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Spanish Engineer Urges Acceptance of Smaller Homes to Combat Housing Crisis
🇦🇷 Argentina /Economy & Trade

Spanish Engineer Urges Acceptance of Smaller Homes to Combat Housing Crisis

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A Spanish engineer and construction expert, Arturo Coloma, advocates for a shift in housing policies to address Spain's growing housing access crisis.
  • Coloma suggests accepting smaller, more modest homes as a practical solution, stating "It is better to have a 45-meter house... than to have nothing."
  • He identifies excessive bureaucracy and a lack of long-term strategy as key obstacles, urging public and private sectors to collaborate on solutions for lower-income groups.

Spanish engineer and construction professional Arturo Coloma has called for a fundamental overhaul of housing policies to tackle the escalating difficulty families and young people face in accessing homes. He argues that accepting smaller, more basic living spaces is a necessary compromise.

It is better to have a 45-meter house without parquet or air conditioning than to have nothing.

— Arturo ColomaThe Spanish engineer and construction professional, Arturo Coloma, stated that it is better for people to accept smaller living spaces with fewer amenities than to remain without housing.

"It is better to have a 45-meter square apartment without parquet or air conditioning or to be energy efficient than to have nothing," Coloma stated, emphasizing the need to adjust standards to meet demand. He believes that increasing housing supply hinges on creating favorable investment conditions, requiring private sector initiative, public or private promotion for lower-income housing, available land, administrative agility, and financing.

Coloma pointed to excessive bureaucracy and the absence of a long-term government strategy as significant impediments. He noted that certain developments for lower-income sectors are not profitable for private companies and require substantial public support. "Bureaucracy and lack of strategic vision are a brake," he asserted, adding that "a brave decision is needed that none of the country's major parties have made."

Bureaucracy and lack of strategic vision are a brake. And there will be a type of housing that private initiative cannot build because the numbers don't add up. A brave decision is needed that none of the country's major parties have made.

— Arturo ColomaColoma identified excessive bureaucracy and the absence of long-term government strategy as major obstacles to increasing housing supply, particularly for lower-income sectors.

The expert stressed that ensuring people have a roof over their heads must take precedence over other debates. He contends that the market alone cannot resolve access issues for the less affluent and champions diverse rental and purchase options tailored to economic realities. "People have to live somewhere and houses can be built," Coloma said, advocating for solutions for those unable to afford market-rate housing.

People have to live somewhere and houses can be built. There are sectors of the population that will not be able to afford housing in the free market, so there must be solutions for them, whether for rent or for ownership.

— Arturo ColomaColoma emphasized that the market alone cannot solve housing access issues for lower-income groups and advocated for diverse solutions, including rental and ownership options tailored to families' economic capabilities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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