INFORMAL LAND MARKET AND URBAN POVERTY

INFORMAL LAND MARKET AND URBAN POVERTY
UPA Package 3, Module 2 INFORMAL LAND MARKET AND URBAN POVERTY

Informal Settlement and Urban Poverty
Poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon: Lack of access to employment; Lack of tenure security ; Lack of social protection; Lack of access to health, education and personal security.

Poverty can be defined as lack of security and choice: Lack of adequate housing and services; Live and work in informal and illegal settlements Do not have secure tenure in these settlements Lack of adequate transport infrastructure Great commuting distance Lack of access to credit

For the urban poor, both two elements are missing in the urban land and housing market Reading: What Is Urban Poverty? --World Bank, 2001

World Population Growth Will Be Mainly in Urban

Almost All Growth Will Take Place in Cities of Developing Countries

Developing Country Rapid Urbanization Leads to an Increase in Informal Settlements
Urban growth in developing countries comes primarily from individuals migrating from the rural areas (Nairobi: 90% of recent arrivals to the slum areas came from rural Kenya). In the cities of developing countries there is restricted access to formal serviced land by the urban poor (limited formal land market activities, and limited access to credit) The urban irregular informal land market meets the demand of the urban poor (and is apparently both more profitable and easier to develop) . The result has been a rapid increase in the informal or slum areas. The formal serviced land market is not responding to the demand.

Informal Settlement Dense settlements comprising communities housed in self-Constructed shelters under conditions of informal or traditional land tenure. Common features of developing countries and are typically the product of an urgent need for shelter by the urban poor. A significant problem especially developing countries housing the world's disadvantaged.

Informal Settlement Informal settlements occur when the current land administration and planning fails to address the needs of the whole community. These areas are characterized by rapid, unstructutured and unplanning development. On a global scale informal settlements are a significant problem especially in third world countries housing the world's disadvantaged. Slums, squatter settlements and illegal settlements are unique characteristics of informal settlements.

Informal Settlement Example:
Participation in Informal Settlement Nairobi ,Kenya --Dorothy Abonyoof 1999 Coping With Informality And Illegality In Human Settlements In Developing Cities --Leuven and Brussels, 2001 The Improvement of Informal Areas in El-Monira, Egypt --UN HABITAT 1996

Hout Bay Informal Settlement Images– South Africa
1993 1994 Hout Bay derives its name from the Dutch for Bay of Wood, for which it was apparently known in the early settlement days of the Western Cape as a good source of wood for ship building and repairs. The need for labour in the harbour attracted migranting workers who were precluded from ownership or secure leases by group areas legislation. Squatting occurred sporadically by pockets of people for more than fifty years. by the late 1990 more than 2000 people lived in five main informal settlements, the largest being Princess Bush and Sea Products near Hout Bay harbour.

Hout Bay Informal Settlement Images–south Africa
1996 1997

Informal Settlement - Slum
Slums are legal but overcrowded, under-serviced settlements,they are legal but substandard settlements. Slum dwellers could be either renters of the shelter, or the land or they could be owners of the land and dwelling. Slums are normally found in the centers of cities, although it is not uncommon to find slums, where land is rented, in the urban periphery. Reading Urban Slum Reports: The case of Nairobi, Kenya -- Winnie Mitullah 2003 Slums of The World: The Face Of Urban Poverty In The New Millennium? -- UN HABITAT 2003

The term slum includes the traditional meaning, that is, housing areas that were once respectable or even desirable, but which have since deteriorated, as the original dwellers have moved to new and better areas of cities. The condition of the old houses has then declined, and the units have been progressively subdivided and rented out to lower-income groups.A typical example is the innercity slums of many historical towns and cities in both the industrial and the developing countries.

