The effects of climate change on poor communities was one of the issues highlighted in the recently concluded Social Housing Finance Corporation’s (SHFC) multi-stakeholder forum for Cagayan de Oro City partners held at the Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan. Citywide community upgrading strategy – one of the strategies identified to mitigate climate change and address current housing issues — was also highlighted in the forum. The strategy advocates a more proactive and programmatic delivery of housing solutions that entail mapping all the informal settler families (ISFs) in the city, developing a citywide shelter development plan, and systematically allocating resources to prioritized informal settlements. SHFC president Ma. Ana Oliveros (Show in photo) said that housing is a problem that has implications on urban development, hence, the need for a citywide strategy. “Housing is not a stand-alone issue,” she said. “We should integrate it with the factors of urbanization because it is also a tool in poverty alleviation. We should look at the poor in the center of development.”