Course: AR607

Asst. Prof. Jayanandini G, B.Arch,M.arch Habitat Design

SASI Creative school of Architecture, Coimbatore
The term ‘affordable’, as it is a relative concept and could have several implied meanings in
different contexts.

Affordability
Affordability has been brought about in India by the concept “low cost housing”. A stigma
lies that low cost housing means physically and structurally unsound houses. Actually it
means cost reduction without sacrificing quality, reliability & durability.

•Level of services Affordability (or)

•Housing Adjusted to ability of
•Facilities residents to pay

Objective of cost reduction

The basic objective is to enable the state to help large number of families with the
available resources, which are limited.
METHODS OF COST REDUCTION
1) Cost reduction of all components in housing
 Like construction, labor etc.
 By avoiding wastage of materials
 By innovation on traditional and local materials & method of construction.
2) Cost reduction through beneficiary & community participation
 50% of total cost goes towards labor
 In Kerala state housing board where the community itself built houses for EWS. Beneficiary participation can help achieve cost
reduction.
3) Attempts to thwart cost of construction
 All agencies like those of architects, contractors etc are paid on the basis of construction cost.
 As a result there are fewer architects who undertake genuine low cost construction.
4) Need for extension work
 Demonstrating and teaching people about effectiveness of new method techniques & to win their confidence.
 By demonstration projects.
 Priority for loan assistance
 Supply of levy cement
5) Building centers & technology
 Example: Building center movement – Kerala
 Centers are not only able to invent but also reach out to common man. Its main task is effective transfer of technology from land to
land.
 There are 150 centers at district level at country called Nimriti Kendra
- skill up gradation of laborers
- building materials, manufacturing & outlet centers
- training centers for right type of work force for housing & building delivery system
- ensuring credibility for new technologies
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation criteria for affordable housing.

Size EMI or rent

EWS Minimum of 300 sq ft super Not exceeding 30–40%
built up area gross monthly income of
buyer Same criteria
Minimum of 269 sq ft qualifying for
(25 sq m) carpet area
LIG Minimum of 500 sq ft super
built up area
Maximum of 517 sq ft
(48 sq m) carpet area
MIG 600–1200 sq ft super built
up area
Maximum of 861 sq ft
(80 sq m) carpet area
Social and economic factors influencing affordability include;
• Household size
• Geographic location
• Occupation
• Income and Expenditure
• Nature of work
• Liabilities/commitments
• Savings
• Disposable income
• Social aspects such as Health facilities, educational facilities, amenities and social issues
on gender bias, social equality and culture

Thus affordability is a relative term linked to one’s income, expenditure, savings,

liabilities and commitments and primarily disposable income.
Perception of affordability will differ from individual to individual.
OCCUPATION NATURE OF WORK

 For a place to be considered as an Urban Main workers:

area, the majority of the population should
be involved in Secondary, Tertiary and
Quaternary Jobs.
 Secondary jobs: involves manufacturing,
raw materials from primary jobs are used to
create products.
o Eg:, Steel to manufacture machineries
and vehicles, etc..
 Tertiary jobs: involve providing a service
E.g. teaching and nursing.
 Quaternary jobs: involve research and
development
The number of main workforce in urban areas high
Mostly those engaged in Secondary, Tertiary and
Quaternary Jobs.
Marginal workers:
These are workers who have not been employed for 6
months or more.
The number of marginal workers in the urban areas are
comparatively low.
Non Workers
Those who are not employed or those who have not
participated in any economic activity in the past year.
Eg: Dependent pop., Students, Household duties,
Pensioners, etc.
INCOME SOCIAL ASPECTS

• Educational Facilities
All facilities from High school to higher education in diverse fields are provided.

• Amenities
All amenities are provided; these cater to both urban and surrounding rural areas.
 HIG
 MIG • Social Issues
 LIG Gender bias: Has reduced considerably over the years
 EWS Social Equality: Equal opportunities are provided for all
Culture: Diverse customs and traditions are present even though they are not followed that
rigorously.

•Maintaining social stability: antisocial activities will breed & grow in slums & squatter
settlements if adequate housing facilities are not available.

•Maintaining health: upward trend in expectation of life improvement in health leads to

lesser incidents of diseases- lesser national expenditure on medical facilities. An increase in
efficiency of healthy workers gives better productions & profits.
Economic factors

Housing constitutes the major investment to contribute to the up gradation of the level of living of
the people.

The multiple roles played by housing sector

•Creating employment facilities: employment facilities during off season

•Accelerating economic growth : a great role in improving Gross National Income (Malaysia,
Japan, Brazil etc.)

•Improving & augmenting the national economy:

contribution made by housing sector to the national economy is 4%
housing construction industry is highly labour intensive. Most of the employment generated
benefits the low & lower income groups.
More housing activities will need more building materials, thus encouraging small scale
industries.
Generates income for the State & Local authorities
 Stamp duty &
registration charges

Income generation for Building license fees

Building tax state & local authorities

Property tax
 There are varied discussions about the meaning of
“equity”, “impartiality”, and “justice” in the fields
ranging from philosophy to economics.