Hualoujie, Wuhan, China A former residential houses. Once, more then fifty years ago, as the desired houses where located in the busiest area of Wuhan city. It was demolished in May 2003

The term slum has, however, come to include also the vast informal settlements that are quickly becoming the most visual expression of urban poverty. The quality of dwellings in such settlements varies from the simplest shack to permanent structures, while access to water, electricity, sanitation and other basic services and infrastructure tends to be limited. Such settlements are referred to by a wide range of names and include a variety of tenurial arrangements.

Slums of The World: The Face Of Urban Poverty In The New Millennium? Reading: The new paper presents the results of a first global enumeration of slums at the country level by UN habitat in 2003.This document is the culmination of attempts to come to grips with changes in the way we measure slums, starting by providing an agreed universal, definition of this type of settlements and a clear methodological approach. The preliminary estimations presented in this document represent a baseline year level that permits the preparation of quantitative estimates for future trends. By providing the methodology and the quantitative knowledge base, the document strives to enhance the use of information on urban poverty, as a powerful policy-making tool to help induce the desired structural changes for poverty alleviation. -- UN HABITAT 2003

- Squatter Settlements
Informal Settlement - Squatter Settlements Squatter settlements are unplanned, often unserviced illegal settlements. Squatter settlements are often found on marginal or environmentally hazardous lands, such as beside railway tracks, along rivers and canals etc. They are also found on government land or land whose ownership is unclear. Squatter settlements are spontaneous or organic settlements with little or no planning. Squatter settlements are substandard housing conditions and Minimum amounts of capital investment because their land tenure is illegal.

Informal Settlement - Squatter Settlements Usually, a squatter settlement is highly organized despite being illegal. The occupants have clearly defined behavioral rules, spatial boundaries and methods of solving tenurial disagreements. Illegal housing is sold, land is subdivided and leased, and other transactions are possible as if the land or housing was legal. The settlement is also typically recognized by the public or private landowner, and, if the landowner is private, rents are often transferred. Squatter settlements have gradually become an integral part of the urban fabric. Reading: Defining Squatter Settlements Hari Srinivas

Informal Settlement - Squatter Settlements A squatter settlement in city periphery, China A settlement, lacking services, which consists of a collection of small, crude shacks made of discarded materials and serving as habitation for poor people on the outskirts of towns.

Informal Settlement - Squatter Settlements A squatter settlement in city periphery, China

A Squatter Settlement in E. Santiago
In their early stages squatter settlements are characterized by haphazard settlements patterns, poor quality of housing and an absence of public infrastructure and services such as piped water supply, sewerage, roads and electricity. Over time, people find ways of accessing basic services. In some squatter settlements water is bought through vendors and charges could be as high as ten times the municipal water rates. In other cases squatters have been known to illegally tap into the main water pipe lines to access water.

Although generally regarded as an important aspect of sanitation, the removal or treatment of solid waste by a household has not been widely collected in surveys. In urban areas this is especially critical and for many observers the condition of solid waste disposal is the first impression of an unacceptable living condition.

- Illegal Subdivisions
Informal Settlement - Illegal Subdivisions Illegal subdivisions are planned and organized. These usually occur in cities where the government owns large tracts of vacant land, with low opportunity cost, in the periphery of the city. Illegal subdivisions are started by unscrupulous land developers who are often in league with corrupt elected and appointed government officials, including the police. With the protection of these corrupt officials these developers occupy government land, level it and subdivide it, according to government planning regulations, planning space for commercial, residential zones, schools, hospitals, religious institutions, recreation areas, primary, secondary and tertiary roads etc.

- Illegal Subdivisions
Informal Settlement - Illegal Subdivisions These plots are sold, at almost nominal prices, without services to low-income households in desperate need for shelter. The only thing they provide is water through tanker trucks. Such subdivisions often pay little attention to health and fire safety considerations. As the motive behind their development is maximum profit they often have no provision of public amenities like parks or open spaces. narrow roads contravening planning rules and a lack of coordination of transport access to lands around them can cause traffic congestion.

