By Alex Gryciuk
November 18, 2022 – The UN, United Nations, announces another astonishing global milestone: the world population hit 8 billion. Projected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, humans further exhaust valuable resources such as water, oil, energy, and food through consumption. As humans continue to populate the planet, they not only consume limited resources, but also take up much needed space; leading to global housing crises in some of the world’s largest cities.
Hong Kong
This world renowned hub for business hosts more than a good reputation for commerce: a daunting housing crisis affecting 7.3 million. Contributing to the housing dilemma, 125,100 millionaires live alongside 1.6 million living in poverty. Due to limited capacity and price gouging, in the past decade, the cost of homes has exponentially increased by a whopping 187%. Most attributable to Hong Kong, “coffin homes”, or “subdivided units in tenements barely large enough to fit a bed inside”, provide a solution to 220,000 of the poorest living in the city.
Toronto
In just the last year, the price of one and two-bedroom apartments has increased by an average 30%; making Toronto the second most expensive city in Canada to rent. Also exacerbated by the rising costs, this city also has become the most expensive city to buy a home. In fact, Toronto houses cost about 300 times more than they did in the 90’s while the average income for the average household stayed the same. For example, in 1992, it would have taken a family only two years to save up for a down payment while now, it would take 24 years of saving 10% a month.
Tel Aviv
Named one of the world’s most expensive cities to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Tel Aviv is no exception to the housing crisis occurring in the world. Currently, the average price for an apartment in U.S. dollars is about $1,234,777 while the average wage for someone living in Tel Aviv is about $3,514. Reflecting a devastating trend in locations with a housing crisis, cost of living continues to rise at exponential rates while wages remain stagnant. Infact, between mid-2021 and mid-2022, the housing prices rose at a rate of 17.8% while wages only increased by about 12%.
No matter the city, large or small, it seems that overpopulation causes serious issues such as high living costs and homelessness for those who cannot afford to live in extremely expensive places. Simply put, there is no more space!