World Habitat Day goes down on October 5 to raise awareness to the worldwide housing crisis. With the world’s population expanding, more than 2 million housing units per year are needed worldwide for the next 50 years, which equates to a whopping 1 billion houses.

In a press release for World Habitat Day, organizers say the mission is “Raising awareness and advocating for change are the first steps toward transforming systems that perpetuate the global plague of poverty housing. World Habitat Day serves as an important reminder that everyone must unite to ensure that everyone has a safe, decent place to call home… With over half of the world’s population currently living in urban areas the U.N. believes there is no doubt that the ‘urban agenda’ will increasingly become a priority for governments, local authorities and their non-governmental partners everywhere.”

The people behind World Habitat Day are hoping that October 5 will remind people that affordable, adequate housing should be a priority everywhere. They say that raising awareness about this global problem is the first step in making sure that everyone everywhere has a safe and decent place to call home.