Informal Land Market Substandard and insecure housing conditions are recognised as a crucial aspect of urban poverty. In most large cities in the developing world, the formal market serves only a minority of the population. It is estimated that between 30 and 70% live in ‘irregular’ settlements and that up to 85% of the new housing stock is produced in an extra-legal manner. The conventional sequence of Planning-Servicing-Building-Occupation is a key factor in both market and state failures. Each of these steps leads to a steep price increase and speculation, and in effect raw land is turned into a scarce and expensive commodity. The effects to the urban poor is that they have be locked out of formal urban land markets.

Informal Land Market Why do they work?
When the poor are locked out of the formal land and housing markets they revert to the informal land and housing markets to meet their needs. Why do they work? Reading Learning from informal markets: Innovative approaches to land and housing provision Erhard Berner2000 Informal land delivery processes in six african cities Carole Rakodi and Clement Leduka 2003

Informal Land Market Invasions:
Homeless urban dwellers who group together to take away a piece of land from speculators or listless governments is certainly appealing. low quality public land, is a common condition for invasions on a massive scale. In these cases the land is uncontested and can be occupied by squatters even without being organized

Informal Land Market Squatting in marginal locations: Reading
Illegal settlements fill the gaps left by urban development. ‘there is no free squatting’ distinction between non-commercial and commercial articulation of illegal land supply becomes, thus, questionable. Where traditional systems of land allocation exist they are often losing significance or becoming commercialized themselves. Reading Learning from informal markets: Innovative approaches to land and housing provision --Erhard Berner2000

Informal Land Market Extra-legal subdivisions:
This implies that houses are built without permits and their quality as well as the provision of infrastructure may be below regular standards, which is precisely what makes them affordable for low-income groups. ‘It is their ability to cut corners–and costs–which has helped the commercial subdividers to expand their operations and to provide plots which are more appropriate, affordable and easily available than any other housing option’. The ‘serviced’ land can then be subdivided and sold–what is actually sold is the ‘right to squat’ on a certain plot, and no one mistakes this for a legal title. It is not uncommon that part of the land is set aside for speculation purposes.

Informal Land Market Renting and subletting:
Recent figures compiled by UNCHS indeed suggest that in most cities, the majority of the population is renting accommodation; It is reasonable to assume that a large proportion of these tenants is poor, and renting because owner occupation is not accessible to them. there is a wide variation of rental sub-markets in terms of accessibility and quality of infrastructure of the location, form and security of tenure, and the quality of housing and facilities. A close relation between land markets and rental accommodation:‘In many cities, the bulk of affordable rental housing is now provided in the homes of low-income homeowners–whether they have legal, semi-legal or no legal tenure of their land and house’.

Bring the Poor Into Formal Land Market
The key to sustainable poverty alleviation is not to make the poor dependent on governments or non-governmental organizations but to empower them to increase their security and choices. In other words to enable the poor to operate in formal markets like other citizens. Experience has shown that bringing the poor into the formal land and housing markets needs a two pronged strategy: increasing the choices available on the supply side and increasing affordability on the demand side.

Housing opportunities for the urban poor has become an increasingly urgent task for municipalities to tackle. Most of the initiatives to provide low-income groups access to land for housing introduced later are implemented by governments. These include sites-and-services schemes and settlement upgrading. Apart from sites-and-services schemes and settlement upgrading, incremental development is an approach which lets the target group decide when to develop their land. A figure may display the basic difference between these three concepts and conventional housing programmes.

Increasing Supply of Land for the Poor
Early attempts: Governments provides low-income housing focused on the provision of fully serviced public housing units. Urban migrants and squatter settlements were treated with open hostility.and were often flattened with the help of bulldozers. During the 1960s and 1970s: Government housing programmes were completely incapable of keeping pace with the enormous demand.

Increasing Supply of Land for the Poor
After then,Many experts advocated: Provide security of tenure to low-income groups Provide some basic infrastructure Residents would with time gradually improve their housing. The role of the government in housing - to be an enabler rather than provider.

