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Introduction113strong efforts of the international community, might bereasonably expected. Intensive building activities of socialhousing and subsidized housing units, all of which could beaccessed by those on low incomes, might also be expected.The activation of policy measures throughout the worldspecifically designed to ensure that members of particularlyvulnerable groups, such as the elderly, the disabled orhomeless children, have access to adequate housing whichthey can afford might be further anticipated. At the veryleast, given that housing is treated as a right under internationalhuman rights law, governments would be expected toaccurately monitor the scale of housing deprivation as a firststep towards the development of a more effective set ofhousing laws and policies that would actually result in a fullyand adequately housed society. And yet, as reasonable asthese and other expectations may be, global housing policydebates today can, in many respects, be boiled down to onekey discussion point: the question of tenure and tenuresecurity.Security of tenure, of course, is crucial to any properunderstanding of the housing reality facing every householdthroughout the world; indeed, the worse the standard ofone’s housing, generally the more important the question ofsecurity of tenure will become. The degree of ‘security’ ofone household’s tenure will be instrumental in determiningthe chances that they will face forced eviction, have accessto basic services such as water and electricity, be able tofacilitate improvements in housing and living conditions, andbe able to register their home or land with the authorities.Indeed, one’s security of tenure impacts upon many areas oflife and is clearly a fundamental element of the bundle ofentitlements that comprise every individual’s housing rights.The broad issue of security of tenure has been the subject ofextensive analysis during recent years in connection withefforts such as the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure,coordinated by UN-Habitat. There is also a growing realizationthat the scale of insecure tenure is increasing and islikely to worsen in coming years. It is widely accepted thatsecure tenure is of vital importance for stability, economicdevelopment, investment and the protection of humanrights. As stated by the World Bank:Empirical evidence from across the worldreveals the demand for greater security oftenure and illustrates that appropriate interventionsto increase tenure security can havesignificant benefits in terms of equity, investment,credit supply, and reduced expenditure ofresources on defensive activities. 4At the same time, while a great deal has been written on theclear linkages between security of tenure and the achievementof the goal of access to adequate housing for all, thefact remains that security of tenure often remains underemphasizedby policy-makers, perhaps overemphasized bythose with large vested interests in land, and, as a concept,all too commonly misunderstood by those with the most togain from improved access to it. In particular, it is importantto note that security of tenure does not necessarily implyownership of land or housing (see Box III.1).Thus, the following questions arise: is the renewedfocus on tenure a comprehensive enough approach to solvethe global housing crisis? Can security of tenure alone beconsidered an adequate response to the massive growth ofslums and illegal settlements in the world’s cities? Is thefocus on security of tenure likely to be effective in a worldwhere states refuse or are unable to allocate the fundsrequired to house the poor majority? If we focus on securityof tenure, which type of tenure provides the best and mostappropriate forms of protections? Can a focus on tenure bypolicy-makers, without a corresponding emphasis on infrastructureimprovements, service provision and properplanning, actually yield desirable results? And perhaps themost contentious questions of all: what is the proper role ofthe state within the housing sector, and is the growing globalinitiative in support of secure tenure, in practical terms, asufficient response to the broader aim of adequate housingand housing rights for all? These and related questions areexplored in the chapters that follow.NOTES1 Habitat Agenda, para 40(b).2 UN-Habitat, 2006e, p94.3 UN-Habitat, 2006e.4 World Bank, 2003b, p8.