HOUSING

ECONOMICS &
ADMINISTRATION

DR. WINNIE MWANGI /

MR. ERASTUS K. MUSELEKU
WHERE SHALL WE SLEEP
TONIGHT?In a House or at home
Oxford- UK
Jarkata
Kibera
Hong Kong
Slum 31-Argentina
India-See the contrast apartments
and shanties
What is housing
 Housing as a basic human right-International
declaration of Human Rights 1948-Article 25
 Constitution recognizes basic rights and
freedoms in Article 21
 Article 43 refers to Economic and social rights
including (c) right to accessible and adequate
housing…
 Article 40 on the right to own, acquire
property of any description anywhere in
Kenya
 Article 10 on Values of governance of all
Housing Defined
 Provision of dwelling units for accommodation
 Involves construction, allocation and
disposal/acquisition
 It is a welfare service upon which man‟s
happiness is dependent
 It is not an end in itself as it does not
guarantee raising living standards
 Housing is also said to encompass the
physical space and the related services and
infrastructure
Housing-The Physical product
 John Turner‟s definition is still the all time
one, where he says housing is a noun and a
verb
A noun being the built artifact (Features) In the
ordinary sense housing is a physical, tangible
space(open or covered) with built forms, artifacts,
walls, roof, doors, fences, gates, etc. This
product is called a dwelling unit, a house
Contradictory to say a house is a home (which
includes the whole neighbourhood plus the
related activities, services and relationships
Housing-The process
 Housing as a verb being the process of
provision from decision to acquire to
occupation
 As a process it is a means of collective
consumption mostly provided by the state
(examples)
 Also a means of capital production and
accumulation (private parties)
 There is, however no standardization in
definitions, varies from place to place
 However, there are universal parameters
Housing-The cultural reality
 Housing is generated by, and a generator of,
lifestyles and worldviews reflecting the conflicts,
joys and pains, aspirations and achievements of
real people within their specific cultural context.
 People express identity, search for security and
hope for opportunity also through housing.
 Thus housing does not only provide shelter, but
accommodates the family lifecycle. This concept
of housing determines the process and hence the
product.
HOUSING-BACKGROUND
 Rate of urbanization in the LDCs is
unparalleled
 Worlds population at 2.5 billion in 1950 to 6
billion in 2002? Population today?
 60% of these in urban areas of LDCs
 Projected at 8billion in 30 years
 This gives an annual increase of 70 million
 They all need housing, land , water, services
and health
Background Cont..
 The major result of this is urban poverty
 A big part of the urban poor are the low income
households
 in Latin America 3/4s of the poor live in urban areas
 They face enormous challenge in terms of lack of
secure land, housing, water and sanitation
 Current estimates show that majority of these poor
households live on less than a dollar per day
 These estimates do not take into consideration the
increase in costs of living
 From a shelter perspective what are the impacts
of urban poverty?
Manifestations
 Informal land markets
 Homelessness
 Diseases
 Political unrest and conflicts
 Low food production/petty commodity trade
 Crime and breakdown of moral fabric
 Growth of slums and squatter settlements
 What is a slum then?
Slums defined
 It is a contiguous settlement where inhabitants are
characterized as having inadequate housing and
basic services
 Always seen not to be part of the city by the
authorities
 Target 11 of the MDGs define it as unplanned
informal settlements where access to services is
minimal to non-existent and where overcrowding is
the norm
 Other definitions as reviewed by UH-Habitat give the
following attributes of a slum
Slums cont…
 Lack of basic services
 Substandard housing
 Illegal or unplanned structures
 Overcrowding / high density
 Unhealthy living conditions in hazardous locations
 Insecure tenure, poverty and social exclusion
 High risk of disease, mortality and misfortune
Kibera
Causes
 Unemployment
 Population pressure
 Inequity in distribution of budgets/ resources
 Lack of access to land
 Dwindling incomes both in urban and rural
areas-extreme poverty
 Biased housing markets
 Rural urban migration
 Ineffective/inadequate government policies-
poor planning, poor enforcement, corruption,
Slums, Shanty towns, informal
settlements
 Are they all the same?
 What are the different names given to these
human settlements-favellas, barrios, ghettos,
 What are the characteristics of these
settlements?
Reactions by Players
 Acceptance of slums
 Mobilization of all parties and unified approaches
 Development of a twin-track approach aiming at
upgrading and access to new shelter
 International Policy Instruments/agreements which
so far include;
A) The Habitat Agenda
B) Agenda 21
C) Cities Alliance
D) Global strategy for shelter to the year 2000
E) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Global Strategy for Shelter to the year
2000
 Following 1987 International Year for the homeless,
resolutions were made to produce, deliver and
improve shelter for all.
 UN general assembly in its resolution 43/181
launched the GSS to the year 2000
 It recognizes that the poor do a lot for themselves
and that governments,
 Should only play a regulatory role by providing
infrastructure
 Governments should move from direct construction of
houses to mobilizing resources of all other
stakeholders
GSS 2000 cont..

 Provision of shelter for all through:

 I) Definition of clear and measurable
objectives ii) Gradual reorganization of the
shelter sector iii) national mobilization and
distribution of financial resources in the
shelter sector and iv) equal emphasis on
production of shelter by addressing
bottlenecks in land, services, finance and
building materials sector
GSS cont…
Plan of action
 1989- 1991 design of policies and place new
institutional arrangements
 1991-1994 introduce the new institutions and
strengthen existing ones
 1995-2000 full scale operation of national
programmes
 NB: GSS recognized that there is no
standard way in approach and time frame
due to the differing circumstances
Habitat agenda
 Adopted by 171 states at UN conference on human
settlement in Istanbul June 1996
 Aimed at providing a road map to an urbanizing world
with a view to achieving 2 objectives:-
• Ensuring shelter for all
• Sustainable development of the urban areas
 This is to be achieved through i) enablement and
participation ii) gender equality iii) financing shelter
and human settlements iv) international cooperation
v) evaluation and monitoring of progress
Habitat agenda cont..

 It encompassed a change in policy to

enablement with governments playing the
role of regulating markets, provision on
conditions for social reproduction and
creation of regulatory and institutional
frameworks
 Review was done in 2001 by the UN -
General assembly
Agenda 21:Sustainable Development
in human settlements
 Was adopted by the UN Conference on Environment
and development (Earth Summit) at Rio de Janeiro in
1992
 It examines the impact of human activities on the
environment and aims at eradicating poverty by
giving poor people more access to resources
 It covers three main areas i) Social and economic
dimensions ii) conservation and management of
resources iii)Strengthening role of major groups,e.g.
women, NGOs, youth and private sector
Agenda 21 cont..