Site-and-Services Schemes
Provide the target group with a plot and basic infrastructure, such as water, roads and sanitation facilities. The beneficiaries either lease or buy the allocated land. they are provided access to a loan with reasonable terms as well as an additional loan for the construction of a house. It is better option than government built housing, often failed to meet the housing needs of the urban poor.

Some of the problems which have been discussed are: Location. Failure to include one or more components. Selection of eligible households. Standards. Administrative delay and shortage of skilled staff. Removal of community leaders During the 1970s and 1980s, sites-and-services schemes were implemented in nearly 100 countries mostly on the behest of international agencies like the United Nations and the World Bank.

Example Case: Sites and Services for low income population on the north zone, Buenos Aires (Award Winning in Best Practices of UN HABITAT 1996) Argentina. This is a project on sites and services for family groups with a low income living in the north area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was carried out by APAC, a civil association with no profit purposes working in habitat themes with marginal populations, themes concerning both land and housing.

Example Case: The project consists in 173 plots provided with a basic infrastructure such this: - water supply system - electricity supply system - road constructions - open rainwater drainage system - light pillars - streets lighting

Settlement Upgrading Settlement upgrading is based on investments already made in the existing housing stock and is therefore less costly to implement. Settlement upgrading provides existing settlement dwellers land tenure as well as some or all of the components indicated in table the fundamental feature being the provision of basic infrastructure.

Settlement Upgrading Physical Social Economic
Road infrastructure and footpaths Health facilities Housing and infrastructure loans Sanitation Education facilities Small business loans Garbage collection Community facilities (parks, playgrounds) Employment generation Drainage Other community activities Training Water Trade association Street lighting Establishment of cooperatives

Settlement Upgrading An Overview of Upgrading

Settlement Upgrading Characteristics of Stressed Communities
Lack of basic services Insecure or unclear tenure of land Low household incomes Dependence upon informal work opportunities

Upgrading As A Response
Objectives: Improve overall conditions Safeguard from displacement Encourage self-rehabilitation Stimulate small business expansion Ensure affordability

Factors to Consider: Scale of the problem Severity of conditions Tenure Community participation Institutional framework Financial structure

Types of Upgrading Programs: Community Infrastructure Lot titling Comprehensive Upgrading

Community Infrastructure: Simple and rapid Poor environmental conditions poor, secure tenure Cost less per capita Benefits per household low Financed by municipal taxes and user charges Comprises of physical improvements such as footpaths, sanitation, water supply, drainage

Lot Titling: Minimal infrastructure Fairly good environmental conditions, insecure tenure Establishes secure of tenure On-plot services such as wells and sanitation provided by individual household Low public investment

Comprehensive Upgrading: Combines community infrastructure and lot titling Poor environmental conditions, insecure tenure Greater administrative requirements and community involvement Costly but benefits per household great Include individual service connections

National Upgrading Programs require guidelines for assessing the positive and negative impacts of projects on the natural resource base.

Properly planned and implemented upgrading at local and national levels can improve depressed communities, stimulate residents to improve their own homes, and make the community an integral part of the urban fabric.

Kampung Improvement Program, Surabaya – Indonesia (Case 1)
The Kampung Improvement Programme (KIP) in Indonesia probably rates as the foremost settlement upgrading achievement in the world. The objectives of the programme were to provide access roads, footpaths, drainage, sewage solutions and drinking water and social facilities such as schools and health centres for urban low- and medium income groups in Indonesia's popular kampung settlements. has improved more than 500 kampungs and provided basic services to about 3.8 million people (United Nations, 1989). Indonesia's five-year-plan for was to be implemented in 500 cities and included projects for urban renewal encompassing settlement upgrading programmes (Silas, 1992).

