Improving the Livelihoods of Informal Communities as an Approach for Sustainable Solutions to Informal Settlements in Developing Countries
The phenomenon of informal settlement is one of the societal trends to deal with the housing crisis by building housing units on lands that are not suitable for human settlement and in violation of urban planning regulations. Residents of informal settlements settle in areas far from government control, such as mountains, plains, or public lands, and construction is carried out gradually until self-sufficient residential settlements are reached. In development countries, informal settlements are increasing on marginal lands or those close to vital areas in the city. Housing policy makers’ approach to informal settlements should not focus solely on the urban dimension or improving the physical environment; rather, these policies can come from the logic of improving the livelihoods of informal communities and providing the minimum requirements for a decent life for their residents as a means of urban advancement. These solutions are based on understanding the economic resources that informal communities live on and improving them to integrate them into the city’s economy and enable them to gradually transition to the formal housing market.
The concept of affordable housing involves many complex variables: housing distribution and rental costs, housing types and quality, household income. Financing policies and households' ability to…
The phenomenon of informal settlement is one of the societal trends to deal with the housing crisis by building housing units on lands that are not suitable for human settlement and in violation…
Despite efforts to solve the housing crisis in Saudi Arabia, there are still many challenges related to providing affordable housing due to the high cost of production. Cooperative housing is an…