 Commission on Sustainable Development

created in 1992 to follow up implementation,
monitor and report back at all levels
 At a UN- general assembly in 1997, CSD
reported a gloom picture especially in the
developing countries
 Full implementation and commitment of the
Rio principles was reaffirmed at the World
Summit on Sustainable Development in
South Africa in 2002
Cities Alliance
 Founded in 1999 by the world bank and UN-habitat to
address issues raised in Rio and Istanbul
 It has four constituencies i) The urban Poor ii) local
Authorities iii) National Governments iv) Multi lateral
and bilateral agencies
 Objective is to realize the vision of „cities without
slums‟ through action plans in two areas
 City development strategies and city-wide and nation-
wide slum upgrading aimed at improving conditions
of 100million slum dwellers by 2020
Sustainable Development Goals
 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed
in 2000 by UN with the aim of integrating sustainable
development principles into country policies and set
global and date targets
 Goal 7 target 10 sought to halve poverty by 2015 by
poor accessing sanitation and safe drinking water
 Target 11 sought to improve the lives of 100 million
slum dwellers by 2020
 MDGs were criticized due to the fact that today we
estimate more than 924million already in the slums
SDGs cont..

 Also, MDGs were silent on how to reduce

growth of slums whose population is
expected to be 2 billion by 2030.

 The new set of goals (post 2015), the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
aims to end poverty and hunger by 2030.

 Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being:-

Housing condition has great influence on the
health of its occupants.
SDGs cont..
 Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation:- One of
the key components of adequate housing is
provision of basic services and facilities.
Access to clean water and sanitation are thus
vital in human settlements.

 Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy:- Fossil

fuels and greenhouse gas emissions are
making drastic changes in the climate,
leading to big problems on every continent.
Electricity, solar and wind are cleaner
sources of energy.
SDGs cont..
 Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and
Communities:- This goal aims to make cities
and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable.

 To make cities sustainable for all, we can

create good, affordable public housing,
upgrade slum settlements, invest in public
transport, create green spaces and get a
broader range of people involved in urban
planning decisions.
Local Policies and interventions
 The housing Act, Cap 117
 Sessional Paper No 5 of 1966/67
 Sessional Paper, No 3-National housing
Policy 2004
 The housing Bill,2006,2009
 Development Plans (1974-1978,1997-2000)
 Economic Recovery Strategy Paper 2003
 Vision 2030
ASSIGNMENT
 What are the Key aspects of the Housing Act
and the Housing Bill that are aimed at
contributing to achieving Vision 2030 in as far
as housing is concerned?
Socially acceptable standards - A
measure of adequacy
 These are laid down regulations governing housing provision
 Differ in terms of who, what, how and for whom
 Standardization very difficult due to differing development
policies e.g. capitalism, socialism, modernization theory, stone
age
 In most countries standards must conform with “development”
 Universal definition impossible to arrive due to:-
• Criteria used is subjective
• Different social, cultural and environmental conditions
• Regional differences
• Regions can only compare favourably with sister regions
• The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (General Comment No 4 of 1991) on Adequate Housing)
gives the following parameters:-
Socially acceptable standards-
parameters
1)Amenities and services which include:-
 From a full range to basics such as access to
drinking water (distance, quality and cost)
 Sewerage disposal
 Refuse collection
 Access roads, lighting
 Communal facilities e.g. schools, primary
health care, recreational facilities
2)Occupancy Rates