 Just and Fair inclusion. An equitable society is one in

which all can participate and prosper. The goals of
equity should be create conditions for all to reach
their full potential.

 In short, equity creates a path from hope to change.

 Social Equity implies:

 Impartial Access to resources
 Complete Participation in the political aspects
 Self-determination in fulfilling financial necessities
 In the planning context, “equity planning” indicates a responsibility that
planners have to:

 Inspire Ideas
 Mobilise under-represented constituencies
 Frame and implement policies
 Initiate programs that re-distribute public and private resources to the
under privileged strata of society.
 SLUMS

A slum, as defined by the United Nations agency UN-

HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by
substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure
security.
According to the UN one billion people live in slums.
The term has traditionally referred to housing areas that
were once respectable but which deteriorated as the original
dwellers moved on to newer and better parts of the city, but
has come to include the vast informal settlements found in
cities in the developing world.
A compact area of at least 300 population or about 60-70
households
 poorly built congested tenements
 In unhygienic environment
 usually
▪ with inadequate infrastructure
▪ lacking in proper sanitary and drinking water facilities
 Characteristics of Slums

• Slums have characteristics that vary from

place to place.
• Slums are usually characterized by urban
decay, high rates of poverty, and
unemployment.
• They are commonly seen as "breeding
grounds" for social problems such as
crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, etc. In
many slums, especially in poor countries,
many live in very narrow alleys that do not
allow vehicles to pass.
 Facts on slums
25% of India’s population live on less than one dollar a day
49% of Mumbai’s population live in Slums
There are 5,072 slums in Kolkata
Total surface area of the 5,072 slums is 25 square km, equivalent
to 16 per cent of the entire surface area of Kolkata. (Total area of the city is 187 sq
km)
Forty per cent of Pune's population, an estimated 14 lakh people, live in slums.

Dharavi
• Dharavi is a slum and administrative ward, over parts of Sion, Bandra(E), Kurla and Kalina
suburbs of Mumbai, India
• Sandwiched between Mahim in the west and Sion in the east, is Dharavi
• Spread over an area of 175 hectares,
• Dharavi has a population of more than 600,000 people In the expensive Mumbai, Dharavi
provides a cheap alternative where rents can be as low as 4 US dollars per month
 Nearly 1 per cent
of India’s population live in the
slums of Maharashtra!
 • It is vicious cycle of population growth, people migrate to cities for job opportunities but
are not well educated and get low income.
• Unable to find housing which they can afford, they decide to build their own shelter close
to work. First one shelter then two and then ten thousand.
• Conniving governments look at slums as vote bank. They provide electricity and drinking
water. They organise unauthorised dwellers into political purposes hence slums took a bit
of a permanent shape.
• The key reason for slums is the slow economic progress
Conclusion
• In the next six years, urban India needs to build at least 10.5 million houses to
meet the demand for housing that accompanies rising levels of urbanization.
With the financial crisis bringing affordable housing back on the radar of
promoters and builders, it is worthwhile to estimate the extent of unmet
demand for low-cost houses.
• As much as 65% of the demand in India’s top 112 cities is for houses
measuring less than 1,000 sq. ft. This translates into approximately 6.8
million new homes.
• Interestingly, about 70% of the demand would be for houses with two rooms
or less. This means 7.4 million new houses need to meet these specifications.
This is because 90% of the urban households have incomes under Rs 5 lakh
per annum.
 Improvement in the income and living conditions of marginalized
communities shall be achieved through two powerful tools. They are:
 Access to land
 Access to Infrastructure

 A major approach to improve living conditions through resourcefulness shall

be by providing infrastructure to un-services and under-services communities

 Several aspects such as geographic size, diverse ethnicity and different

degrees of development levels of various localities have made
decentralisation as the most appropriate approach ensuring accountability
to local prospects and requirements.
 The public sector should consider basic infrastructure as a critical component for
local development. Basic infrastructure is the most effective mechanism by
which marginalized communities can be empowered

 The main goal is to promote the following objectives:

 Social equity
 Augmentation of economic opportunities
 Improvement and up gradation of living environment
 Encourage partnership to influence development

 To ensure community-driven delivery of service, the public sector should

consider decentralized program management. The programmes shall be
structured on political and technical base to cope with the large number of
geographically dispersed and varied nature of projects.
 Decentralisation and community involvement in the provision of
infrastructure services are vital aspects of improving living conditions and
social equity.

 The initiatives in this regard shall be successfully achieved through the

following aspects:
 Dynamic and influential ULBs
 Sustained community involvement
 Adequate finance management

 These aspects ensure

 Sustained provision of infrastructure services through decentralised institutions
 Promote local development in a holistic way
 Foster community involvement and social equity in the most challenging contexts.
COSTFORD had published a
booklet by Dr. Laurie Baker –
‘Are slums inevitable?’- in
1996.

