HI 311: Housing theories and policies

Lecture 1a: Housing theories and concepts

Teacher: Dr.-Ing. Magina, Bwire Fredrick

 Contents

 Housing paradigms (the provider vs. support paradigms)

 Modernisation theory
 Housing adjustment theory
 Concepts of low cost and affordable housing
 The basic needs-oriented development approach
 The bottom-up development approach
 Self-help concept
 Progressive improvement (incremental) approach
 Sustainable development concepts in housing
 Provider vs. support paradigms
Housing provider paradigm
• Evolved from the Habitat I conference held in Vancouver,
Canada, 1976.
• Majority of governments made commitments, on paper, to
provide housing for their people.

• Emphasis was to increase production through centralized

control.
• Relied on regulations to ensure standards and quality.

• Practically it was not a viable option (many governments

failed to implement) – financial limitations.
 Provider vs. support paradigms…

Housing support paradigm

• A shift in policy focus was promoted in 1988 through
“global strategy for shelter for the year 2002.
• Housing support paradigm and partnership were promoted
- an alternative to the provider paradigm.
• Governments could no longer provide housing in a
conventional way.
• Governments could provide conducive environment for
housing construction e.g. infrastructure provision, land use
planning and plot demarcation.
• People could provide infrastructure services which do not
need sophisticated technical solutions.
 Modernisation theory

• Modernity as an origin of globalization is one of the vital

factors in global warming.

• Recently, there has been a rethinking in contemporary social

and cultural theory of the concept of modernity
• The most impressive source for its manifestation is technology,
which is a restless and accelerating process of transformation
(Baper et.al, 2010).
• The continuous technical progress in science and technology
feeds as motivators to introduced new dimensions to the
social life and a regular change to the traditional cultures.
• Modernization theory according to Habermas’s historical
analysis, leads to the liberation of subjects from traditional
roles and values.
 Modernisation theory…

• Applied in housing, modernization can be in form of but not

limited to:
– Reconstruction of heating, hot and cold water systems
– Replacement of windows and outside doors
– Roof insulation, including pitched roof construction
– Glazing of balconies (loggias)
– Exterior wall insulation
– Insulation of slab above cellar
– Plinth insulation
– Alternative energy source installation (sun, wind...)
– Reconstruction of elevators
– Reconstruction or replacement of common use systems, such as: waste
water, electric installation, fire safety, ventilation
– Painting
 Modernisation theory…

Turning balconies into loggias is not only a

good way to improve thermal resistance of the
façade but it is also a necessity since old
balconies are often in a very poor state. In this
case old balconies were replaced with new
glazed ones.
 Housing Adjustment Theory

• A framework for understanding the process by which

households seeks to maintain
– Equilibrium, the causes of disequilibrium, and the
consequences of existing in a state of disequilibrium.

• Equilibrium is a state in which the household’s current

housing is in accordance with the norms of both society
and the household itself, and it fits the needs of the
household.
• Housing norms include space, tenure and structure type,
quality, expenditure and neighborhood.
• When one or more of these norms is not met by the
household’s current housing, the household experiences a
housing deficit.
 Housing Adjustment Theory…

• Deficits lead to feelings of dissatisfaction with one’s current

housing, and chronic dissatisfaction may cause the
household to engage in change behavior in the form of
adjustment, adaptation, or regeneration.

• Household determines which deficit is more dissatisfactory

and make housing changes (adjust) based on that decision.
 Concept of low cost and affordable housing

• Also termed as Economic Building Concept

• It is considered a concept of reduction in the cost of
construction without sacrificing the strength required for the
performance of the building.

• Low cost – term used to describe amount of dwelling space

and housing cost deemed affordable.

• Affordable housing - term used to describe dwelling units

whose total housing cost are deemed “Affordable” to a group
of people within a specified income range.

• To attain low cost and affordable housing, different logical

approaches (for optimizing housing solutions) are considered.
– Range from designs, economy, construction systems and technology, to energy efficiency.
 Concepts of low cost and affordable housing…

• It is a misconceived that low cost housing:

– is based on inferior specifications, low quality and produces sub
standard work.
– is only for the poor.
 Self-help [building] housing concept

• Describes how housing has been developed by people

themselves.
• A process through which the lower income households get
access to housing.
• Mainly considers the use value of housing for individuals while
the wider economic context is not taken into consideration
(Burgess, 1982).

• Pertinent to housing in informal settlements or slums which

have mainly been built both informally and incrementally.

• Largely by the poor cannot afford the costs of planners or

architects; but they can pay for some qualified construction
labour for complex tasks.
 Self-help [building] housing concept…

• There is a social and cultural appropriation which leads

people to have some desire about their houses.
• The desire to acquire a complete sense of home:
– The desire to own through the acquisition of a piece of ground.
– The desire to acquire and conform to popular images and conventions.
– The desire for social acceptance, social respect and personal dignity.
– The desire to order and orchestrate space to fulfill household needs.
– The desire to form a community

• The desire to make a spatial structure for habitation, can be

seen visually in informal settlements where people have no
other option to choose a place to live.
 Progressive improvement (incremental)
approach
• A step by step process of building and upgrading a house.
• A common practice in much of the developing world.

• Households build or extend houses on an od hoc basis in

response to their needs and availability of resources.
• Constitutes 50 to 90% of residential construction.

• The essential element of incremental housing is that it

enables households to respond to their own priorities and
needs, and to have a greater level of authority over theirn
own housing solutions.
 Progressive improvement (incremental)
approach
• Improvements can be substantial, such as adding a second
story, or more modest, such as fixing a roof or resurfacing a
mud floor.
• Small upgrades can have an economic and health impacts.
– A room to rent, a sales kiosk counter, a warehouse or a production space
can bolster household income and economic standing.
– Very low-cost upgrades to concrete flooring in Mexico resulted in
statistically significant improvement in cognitive development and
reductions in parasitic infection and diarrhea in children.
 References

• Arroyo, I. (2013). Organized self-help housing as an enabling shelter &

development strategy. Lessons from current practice, institutional approaches and
projects in developing countries Lund University
• UN-Habitat (2014). Step by Step: Supporting Incremental 14 Building Through
Housing Microfinance. Shelter Report. Nairobi