Kampung Improvement Program, Indonesia Aerial view, the Kampung Improvement Programme has created healthier urban environments by providing municipal services

Aerial view Kampung Improvement Program, Indonesia 1981

Detail, drainage channel A pedestrian bridge Kampung Improvement Program, Indonesia 1981

Detail, drainage channel Kampung Improvement Program, Indonesia 1981

Kampung Improvement Program, Indonesia 1981 House under construction

A resident upgrades his home Kampung Improvement Program, Indonesia 1981

A newly paved street and drainage channel Kampung Improvement Program, Indonesia 1981

Settlement Upgrading Project Senegal (Case 2)
Senegal, like many developing countries is under pressure from the the urban squatter settlement problem. In order to deal with such uncontrolled urbanization which represents almost 25% of Senegal's urban areas and meet the strong demand for decent housing, the government has engaged in three series of actions among which is the upgrading housing programme.

This programme which started in 1987 Dalifort (Pilot Project), was designed and implemented with technical and financial support from the German Technical Cooperation in It relies on the involvement (financial and physical) of squatters' population in the improvement process of their living conditions. The programme's expected result is to achieve adequate shelter through an enabling approach to shelter improvement which is environmentally sound, i.e actively promote the legalization and upgrading of settlements.

Tianjin Comprehensive Housing Improvement Scheme (Case 3)
At the end of 1993, the Tianjin Municipality Committee and Municipal Government put forward a scheme to complete the rehabilitation of unsafe and dilapidated buildings in the inner city in 5 to 7 years. This comprehensive rehabilitation scheme has transformed both the old and the newly built areas into functional and rational land use pattern. A large number of educational, cultural and commercial facilities have been created and the green space has increased. At the same time, major improvements have been made to urban infrastructure, including the construction of 35 roads and 20 bridges. While the Municipal Government ensured overall co-ordination and planning, the implementation of the project was developed to the District level, bringing the projects much closer to the people.

Tianjin Comprehensive Housing Improvement Scheme (Case 3)
The Figures Showing the Increasing of Housing, Road and Heating of Tianjing Between 1997~2001 Houses equipped with central heating increasing (Sq.m) Per capita residential floor space increasing between (Sq.m) Roads construction (Km, Sq.m)

Settlement Upgrading Successful squatter settlement regularization/upgrading projects have the following characteristics: 1. Upgrading projects are relatively cost-effective in a situation of high demand for shelter and services. 2. Upgrading projects are most successful if they are simple and down to earth. Basic programmes of service provision were relatively successful, whereas additional components such as income generation and home improvement credit have been less effective. Simple programmes have extended coverage and ensure faster implementation.

Settlement Upgrading 3. Components to improve land tenure had to be carefully implemented to enhance the perceived land tenure security, as well as, to recover costs. 4. Community participation was essential for the success of upgrading programmes. 5. Participatory approaches in all stages: concept development, planning of layout, decision making on level of services and implementation were extremely important to the success of projects.

Land-Sharing The concept of land sharing is that the landowner and the land occupants (squatters or tenants) reach an agreement whereby the land owner develops the economically most attractive part of the plot and the dwellers build houses on the other part with full or limited land ownership. Both the landowner and the squatters benefit from land sharing. Squatters get to stay on the land legally while the land owner can sell or develop a portion of the land and avoid long legal battles.

Land-Sharing Several advantages:
Overcome difficult to find land for public housing schemes in locations near income-generating activities Unnecessary to clear land for development projects. Both parties gain: the landowner can obtain the most desired land and the occupants can continue living in the area, with secured tenure.

Land-Sharing The five basic requisites of land sharing are:
Community organization: - Negotiations for land sharing require that slum dwellers organize to counter the thread of eviction. A land sharing agreement: - This requires a binding agreement to partition the land. Usually the land parcel with the best development potential is allocated to the landlord. Densification: - Rehousing the community in a smaller area requires increased residential densities.

Land-Sharing Reconstruction:
- The increase in density and the need to clear part of the site usually necessitates the reconstruction of houses. Capital investment: - Reconstruction requires capital from the domestic savings of the residents or loans from outside sources.