 Maximum no. of people that a residential

space can accommodate
 Excess leads to disease, overcrowding, low
productivity,
 1996 development plan recommends 5
persons for what is defined as formally
acceptable housing in Kenya
3)Floor area
 Floor area should be big enough for
movement
 Not less than 9M squared
 Areas differ with incomes and materials of
construction
 In LDCs, mostly in slums space does not
define shelter while in others space is shared
in shifts amongst families
4)Building materials
 Should be permanent, inflammable, long
lasting and able to protect occupants from
vagaries of nature.
 We need appreciate why most families use
rudimentary materials:-
 Low incomes
 Poor planning regulations
 Tenure insecurity
 Lack of government support e.g. no funding
 Low levels of research in affordable building
materials
5) Tenure
 It is the key to permanent settlement as it
encourages investment leading to economic
growth
 It enhances level of stability
 Not just about the title but state of mind
 Depends on neighbourhoods, income,
country security policies and political
governments in place
 It is about not being evicted, demolished or
ambushed
6) Affordability
 Personal or household costs associated with
housing should be at such a level that the
attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs
are not threatened or compromised, whether one
is an owner-occupier or tenant.
 Costs of housing should to a great extent match
with national incomes
 Strategies should be sought to regulate the
affordability levels either through subsidies for
those unable to obtain affordable housing or
enacting legislation to control arbitrarily rent
increases and related evictions
Housing Policy
 Refers to provision of shelter where the state
plays a regulatory and provision role
 Housing Policy is not law but a vision that sets
out long term goals and principles on how best
to achieve adequate housing for the national
population for prosperity and posterity.
 These are mechanisms of state interventions,
provisional, regulatory and institutional that
endeavour at provision of housing
Housing Policy
 The overall objective of housing policy is to
enable every household to have available an
affordable dwelling of good quality, suited to its
needs, in a good environment and as far as
possible at the tenure of its choice, either through
home ownership or private rented accommodation.
 The primary strategy is to oversee and seek to
maintain an efficient housing market by
implementing a multi-stranded approach to
address housing needs.
Housing Policy
 It is essential that all relevant stakeholders
(including co-operatives, non-governmental and
community-based organizations) are involved in
the housing development process
 Therefore, policies have three dimensions
i.e. social (direct provision), fiscal
(subsidization through tax relief) and enabling
provision (state services and infrastructure)
Housing Policy Targets
 Poverty alleviation
 Public housing
 Rural housing
 Vulnerable groups
 Inputs are;land,infrastructure,building
materials, financial resources for housing,
institutional and legislative framework
Housing Policies’ objectives
 Objectives vary on who is providing but
mainly includes
 Facilitate right to adequate housing
 Promote development and ownership of
functional, healthy and environmentally
friendly housing
 Facilitate secure land and housing tenure
 Ensure equity in access to shelter along
gender, social, ethnic lines
Assignment
 Evolution of Kenya‟s housing approaches-Pre
independence to date
Assignment
 What steps are involved in formulation of a
housing policy?
 What are the key elements of a housing
policy?
 Discuss in detail the evolution of housing
policy in Kenya from colonial period to date-
Housing and Development
 Poverty alleviation through creation of
employment in the building materials and
construction industry
 Facilitate the private sector, community
organizations and financial institutions to
invest in housing
 Provide and improve infrastructure facilities in
urban and rural areas for better human
habitation
Housing and Development
 Housing plays an important role in economic
development
 It is a planning tool that is used to offset
urban sprawl. Its availability influences
location of the population
 Adequate (quality and location) housing
contributes to health and productivity
 Provides a focus and acts as an incentive for
forced savings
 Ensures comfort, stability and identity
Housing and Development cont…
 It is a status symbol as it is one of the safest
investment
 It offers security
 Economically, it is an income redistribution
tool through rent paid and housing allowance
forgone
 Direct relationship between housing
construction and economic growth as it is an
indicator of wealth
 Forms part of government portfolio
Cont..
 There are forward linkages with other
industries hence triggering growth
 Backward linkages through employment,
leading to an increased demand for other
goods and services
 In LDCs, construction is more labour
intensive, thus a major employer
 It is a source of wealth where the tenure is
secure and can therefore be used as
collateral
THE HOUSING MARKET
Housing Need and Housing demand
 Housing need is the assessment of housing units
required on the basis of population figures. The
higher the population the higher the need.
 Housing need = population/occupancy rates
 Housing demand is housing need backed by ability
and willingness to pay.
 Ability is based on income levels and willingness is
based on priorities. Willingness is subjective( e.g. are
there rich families that are not willing to pay for good
housing?)
Housing market cont…
 Assessment of need and demand should put into
consideration the following:-
1. The existing economic conditions in the country
2. Projected future population levels
3. Income and affordability
The players
 Consumers- aiming at maximum quality in form of
standards, space, location and cost
 Producers and financiers- maximization of profits
 Government- whose role is income distribution,
preservation of standards via policies and
legislation
Housing markets cont…
 Such policies include:
 Secure and freely exchangeable property
rights. How do they affect demand?
 Housing subsidies inform of direct financing
and services
 Land and building regulations. Direct
relationship between these and demand. Are
they permissible or prohibitive? What needs
to be done in the LDCs
Housing Demand
 Factors of demand
• Demand as a function of population changes.
What triggers population changes,
characteristic of population in LDCs and
impacts on demand
• Demand as a function of changes in real
income
• Changes in prices of old and new housing
units and in prices of rental versus owner
occupier housing
Demand cont…
 Demand as factor of credit availability in
terms of conditions such as premium
demanded, repayment periods, interests
rates, conditions of lending. How is the
situation in the LDCs?
 Tastes and preferences
 Government policies e.g. subsidies,
legislation, provision of infrastructure
Housing Supply
 Factors of Supply
 Returns as a measure of profits where
R =P-C. price is sale or rental value less the costs.
Costs may be purchase of land, construction, credit,
labour etc. Costs could also be factors of vacancies
in some housing tenure and current housing
inventory which acts as a substitute for old housing
 Costs of inputs of production. higher costs translate
into higher sale or rental prices affecting demand
downwards and thus inducing a drop in supply
Examples of costs( as above)
Housing supply cont…
 Costs and availability of finance both from a
government policy point of view on money
markets and on conditions of finance
 Government policies – does the government
have in place mechanisms to encourage
investment in housing e.g. tax rebates,
waivers on building materials, processes of
approval, legislation that is investor friendly?
Housing Policy
Interventions/strategies
 Who have been or are the players and what
is their role?
 Central government
 Local authorities
 Private sector and financiers
 Professionals and professional organisations
 The civil society
Assignment on the housing Actors
 Discuss the players in the housing sector.
Conventional and Non-Conventional
housing approaches
 No standardization of the two, but for purposes of
differentiating policy interventions.
 Conventional policy approaches deal with direct
housing provision of the noun (ready made unit
packaged with its constituent services)
 Also referred to as public housing, local or central
government
 Private sector is also involved in fully built units
provision
 However, the main player in conventional
approaches is the state
Conventional approaches
 Embraces the provision of finished housing units
 Key participant is the government
 It can be done for the following reasons:-a) as a
means of collective consumption b) as a means of
bridging the supply and demand gap c) as a political
tool
 Adopted during the industrialization and
modernization era as the most compatible way of
housing provision
 Pushed by the perception that consumers could not
be left to maintain standards and hence the need for
a uniform player
History of public housing
 Dates back to the modernization and
industrialization era
 Common in Europe, US and Australia
 In Germany, the right to healthy housing was
written in 1919
 Massive construction in 1925 to 1930 in the
cities of Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt
 In most of the countries, world war 1 and 2
marked an era of destruction and rebuilding
had to be done
History of public housing
 Most of these buildings were low rise flats in sub-
urban areas
 In the US, public housing was developed through
regeneration of older neighborhoods
 Were mainly targeting low-income where their old
blocks were demolished after world war II
 Common neighborhoods like in Brooklyn saw these
developments in the 1950s and 60s
 In UK, public housing is undertaken by local
authorities in London and other cities like Leeds,
Birmingham
History of public housing