It outlined his ideas regarding

slums – both philosophical and
practical
Dr Laurie Baker adopted these concepts to design residential blocks when
COSTFORD took up the work at Chenkalchoola.
Chenkalchoola, situated at the eastern-
side of Secretariat.
The earth from this place was taken to
make bricks (chenkal) for the
construction of Secretariat. Thus this
place got its name.
The quarry was filled with waste
materials and earth brought from
outside.
Poorer people started moving to this low
lying, neglected area of 12 acres in the
heart of Thiruvananthapuram City .
528 houses were completed during 1978-90, in 1st, 2nd, & 3rd stages.

In the fourth stage, 88 houses were completed.

In total, 616 houses were completed.

In 2003, the Corporation decided
to construct 160 more houses for
remaining settlers as part of
Slum Clearance and
Rehabilitation.

The Corporation requested to

Centre of Science & Technology
for Rural Development
(COSTFORD) to undertake the
design and construction.
BLOCK DESIGNS
ON
A'
FIRST FLOOR PLAN

1.19 3.02 3.01 1.19

0.11 0.11 0.23 0.11 0.11

BED RM BED RM
2.59 X 1.73 2.59 X 1.73
D1 D1
UP
UP
JALI JALI
D2 D2
TOI TOI
KITCHEN LIVING RM LIVING RM KITCHEN
1.62 x 3.7 2.59X 1.86 2.59 X 1.86 1.62 x 3.7

D1 D1

W1
DN

1 OPEN TERRACE OPEN TERRACE

TOILET

JALI
JALI
D2

W1
KITCHEN
1.65X3.04
OPEN TERRACE OPEN TERRACE

W1 W1

OR PLAN
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
 D1 D1

W1 W1 W1 W1 W1
0.23

OPEN TERRACE OPEN TERRACE

FRONT ELEVATION
A'
FIRST FLOOR PLAN

DN
UP 1.19 3.02 3.01 1.19
W1 W1 0.11 0.23 0.11
0.11 0.11
D1
W1
BED RM BED RM LIVING RM
BED RM LIVING RM JALI BED RM JALI
2.03 X2.59
2 X 1.73 3.76 X2
2.59 X 1.73
2.03 X 2 3.76 X 2 D1 D1
TOILET D2
TOILET D1 JALI
UP D2
JALI D2 UP TOILET
JALI JALI
TOILET D2 D2
W1 TOI
TOILET D2 W1 TOI
KITCHEN LIVING RM
KITCHEN LIVING
BEDRMRM KITCHENJALI
TOILET D2
KITCHEN JALI D2 2.59X
3.2 1.86
X 1.47 2.59 X 1.86
1.62 x 3.7 2.59 X 1.47 1.62 x 3.7D2
3.2 X 1.47 D2
D2 D2
D1 D1

W1 KITCHEN KITCHEN
W1 W1 W1 W1
LIVING RM KITCHEN KITCHEN LIVING RM 3.03 x 1.5 3.03 x 1.5
2.62 X 1.62 DN 2.62 X 1.62
2.5 X 2.47 3.03 X 1.5 3.03 X 1.5 2.5 X 2.47
D2

D1 D1 D1 D1 OPEN TERRACE
W1 OPEN TERRACE
D2
D2
TOILET LIVING RM BED RM BED RM LIVING RM
BED RM W1 W1 BED RM
JALI JALI 2.62 X 2.47 3.03 X 2.59 3.03 X 2.59 2.62 X 2.47
TOILET 3.5 X 1.5 2.03 X 2.47 2.03 X 2.47 3.5 X 1.5
JALI JALI
W1 D2 D1 D1

W1 W1 W1 W1 W1
D1 W1 D1
0.23

W1 W1 W1
KITCHEN LIVING RM BED RM BED RM LIVING RM KITCHEN
1.65X3.04 3.82 X 3.04 3 X 3.04 3 X 3.04 3.82 X 3.04 1.65X3.04 OPENTERRACE
TERRACE OPEN TERRACE
OPEN OPEN TERRACE

D1 D1

W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1

FRONT ELEVATION
UP
GROUND FLOOR PLAN FIRST FLOOR PLAN
A'
SECOND FLOOR PLAN

UP 1.19 3.02 3.01 1.19

W1 W1 0.11 0.23 0.11
0.11 0.11

W1
BED RM BED RM
BED RM LIVING RM
2.59 X 1.73 2.59 X 1.73
2.03 X 2 3.76 X 2 D1 D1
TOILET D1 UP
JALI D2 UP
JALI JALI
TOILET D2 D2
W1 TOI TOI
KITCHEN LIVING RM LIVING RM KITCHEN
TOILET D2
KITCHEN JALI D2 2.59X 1.86 2.59 X 1.86
1.62 x 3.7 1.62 x 3.7
3.2 X 1.47 D2
D2
D1 D1
• 35 m2
• 2 bedrooms, multipurpose
room, kitchen, toilet
• Open areas
GF – designated ground spaces
FF & SF – open terrace
• Water tap, sink, work
slab, chimney in kitchens
• Water tap, closet in toilets
• One light point in all rooms – 6 nos
• Fan points – 2 nos
Singapore’s Housing Policies Housing a nation : Holistic policies for affordable homes

The “miracle” transformation: from 3rd world to 1st in one life time !

Singapore’s
Profile
Horizontal Expansion
Vertical expansion