THIS BOOK PROVIDES INSIGHT into how different countries in the developing world have responded to the neo-liberal agenda of market enablement and its associated processes of globalization, structural adjustment and urban management reform. It investigates: the links between international development agendas; their local impacts on housing and land policies; poverty alleviation and urban restructuring; and finally, the mediating role of the state operating through national urban development strategies and policies. It attempts to bridge urban political economy research and the plethora of microlevel, technocratic and project-based evaluations that dominate the shelter and land sector.
Chapters 1–4 link concepts to policy and practice by exploring how changes in development theory – from welfare to market enablement – political economy and institutional frameworks have redefined the role of the state vis-à-vis the urban sector, and how policies within the sector (for example, for shelter and land) are determined and influenced by these factors.
Chapters 5–8 explore the interplay between the current urban sector policy paradigm in land, development and housing, the policy apparatus, outcomes and the lessons learned from practice, drawing their evidence from country-specific studies. These case studies “…demonstrate the inherent contradictory tensions between urban policy and outcomes within the enablement paradigm. They argue that key objectives embodied in enablement, such as urban productivity, land delivery for low-income dwellers, housing programmes, poverty alleviation, improvements in living standards and participatory development strategies, are rarely delivered” (page 23).