 Using examples from developed and
developing countries, describe the history,
nature and mode of public sector involvement
in housing provision
Conventional approaches cont..
 Sustainability became hard due to costs,
LDCs debt burdens, lack of institutional
framework and too high standards
 Results were large numbers of population left
un-housed and government deficit
 Peoples attempts to house themselves was
met with intolerance, evictions, demolitions
and resettlement in marginal sites or cheap
government quarters
Critique to conventional approaches
 Generally very little impact due to;
 Numbers developed too few to measure to
demand
 Designs were incompatible with affordability
levels of the population
 Location was far from working areas like
industrial zones
 Resulted to apathy as civil service was poorly
housed e.g. police force
Non- Conventional approaches
 They constitute a combination of efforts by different
players
 Culminated from conventional approaches
weaknesses
 Achieved through state help and self help
approaches. Involves a set of housing programmes
which includes:
 Provision of core housing as demonstration units
 Provision of services
 Improvement of already existing settlements
Non- Conventional cont…
 Regularization of tenure
 Creation of an enabling environment to allow all
players to participate
 Non Conventional approaches are based on a
process approach called the Progressive
Development Model
 Self help is a method of housing construction
through: i)staged development by a contractor and
households ii) flexibility in design, time and materials
used and iii) self- help concept and component
Concept of Self-help
 There are different components of self help
namely. a) spontaneous self-help where land
is acquired illegally and rudimentary shelter
constructed outside state programmes e.g.
squatter settlements b) state supported self
help where the invasion initiated by the users
is supported by the state e.g. settlement
upgrading programmes and c) state initiated
self help where the state initiates the
programmes but some form of self help from
the users is required
Self help cont…
 Example of this is sites and service schemes
 In each of the above, different players are
identified, beneficiaries, state and a
combination of the players
 Self help can also be viewed in terms of
actual participation where we have: mutual
help (families working together in groups and
supervision provided); self help construction
(where a contractor is hired by families; hired
and supervises individual labourers or
household uses its own labour)
Site and Service Schemes
 They are the main form of non-conventional
approaches
 They aim at tapping the potential of the
beneficiaries in terms of labour, time and
resources
 Site and service schemes use an all inclusive
approach where there are many players
 Initiated by the World Bank in 1970s in an
attempt to supply more housing
Site and Service Schemes cont…
 Site and Services Schemes refer to housing
development approach that includes
 Development of new housing
 Provision of starting point of construction i.e.
demonstration units
 Provision of part or whole infrastructure
mains
 Provision of community services
 Provision of start up capital for income
generation projects
Site and Services schemes cont..
 Technical assistance is also offered during
construction in the different phases of project
management, monitoring and evaluation
• The main features are:-
• The Target Group
• Affordability ratio as it determines levels of
cost recovery and replicability
• Project standards in form of plot sizes,
location, infrastructure and the shelter itself.
Standards determine affordability and costs
and time schedule
Evaluation of site and service schemes
 Assessment of success may be done from a
social, economic and housing points of view
 Projects have been undertaken in Jakarta,
Senegal, Zambia, Kenya and Latin American
countries with varying degrees of success
 The projects have increased housing stock,
with Zambia and Senegal registering a 20-
50% impact on the target groups
 Quality of housing much higher than
individually done
Evaluation of SSS cont…
 Occupied by target groups way down to the
20th percentile of the income brackets
 Projects have had similar income distribution
effects as squatter upgrading
 Costs of building lower by 30% and 60%
against those done by private and
government sectors respectively
 Projects have offered employment through
construction activities
Evaluation of SSS cont…
 However, site and service schemes have
been criticized for:-
 Low levels of cost recovery, blamed on poor
management by the implementing agencies,
lack of involvement of stakeholders,
accountability problems and political
patronage
 Poor administration of building material loans
 Bureaucracy by the financial lending
institutions entrusted with the money
Evaluation of SSS cont…
 Infiltration of the projects by upper income
levels either through corruption at selection
point or sell out by the rightful allottees
Issues of concern in Site and service
schemes
 Institutional concerns (conflicting interests)
 Physical Designs and appearances
 Socio-economic conditions of the beneficiaries
 Financial management (who manages)
 Gender concerns
Case Studies of SSS
 Through the use of Dandora site and service
scheme in Kenya and another from another
country. Discuss;
 What are the components of the project?
 What are the project limitations?
 What problems were encountered?
 How would you rate the project and why?
CAT
Squatter Upgrading Programmes
 These represent a form of state supported form of
self-help
 Upgrading is also based on the progressive
development model
 Deals with not just creation of new units in
functionality but enhancement & upgrading existing
units, provision of services and tenure reforms
 At times resettlement is a common feature in
squatter upgrading
 This ensures creation of room for installation of
services and access roads
Squatter upgrading features…
i) Regularization and recognition of existing
tenures ii) granting of home improvement
loans iii) provision of infrastructure and
community services iv) upgrading of housing
units v) works with the residents living in the
settlements
 It is advantageous as it reaches the very low
income percentiles of the population
 It also has a wider degree of community
participation
Squatter upgrading cont…
 Criticized due to:-a) commodification due to
increased values of land b) displacement of
more deserving cases c) unwillingness by
residents to pay for services and new rents d)
poor levels of cost recovery leading to low
levels of replication
Squatter upgrading case study
 Mathare 4A (Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi,
Kibera (KENSUP) and Pumwani (NHC,
government of Kenya initiative) housing
Schemes: characteristics, location, target
group, its achievements and challenges
General constraints in SSS & S U in
LDCs
 Building codes-indifference to local
experiences, ignorant of local economic and
social conditions, most do not recommend
local resources and materials
 Lack of access to adequate and quality
finance in terms of: general lack of adequate
financial systems, stringent lending criteria,
lack of structures to support low income
earners
General constraints con…
 Land use controls in terms of zoning(
restrictive minimum plot sizes, population
density) and fiscal ordinances always skewed
towards high cost housing and industrial use
as they offer better tax returns) that do not
accommodate the majority poor
 Land issues- Aspects range from access,
costs, quantity, quality, inaccessible
registration and administration systems) and
socio-cultural inhibitions
The Enabling Strategies
 These are sectoral strategies adopted to facilitate
housing development
 Results from the limitations of conventional and non-
conventional approaches in delivering shelter
especially to the poor
 These strategies target specific areas that act as
inputs to shelter development
 The strategies aim at reducing the role of the state as
direct providers of shelter and instead enable other
players to provide shelter
Enabling strategies cont…
 The state therefore becomes only a regulator, a
facilitator and an enabler
 One then asks, why, what and how does the state
enable?
 The why is answered through the limitations to state
delivery of shelter and the failures of other
approaches.
 The what is, which areas does the state facilitate
 The how is, the route maps taken in each of the
identified sectors
The Enabling Strategies cont…
 Sectors of intervention. A) Land- It is perhaps
the most critical sector that must be
addressed if housing crises are to be
resolved.
 Against the background of increasing
population and levels of urbanisation, the
supply of land remains static
 This has posed major social, political and
economic challenges not just to the
governments in LDCs but the citizenry as well
The Enabling Strategies cont…
 Land is the cornerstone to all developments and the
way it is managed must incorporate principles such
as all-inclusive, equity, gender sensitivity amongst
others.
 Policies addressing the myriad land issues cutting
across all communities must be premised on the
same principles (see Land Policy 2009)
 Historical injustices and other areas that hinder
development of the land sector must be handled
sensitively without pitting communities against each
other.
The Enabling Strategies cont…
 Governments have, therefore, a critical role
to play in facilitating the above issues by
putting in place structures and regulatory
frameworks that will not only address the
said issues but:
a) Ensure access( costs, quality, quantity and
location) to land is increased to a bigger
majority through planning or taxation policies
More access could be done by encouraging
investors to release land to the market for
low cost housing development.
Access to land cont…
 This could further be achieved through:
i. Provision of infrastructure
ii. Improved methods of cost recovery
iii. Reduction of land speculation

