have miuch more limited resources than those of the developed world. Consequently, they are gradually abandoning their previous approach of using available funds for building houses. Instead, public expen- ditures in many instan- ces are being concen- trated on providing in- frastructure and ser- vices, particularly water and sanitation, two things Canadians take for granted. This strategy leaves the problem of providing the housing units still unresolved and only time will tell if a workable solution can be found to relieve the misery of millions of families in the Third World. Measured beside their problems those of Cana- dians pale by compari- son. Ours will be solved. Theirs may neyer be. EDITOR'S NOTE: Mack Parliament is the supervisor of communi- cations for The Cana- dian Real Estate Asso- ciation. Let's run around togethber.