The Sengki land-sharing project (Case)
The Sengki slum of about 140 households was located in one of the oldest parts of Bangkok and the land belonged to the King of Thailand. The King's Property Bureau was responsible for the management of the plot sized 25,080 square metres. Most of the slum dwellers returned after slum demolished in 1978 by a fire and rebuilt less permanent dwellings owing to the lower tenure security. Some new dwellers also moved in at the time. The Sengki slum had several characteristics which made it suitable for land-sharing:

There was no serious development pressure on the land; The community had been living on the land for a considerable period of time; The community was well established and residents relatively close to each other; Most households in the area did not belong to the low-income group; Most of the existing housing stock was temporary; The leaders of the Sengki slum were keen on the land-sharing arrangement and could refer to experiences at Wat Ladbuakaw.

Land sharing usually results in major improvements in housing and a significant increase in asset formation. The conditions for its success are assessed by comparing land sharing slums with other slums with potential for land sharing. Land sharing is not successful where communities are weak, and once implemented may result in the resale of some of the houses, which then command a higher market value.

Land Sharing in Bangkok

Land Sharing Is Increasingly Viable in the Following Situations
The lower the development pressure. The better the cooperation of the landlord. The more legitimate is the occupation of the land by the slum dwellers. The earlier the stage in the eviction process. The stronger the community leadership. The stronger the support from outside agencies. The lower the existing residential density. The smaller the existing size of houses. The lower the value of existing houses. The higher the ability to pay for housing. The better the access to sources of housing finance

Land-Sharing Some of the problems which have been encountered with land-sharing projects include: 1. Availability of land. Often the land available is too small and/or the population density too high within slum communities. Furthermore, this shortage of land may force the building of walk-up apartments which are generally unpopular among slum dwellers.

Land-Sharing 2. Community cohesion. A land-sharing project requires considerable cooperation efforts among slum dwellers who often have a different background. This is particularly a problem during the allocation of plots. 3. Complex and time-consuming. The necessity of community participation and agreement throughout the complex process is very time-consuming. The delay in implementation has typically led to increased costs. Furthermore, there is a problem with enforcement as there are no clear rules and each individual household has so far had the powers to block all major decisions.

Incremental Development
Incremental development can be described as a sites-and-services scheme without the services. The approach includes mechanisms whereby groups of households are encouraged to organize themselves, accumulate funds and to provide infrastructure gradually. Construction begins when the group has collected a certain percentage of the required funds. Through the incremental development scheme the government seeks to establish a planned and legal squatter settlement. Infrastructure and services are provided incrementally when the residents are able to pay for these.

Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme (Case)
Khuda-ki-Basti is a grid-like, planned layout within the 5500-acre Gulshan-e-Shabbaz housing development located in Hyderabad. It is the site of a development scheme devised by the Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) to help the poorest families house themselves. In this sector homeless Pakistanis are given the chance to settle on land, and to obtain permanent. Given security of tenure, the families build their houses and provide infrastructure incrementally, as resources become available. The incremental development scheme is entirely self-financing - -there is no subsidy, formal or informal.

The entire cost of the developed plots is borne by the beneficiaries, in installments spread over a period of 8 years. The family designs and constructs its house in any material or style it can afford. Residents apply for individual house connections to all utility services after they have paid the charges; monthly installments eventually repay the actual cost. Khuda-ki-Basti is also provided with education and health facilities as well as affordable transport service. The jury commends this successful effort to create affordable housing for the urban poor, seeing it as a model that can be widely applied everywhere.

Demonstration of the Procedure for Securing a Plot Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme, Hyderabad, Pakistan 1990

Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme, Hyderabad, Pakistan 1990 Site Plan

Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme, Hyderabad, Pakistan 1990 Aerial View of Site

Exterior View of Development Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme, Hyderabad, Pakistan 1990

Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme, Hyderabad, Pakistan 1990 Typical Shelter

Exterior, Courtyard of a House Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme, Hyderabad, Pakistan 1990

Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme, Hyderabad, Pakistan 1990 Typical Shelter

Gathering of Community Members and Local Authorities Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme, Hyderabad, Pakistan 1990

Increasing Effective Demand For Land For The Urban Poor
Traditional government approaches have concentrated on subsidizing the poor. The key problem with subsidies is that with scarce resources, most governments have been unable to subsidize all the poor who need housing. Subsidies are not sustainable and often do not reach the intended target group. Subsidies in general, make the poor dependent on the subsidizer, be it the government or a non-governmental organization

Effective demand is defined as demand for a good or service which can be paid for. There are two basic elements to increasing the effective demand of the poor: organization and access to finance.