b) Offer minimum security of tenure and

guarantee against eviction and demolition
through prevention of destruction of existing
settlements
Land sector cont…
c) Use of land registration, cadastral Land
information systems that are modern, user-
friendly and all-inclusive
d) Adopt Land use controls both zoning and
fiscal ordinances that are geared towards
making the land markets attractive to the
poor. Appropriate standards for building
codes and infrastructure should also be
adopted
Land sector cont…
e) Embrace community participation. What-
ever approaches and decisions that are
taken regarding the land sector ultimately
affects the stakeholders i.e. communities
and must therefore seek to involve them at
all levels of decision-making and
implementation of programmes. Without
this, all issues identified above can not be
successfully tackled
The enabling Strategies cont…
B. Finance and Employment: the two are key
to housing development. Finance is
necessary for land acquisition, development
of infrastructure and housing construction
• Employment on the other hand is key to the
income earnings of the poor
• Employment should be looked at from both
a formal and informal perspective
• Its dual nature determines whether one can
access formal financial markets or not
Financing the poor
 This is an area that is often grey as majority
of the worlds population is classified as poor
 The extent to which governments can
subsidize this majority is limited
 The formal financial markets are
discriminatory against the poor for obvious
reasons, and their lending approaches are
characterized by the following:
Financing the poor
a) Minimum loan sizes are of large amounts,
the poor require small amounts yet
administration costs are the same
b) Their loan periods are for many years, poor
want short terms, they are always mobile
c) Formal sector require regular payments,
poor need flexible repayment schedules
d) Formal sector lends for completed dwellings
not start up capital or small improvement
loans
Financing the poor
e) They also require well documented
agreements, poor are often semi illiterate
and need simple approaches
f) Formal lenders want to locate in “good well-
lit areas” and open for limited hours, poor
want banks that are near their backstreets
and down town workplaces where they can
save frequently and in odd hours
g) Formal institutions want secure collateral
and do not recognize „other‟ forms of
ownership
Financing the poor
h) Most often they ignore non-conventional
housing approaches
i) They view housing amongst the poor as an
item of consumption
j) Last & not least, most had and have strong
bias against women who unfortunately make
up to 60% of household heads amongst the
poor
Financing the poor
 With the above limitations the public sector initially in
most LDCs got involved in housing finance
programmes e.g. Million houses programme of Sri
Lanka
 However, over the years the public sector role in
housing finance has dwindled immensely due to: (a)
sources of government funds are limited and with too
many commitments, foreign lenders have curtailed
levels of lending to LDCs (b) Poor management
record amongst the public organisations e.g.60% of
Chiles &99% of Pakistan's public housing loans were
in arrears in mid-90s. This is due to mismanagement,
corruption etc
Financing the poor
 (c) Political manipulation where the institutions
become part of patronage bureaucracy serving
sectoral interests
 What approaches have been adopted to counter
this?
 Emergence of informal sector lending groups like
Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs),
S&Ls e.t.c.
 These have enormous benefits compared to the
formal and public agencies
 Mobilisation of women savings
Financing the poor
 Support networks where groups with common
bonds lend and save acting as guarantors
 Legislating Micro Finance Enterprise Systems
 Regulating the housing financial markets
through institutional and regulatory
frameworks.
Subsidies and Rent Controls
 Housing Subsidy: Subsidized housing
encompasses all types of housing supported
by government or non-profit organizations to
make housing affordable for people with low
to moderate incomes.

 Housing subsidies may be described as

“objective” and “subjective” subsidies, or as
“direct” and “indirect” subsidies or as “supply-
based” and “demand-based” subsidies.
Subsidies and Rent Controls
 Objective subsidies or supply-based
subsidies aim at reducing the cost of the
accommodation for the beneficiary target
population.

 Subjective or demand-based subsidies

aim to assist identified individuals to raise
their affordability either through rental
reductions or being given rental supplements
to enable them pay market rents, depending
on their income levels.
Subsidies and Rent Controls
 Thus while with objective subsidy the concern
is to lower cost of house inputs (land,
materials, labour, etc.), subjective subsidy
does not interfere with supply side, but waits
to assist those who cannot compete in the
market by assisting each individual according
to her/his needs.

 Thus two people with different income levels

will pay different rents or prices for similar
housing. Subjective subsidies are therefore
direct, while objective subsidies are indirect.
Subsidies and Rent Controls
 Rationale for Housing Subsidy:-
i. Improving public health.
ii. Improving fairness and justice and societal
stability.
iii. Overcoming market inefficiencies that yield
monopoly profits or poor housing quality or
insufficient volume of new construction,
particularly in the low-income sector.
iv. Stimulating economic growth.
Rent Controls
 Rent control refers to laws or ordinances
that set price controls on the renting of
residential housing. It functions as a price
ceiling. Rent control also outlines regulations
concerning eviction.

 Rent control may be compared to zoning,

where jurisdictions try to balance the rights of
individual property owners with community
interests.
Rent Controls
 Landlords have an opportunity to show that
they are not receiving a fair return, for
example by proving an increase in costs
(such as capital improvements) or
increases in outgoings such as property
rates that should be passed on to tenants.
 Tenants may be able to claim that decreased
services or the lack of necessary repairs
offset such additional increases or justify a
rent reduction.
Rent Controls
 Landlords may be required to register current
rent levels or provide other information on
rent increases and/or terminations of tenancy.

 In Kenya rent control is governed by two

legislations namely, the Rent Control Act for
residential property and the Landlords and
Tenants Act for commercial properties.

Rent Controls
 The Rent Restriction Act pegs rents for
certain residential buildings to a base date of
1981, and stipulates that such rents cannot
be increased without permission of the Rent
Tribunal.

 The standard rent is based on sum of land

value and building cost and is calculated
@15% per annum or 1.25% per month of the
sum, and any property whose standard rent
is less than Ksh 2,500 per month as at
1/1/1981 falls under rent control.
Rent Controls
2.Arguments for rent control
 Rent control is considered necessary to
prevent landlords from imposing rent
increases that force key-workers or
vulnerable people to leave an area.

