Domestic worker leader urges care be recognized as essential urban infrastructure at UN‑Habitat briefing

Shirley Price, a member of the UN‑Habitat Advisory Group on Gender Issues and of the Jamaica Household Workers Union (GRUITS Jamaica), used her remarks at the SDG 11 Global Report launch to press a central argument: care is largely invisible in how cities are planned and funded, and that must change for cities to be inclusive and resilient.

"Housing is dignity. It's safety. Housing is health. Housing is opportunity," Price said, and added that care services — childcare, elder care, paid caregiving and community centers — must be built into planning and budgets so caregivers are not left behind. She said grassroots women often lead local resilience efforts yet are excluded from decision‑making.

Price left three specific requests for policymakers: invest directly in community‑led solutions that build local ownership and resilience; move beyond token consultation to give grassroots organizations permanent seats at decision tables; and strengthen local governments so they can work effectively with organized communities. She cited community data collection, savings groups and local disaster preparedness activities as practical examples of successful community action.

In response to a question from IPS, Price clarified what she meant by 'care is invisible': planning often omits physical space and funding for childcare and elder care, and informal caregivers lack paid supports. She argued needs assessments led with communities should be a first step for any intervention, rather than externally driven projects.

Price’s remarks reframed parts of the SDG 11 conversation away from purely technical fixes toward people‑centered design and governance, emphasizing that investments in housing without care infrastructure will not yield fully inclusive cities.