The Urban Housing Manual; Making Regulatory Frameworks Work for the Poor

THIS BOOK IS a response to the widespread failure of countless government agencies to implement planning regulations, standards and administrative procedures that are functional and appropriate to the needs of the urban poor. It emphasizes the need to reconceptualize regulatory frameworks in such a way that the multitude of intersecting factors within urban space are taken into consideration.
The book is supplemented by a CD-ROM, which contains a wide range of international reports on urban development, also Power Point presentations, various methodologies employed in the revision of regulatory frameworks, a multi-player interactive simulation game of regulatory frameworks, a documentary video, and a comprehensive list of literary and web resources. In addition, the book and CD include an extensive supply of information boxes and case studies from a variety of nations and cities, to provide a sense of the life applicability of the issues discussed.
The book is divided into six sections. Section I introduces some of the major international bodies involved in urban development, and highlights the Habitat Agenda, Agenda 21 and the Millennium Development Goals. Regulatory frameworks are presented as a crucial ingredient of successful urban development at national, city and low-income settlement levels. This section underscores the need for active local authority involvement in urban development, and emphasizes the importance of regulations being in line with the wants and needs of the urban poor.
Section II provides a critical discussion of regulatory frameworks within the urban context, analyzing the benefits involved in efficient regulation through central, provincial and local governments, while also presenting the disadvantages that regulations may create.
Section III explores the manner in which regulatory frameworks affect the urban poor at both economic and social levels. In recognizing that regulations affect specific social groups in different ways, links are established between regulatory frameworks and the urban poor with regard to land, security of tenure, infrastructure, housing, home-based enterprise, and credit and finance. It refutes the notion that urban upgrading drives the creation of additional low-income settlements, as long as incremental upgrading is legally recognized.
Section IV describes two methodological approaches to reviewing regulatory frameworks – the Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) approach, supported by DFID, and the use of regulatory audits. Differentiating between the two approaches, the section presents a comprehensive summary of the SL approach along with a multi-step checklist complete with sub-tasks that are suggested as effective guidelines for carrying out effective regulatory audits.
Section V provides 20 theoretical guidelines for ensuring that regulatory frameworks are used and/or revised for maximum benefit to the urban poor. It emphasizes the need for an “on the ground” understanding of issues affecting communities, advocating the active involvement at the grassroots level of organizations and community leaders, with governments assuming an enabling role to facilitate such key components as precedent setting and local ownership of urban initiatives.
Section VI offers concluding remarks and suggestions for those involved in urban development, including policy makers, urban administrators, professionals, development practitioners and those involved in international or civil organizations.