 It has also been contended that housing is an

inalienable positive human right that equals
or exceeds the property rights of landlords.
Therefore the needs of the tenant should
supersede the needs of the landlord.
Rent Controls
 While some opponents claim that housing
and apartment investment increases in the
absence of rent control, their claim is highly
debatable. Rent control laws often exempt
new construction:, and may encourage
renovations in order to increase rents.
Rent Controls
Arguments against rent control
• Most economists believe that a ceiling on rents
reduces the quality and quantity of housing
available.
• Rent control may not be effective at lowering
rents in the area under control. A rent control
board or agency may be captured or politically
influenced by the land owners/landlords, and may
influence the regulatory process to the extent
that the rent-controlled increases are more than
what they would have been in the free market
without the rent control law.
Rent Controls
 If a price is forcibly kept low, there will be
higher demand. When demand outpaces
supply, there is a shortage. However, since
builders are restricted in the rents they may
charge, they are less willing to construct more
housing.
 Rent control violates the property rights of the
property owners. Owners are limited in what
they may do with their property, to some
extent putting it to work for "the social good."
Housing Finance Case Studies in LDcs
 This should be divided into two: (a) Formal
Housing financial institutions, where we use
local cases (b) Informal institutions
 Examples of (a) Housing Finance Limited,
National Housing Corporation, EABS,
Savings and Loans Associations
 Examples of (b) National Housing Coop
Union (NACHU), Workers Unions and Saccos
e.g. CHUNA, Micro Finance institutions like
K-Rep, KWFT, Merry go rounds, Domestic
Savings etc
Housing Finance Case Studies in LDcs
 Compare and contrast the local financial
sources and from other LDCs
 You could take a case of one African Country
and one from Asia and Latin America
C. Infrastructure
 A minimum level of services should come
with basic housing
 These include water, sewerage disposal
systems, storm water drainage, roads and
solid waste disposal.
 Community facilities like basic education and
health should also be provided
 In LDCs, infrastructure service provision has
not grown to commensurate housing demand
Infrastructure
 Service provision should be addressed at the
design stages of a project
 Situation Analyses show a grim picture,
where residents have to struggle throughout
to access these services.
 The costs and distances are prohibitive
 In other cases, the government is unable to
provide the services due to capacity
problems, finance shortage or poor top down
approach
Infrastructure
 Cost recovery mechanisms should be put in
place to ensure replication and maintenance.
 Besides, community participation should be
embraced to give the locals their preferences
 Government should also give incentives to
the private and informal sectors so that they
can participate in infrastructure service
provision
D. Housing Units
 By use of self-help approaches, it has been
observed the residents are best placed to do
their own housing
 This is because, they can identify with their
needs, resources, priorities and timing
 Besides, it costs much less when residents
develop their own shelter
 Government should thus enable them in the
following ways:
Housing Units
 Introduce more efficient building techniques
 Provision of core housing
 Widen range of designs of housing and
flexibility in infrastructure
 Building standards and zoning regulations
should be at bare minimum
 Prioritize research in areas of low cost
building materials
E. Institutional frameworks
 The other enabling strategies can not operate
in a vacuum
 Institutions and regulations must be put in
place to support facilitation
 In most LDCs, mere rhetoric is the order of
the day in most development areas
 Housing is no exception as institutions
mandated do not want to change to
accommodate the issues that stakeholders
raise
Institutional frameworks
 Institutional and regulatory frameworks go hand in
hand
 These are tools that government has at its disposal,
to influence urban land and housing markets
 Their roles can be positive but at times negative. The
pros of regulation include (i) achieve of orderly land
development (ii) Facilitate efficient land management
(iii) Guide local and foreign investment (iv) protection
of environment and public health (v) increases the
Poor's access to housing, finance and credit (vi)
protects residents from unscrupulous developers
Institutional frameworks
 However, regulatory and institutional
frameworks can also i) over-regulate and
hence discourage investment, ii) imposing
regulations and standards increases costs
which many people can not afford and iii) at
times they don‟t take cognizance of divergent
cultural and social orientations.
Institutional frameworks
 So what's the problem?
 Institutional culture in the public sector has
been viewed as a hindrance to the enabling
approaches
 Case studies from Kenya, India, Lesotho TZ
and others show:
 Public sector is extremely conservative and
resistant to change
 They are bureaucratic and discourage
initiative
Institutional frameworks
 Poor pay and incoherent career structure means that
bright students prefer to work in the private sector
and research institutions
 Thus public service gets the less ambitious whose
morale is worsened by poor pay
 There is also a general fear of rocking the boat thus
resigning to apathy and government lethargy
 Lacks interest in promoting issues for the poor as
they are seen to be less lucrative
 Other priorities and immediate concerns such as
administrative reforms are shelved away
Institutional frameworks
 The way out?
 Recognize and accept realities on the ground
 Incorporate the knowledge/information
systems of the people
 Strengthen inclusiveness
 Promote partnerships between stakeholders
 Build institutional capacity
 Identify champions of change and create
critical mass
Institutional frameworks
 Adopt strict enforcement
 Political will
Governance issues in housing sector
 From a public sector point of view: sectoral
interests, corruption, procurement policies
that are complicated and prone to
manipulation, political patronage
 From a private sector; dealings that are
fraudulent, standards that are compromised,
 Role of professional organizations, civil
society and the larger society
GENDER AND HOUSING
 Introduction
 In her article, Women and Self Help Housing
Projects, Caroline Moser starts by putting three key
questions across in regard to this topic
1) Do women have special needs apart from men?
2) Are there special constraints that limit women‟s
access and development to housing?
3) Do women have special role to play in housing
projects?
Gender and Housing cont…
 The debate on gender has always had a women
inclination due to obvious gender imbalance in many
cultural and societal set ups
 As scholars and policy makers however, a broad
perspective need to be embraced different from that
taken by activists. Why? Gender is not always about
women
 Cultural aspects are changing and men are also
finding themselves in similar challenging situations as
women
 Widening income gaps mean that men can be
equally economically marginalised
Gender and Housing cont…
 Advent of HIV/AIDS also places the income
earning capacity of men in precarious
position with many being single parents,
unemployed or sick
 Policies, therefore must be inclusive and
sensitive to these set-ups
 But what's the relationship between
Women and housing?
 Women constitute over half of the applicants
to housing projects
Gender and Housing cont
 They make up to 60% of the household heads,
especially amongst low income earners
 They are the main users of shelter, through their
traditional role; that of child bearing & rearing
 Despite this, their access to shelter is premised on
erroneous assumptions namely:
a) That the division of labour pattern is distinct within a
household set-up (men- breadwinners, women –
domestic workers)
Gender and Housing cont
b) Households are made of nuclear families
c) Households are functional, peaceful units
where there is equal control of resources
and power
 Policy makers and designers embark on
housing projects assuming incomes and
applications must come from men
Reality
 Low income women form a big proportion of
urban population
Gender and Housing cont…
 Married women have to work to supplement
their partners incomes
 Declining economies have rendered men
unemployed or with limited incomes
 Cultural practices like polygamy mean that
women have intermittently to fed for their
household units
 Social issues like divorce, separation or
choosing unmarried life mean women have to
provide their own shelter
Gender and Housing cont…
 Access to finance is gender biased where
even married women have to be cleared by
spouses for mortgages
 Access to land is male controlled and
patriarchal oriented in many countries
 Women‟s role at policy levels is rarely
mentioned, rarely included, even though its
acknowledged that projects can not succeed
without women
Gender and Housing cont…
 Women‟s livelihood depends on small scale
income generating activities and informal jobs
 Triple role of women is now dominant i.e.
Reproductive, productive and community
management in form of social, political and
economic local groups
Outcomes and Strategies
 Poorly housed families since many are
women headed
Gender and Housing cont…
 Lack of basic needs amongst these
households
 Social and moral fabric breakdown
 Women engaging in activities that contravene
societal stereotypes
 Women playing all the roles and adopting
varied survival strategies such as:
-combination of formal and informal
employment
Gender and Housing cont…
-Venturing in previously male dominated fields
-Forming of social networks and informal
finance groups e.g. ROSCAs called Tontines
in Cameroon and other SMEs
-Renting and sharing of residential spaces
-Investments, savings, skills acquisition
-Other forms of incomes generation activities
like migration, marriages of convenience and
flesh peddling
 Gender and Housing cont…
Way Out?
 There are reasons fronted in support of women
inclusion in decisions on human settlements which
include;
-Their participation is an end in itself; They have a
right and duty to be involved given the time they
spend at home
-Their inclusion results to better results. Since they
spend more time in houses, they are sensitive to
housing design, infrastructure and social needs
Gender and Housing cont…
-Participation in housing activities stimulates higher
productivity in other areas
Therefore the strategies;
 Their triple role should be recognized and
remunerated, production, reproduction and
community responsibilities
 Design and planning of plots/houses should include
women‟s social needs and offer spaces for petty
trades
 Locations of schemes and services should put
women into consideration
Gender and Housing cont…
 Stakeholders to argue and campaign for
inclusion of women in land, housing and
financial policies
 NGOs and Government agencies to come in
defense of women and guarantee their loan
borrowing and repayment capacities
 Capacity building amongst rural and urban
women in areas of land rights, finance and
family reproductive health
Gender and Housing cont…
 Sensitization of all especially the male
bureaucrats on the roles of women, which
has to include attitudinal change from
traditional stereotypes to more gender
inclusive approaches
Housing and Health
 Health and longevity are very consequential for
economic performance.
 There is a direct relationship between adequate
housing, good healtha nd productivity hence the
healthier the wealthier
 traditionally population health viewed as a social
indicator that improves only after countries
become wealthy, new thinking views health itself
as an instrument of economic growth, not simply a
consequence of it
Housing and health
 Health is believed to drive economic growth for
various reasons .
 First, a healthier workforce is a more productive
workforce.
 Second, healthier children tend to have better
records of school attendance, and stay in school
longer = educated workforce. Healthy children
also have better cognitive function, and avoid
physical and mental disabilities that may be
associated with childhood illness.
Housing and health
 Third, healthy populations have higher savings
rates, as people save more in anticipation of longer
lives post-retirement.
 There is also higher life expectancy in healthier
populations resulting to boos in economic welfare

 And finally, healthy populations attract foreign

direct investment.
Housing and health
 The quality of the home has a substantial impact
on health; a warm, dry and secure home is
associated with better health.
 Other factors that help to improve well-being
include the neighbourhood, security of tenure and
modifications for those with disabilities.
 The exact relationship between poor housing and health is
complex and difficult to assess.
 However, research based data suggests that poor housing is
associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases,
respiratory diseases and depression and anxiety
Housing and health-Health hazards
Physiological Hazards
 Damp or mould,Excessive cold ,Excessive
heat,Asbestos ,Biocides,Carbon monoxide and
fuel combustion products,Lead,Radiation (e.g.
radon),Uncombusted fuel gas
Psychological Hazards
 Overcrowding,Entry by intruders,Poor lighting
and Excess noise
 Infection Hazards include ,Poor domestic
hygiene and/or pests ,Poor facilities for food
safety,Poor sanitation and drainage and Poor
Housing and health-Health hazards
Accident Hazards
 Falls associated with bathrooms
 Falls on and between the levels, staircases
 Poor electrical wiring
 Fire risks from Hot surfaces and materials
 Collision and entrapment risks
 Explosion risk
 Poor position and operability of amenities
 Risk of structural collapse and falling elements
Housing and health
Common health effects of unsatisfactory housing
 Respiratory symptoms such as asthma, lung
cancer through exposure to asbestos and radon;
 Depression and anxiety;
 Injury or death from accidents and fires;
 Hypothermia;
 Skin and eye irritation; and
 General physical symptoms.
Housing and health-Health hazards
 A home is assessed as being decent if it
meets all of the following criteria:
 is free from previous hazards as assessed
by house surveyors;
 is in a reasonable state of repair;
 has reasonably modern facilities and
services;
 provides a reasonable degree of thermal
comfort
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
 Sampled into four health-related: lack of
ventilation; dampness; overcrowding; and
exposure to unhygienic locations.
LACK OF VENTILATION
 Indoor air pollution, often associated with poorly
ventilated heating and cooking facilities, is a
major risk factor for pneumonia-related deaths in
children.
 The WHO ranked indoor smoke one of highest
factor associated with high mortality in developing
countries, behind being underweight and unsafe
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
 Women and children are most at risk due to the
fuels used for cooking, heating and lighting.
 A study on indoor air pollution among low-
income communities in South Africa revealed that
people living in houses with minimal ventilation
reported extremely high incidences of blocked or
running noses (83%), chronic coughs and eye
irritation (79%) as well as shortness of breath
(57%).
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
HIGH LEVELS OF MOISTURE AND DAMPNESS:
 Dampness affects some countries more than others
due to prevailing climate conditions. Studies have
identified the association between damp homes
and a higher prevalence of poor health.
 Damp houses have a higher incidence of dust
mites and mould (spores) causing or exacerbating
respiratory conditions such as asthma, wheezing,
aches and pains, diarrhoea, nausea and headaches.
Characteristics of Unhealthy Housing-
HIGH LEVELS OF MOISTURE AND DAMPNESS

damp homes “are twice as likely to suffer from

wheezing and coughing
People are more likely to expérience gastrointestinal
conditions, fatigue, nausea, breathlessness and
poorer mental health as a result of living in damp
conditions
 Depression and anxiety have been associated with
damp housing. Damp homes have also been
associated with a reluctance to invite friends into
the home, anxiety and feelings of shame and
embarrassment which may lead to social isolation
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
HIGH LEVELS OF MOISTURE AND DAMPNESS

 Those experiencing fuel poverty, defined as

needing to spend over 10% of their income on
energy to maintain an adequate standard of
warmth, are likely to be particularly vulnerable
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
OVERCROWDING
 Overcrowding is recognized as a hazard to health.
Definitions of what constitutes overcrowded
housing conditions vary, and depend to a degree
on climate. The UN MDG’s say a house is
considered to provide a sufficient living area for
the household members if not more than three
people share a habitable room of at least 4 sq.m.
 In England, for example, the minimum floor area
for one person is 6.5-8.4 sq. m. and 10.2 sq m. for
two people.
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
OVERCROWDING

 Overcrowding has been associated with the spread

of infectious diseases, accidental deaths, asthma,
cardiovascular diseases, stress and depression.
This risk is compounded when already
overcrowded dwellings are located in, or near,
polluted locations such as waste dump sites.
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
 Related to overcrowding is the issue of density
and housing design. Research evidence tends to
link living in flats, particularly high-rise ones,
with stressful living conditions and social
problems such as crime, social isolation and
reduced privacy.
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
POLLUTION:

 A 2006 study commissioned by United Nations

Environment Program looked at the impact on health of
children living and attending school adjacent to a dump
site the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
 Children were shown to be exposed to dangerously high
levels of lead and mercury on a daily basis.
 For example, samples collected at the dump site showed
some 46.7 parts per million of mercury at the site. This
compared with an acceptable World Health Organization
level of two parts per million.
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
POLLUTION

 An unusually high number of children and

adolescents living around the site had
respiratory (47%), gastrointestinal (18%)
and dermatological illnesses (19%) such as
upper respiratory tract infections, chronic
bronchitis, asthma, fungal infections,
allergic and unspecified inflammation and
skin irritations.
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
Home ownership and
homelessness: Tenure
 Type of housing tenure has consistently been
associated with mortality and morbidity with
renters experiencing worse health than owner
occupiers.
 In terms of health inequalities it is often assumed
that tenure itself may not have a direct influence
on health but is rather a proxy for other factors
like income and social class which do.
 Research suggests that tenure may not simply be
related to health because it is a marker for income.
It has shown that social renters are more likely to
experience housing stressors, such as dampness
and overcrowding, as well as to be exposed to
many other potentially health-damaging factors
such as crime and anti-social behaviour than
owner occupiers. Social renters are also less likely
than owners to have access to features which may
benefit health, such as gardens and good local
amenities
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
 Home ownership has been independently
associated with improved health primarily because
it may help to generate security and control
However, research on mortgage arrears has also
demonstrated that stress and stress-related
illnesses are associated with insecure home
ownership
 Access to housing and homelessness; It seems
likely that the relationship between access to
housing and health is interactive
 People with health problems are
disproportionately more likely to occupy
unsatisfactory housing and also often find it
difficult to access secure, decent housing. Both
these factors may exacerbate their health
problems. Along with poverty and inequality these
factors combine to affect both housing and health
experiences
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
 Homelessness is closely related to poor health and
a higher incidence of health problems than the
general population as a whole. Living on the street
and homelessness are associated with high
mortality rates, high levels of health need and
difficulties accessing health care, particularly
primary health care services.
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
Neighbourhood, social cohesion and community
safety

 Satisfaction with the neighbourhood has been

linked to health. Whilst it is not an explicit health
indicator it has been used as a proxy for
satisfaction with life and an influence of mental
health.
 neighbourhood conditions are associated with
health and health behaviours, over and above the
effects of poverty.
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
 Those who liked their neighbourhood because it
was well maintained, was landscaped and had nice
open spaces were more likely to engage in healthy
behaviour such as walking and were less likely to
smoke.
 Social relationships and networks within
 and beyond a neighbourhood may be
 related to health outcomes, both positively
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
 Social relationships and networks within and
beyond a neighbourhood may be related to health
outcomes, both positively and negatively.
 For instance, social capital can negatively
influence health behaviour by providing channels
to facilitate unhealthy behaviour or educational
under achievement Components of social capital
such as feelings of empowerment, levels of trust
and social networks have been found to influence
feelings of safety in the home and within the
neighbourhood
Characteristics of Unhealthy
Housing
 Fear of crime particularly affects the elderly,
women, poor and other disadvantaged and
vulnerable groups and has been shown to be
significantly associated with poorer health.

 In a study of housing renewal in Liverpool

feelings of safety were a consistent predictor of
health status. Those residents who felt less safe
reported significantly lower mental and social well
being (Green et al, 2002).
Measures to Improve Healthy
Housing
BETTER VENTILATION

 One 2007 study of families in northern Pakistan

showed the impact of specific house design
choices. Installing a roof hatch window halved
energy consumption and less firewood meant less
smoke in the house. The result was fewer eye and
lung irritations and fewer incidences of smoke
related diseases
Measures to Improve Healthy
Housing
BETTER FLOORING

 At the 2010 World Economic Forum in Davos,

Switzerland, the Housing for All initiative
reported that replacing dirt floors with cement
ones reduced parasitic infestations by 78%,
diarrhoea by 49%, anaemia by 81% and improved
cognitive development by 96%
Measures to Improve Healthy
Housing
ACCESS TO IMPROVED WATER AND
SANITATION:

 Studies show that improved sanitation facilities

could reduce diarrhea-related deaths in young
children by more than one-third.
Measures to Improve Healthy
Housing
COMMUNITY HEALTH

 Habitat for Humanity has studied the links

between health and housing. A 2005 project for
Roma people in Svinia, Slovakia, identified that
there had been a “significant improvement in the
health of the community through the provision of
safe clean drinking water, specifically the health
of the children through the reduction of diarrhea
and eradication of hepatitis and parotids.
Measures to Improve Healthy
Housing
CHILDREN’S HEALTH
 Earlier research from Emory University in the US
evaluated the effects of a Habitat for Humanity
project in northern Malawi on the prevalence of
childhood illnesses. The study referred to 318
children under 5 years of age. Of this total:

 175 children lived in traditional 25 sq. m. mud brick

houses with thatch roofing, hard packed mud floors,
and possibly a pit latrine.
Measures to Improve Healthy
Housing
 143 children lived in 30 sq. m. Habitat for
Humanity houses made of fired mud brick
houses, with tiled roofs, concrete foundations,
and pit latrines.

 The children in the Habitat homes were healthier:

55 (38%) were taken ill during the study compared
to 89 (51%) children living in the traditional
houses. The results indicated that children living
in an improved house had 44% reduced odds of
respiratory infection, gastrointestinal illness, or
malaria.
Measures to Improve Healthy
Housing
IMPROVED WELLBEING

 A US meta survey of 45 housing studies suggested

that improving energy efficiency made the homes
warmer for studying and leisure, increased
privacy, and improved relationships between
household members
Cost of Unhealthy housing
 On the health service (because of the association
between poor physical conditions and an increased
incidence of ill health which leads to greater use
of services);
 On the education service (because children living
in cold damp and overcrowded homes cannot
learn as effectively);
 On the police and judicial services (because
unsatisfactory housing design and inadequate
security is associated with increased likelihood of
certain crimes and increased levels of fear);
Cost of Unhealthy Housing
 On the energy supply services (because energy
inefficient homes use excess energy and produce
environmental damage).
 On the emergency services (because poor design
and cold conditions increase the likelihood of
accidents and may increase the use of unsafe
secondary heating appliances which can increase
fire risks)
THANK YOU AND MAY THE
LORD SHINE HIS FACE
UPON YOU, NOW AND
FOREVER