South Africa - The Housing Subsidy Scheme is the main programme for delivering urban land to the urban poor. over 1.4 million subsidized plots/houses have been delivered since Subsidized housing delivery in the period averaged units per year, which is less than the estimated annual growth in the urban backlog (which was estimated by the Department of Housing in 1997 as households per year). The net result has been growing informal settlements and growing numbers of inadequately housed people, especially in metropolitan areas. For example, in Cape Town the estimated number of shacks in informal settlements increased from in 1993 to in 1998 to in 2003.

Housing Rent Market for the Poor
It should be noted that the great majority of shelter is provided by individuals today through private ownership and subletting. Renting as a means of getting access to affordable shelter is becoming more and more common. A large proportion of residents in cities and towns of developed as well as developing countries are tenants. Despite this, the number of governments actually trying to support rental housing development is rather small.

Housing Rent Market for the Poor
The cities of developing countries have very different kinds of housing and land systems. Where it is possible to obtain land cheaply the poorest of the poor often build their own accommodation. In other cities, they do not have this choice and, if they are unable to share, they rent accommodation. Consequently, in some cities, when differences in age, family structure, etc. are discounted, tenants tend to be among the poorest families. In other places, there is a more complicated pattern; some informal settlement owners may be quite affluent and others very poor, with tenants somewhere between the two.

Community Organizations
The poor as individuals are seldom able to afford land and housing. Experience has shown that the poor as a group are able to afford not only land but also housing. They are also better able to negotiate with the government or the private sector as a group rather than as individuals. Community-based organizations take several forms from welfare associations, to slum-dwellers federations to coalitions of poor. Communities often organize themselves when they face a common threat or need, such as the threat of eviction or the need for water supply. Non-governmental organizations have played a major role in organizing the poor. They have assisted the poor in building their capacities to work in group environments and to negotiate with government or the private sector.

Missionvale Community Housing Initiative South Africa (Case1)
The Missionvale Community Housing Initiative based in Port Elizabeth, although essentially an innovative housing project initiated by the Delta Foundation, approaches the provision of housing to the poorest of the poor as a process which not only provides for the physical needs of the beneficiary Community but also its social needs. Set against the background of a significant housing backlog which largely resulted from the apartheid era in South Africa and the existing Government's attempts to deliver adequate housing within the context of the re-integration of South African Cities, this project managed by a Community Based Organisation, The Missionvale Housing Development Trust (M.H.D.T.), uses the process of housing delivery as a vehicle for broader social reconstruction and upliftment.

Slum Networking of Indore City, India (Case2)
Slum networking is a community-based sanitation and environmental improvement programme for the textile manufacturing and industrial engineering centre of Indore, to transform its 183 slums into settlements that integrate the poor into the urban population as a whole. This city of 3,218 sq. km has a total population of 1,400,000 (1995), 28 percent of whom live in the slums. New government-built sewer, storm drainage, and fresh water services follow the natural courses of Indore's two small rivers near the heart of the city. All of the slums face a riverbank. As an incentive, a state government ordinance gave the slum dwellers long-term land leases, and the residents paid for and built their own private toilets and washrooms. The rivers, once filled with untreated sewage and solid waste, are now clean, the streets paved, street lighting added, community halls built, and the housing upgraded. The dwellings of the poor are not slums any more.

Aerial view Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Plan showing slums, proposed green areas, and natural drainage patterns Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Aerial view, garbage and raw sewage once filled the river bed Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Plan showing slum locations in relation to sewer lines Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Street view, typical road in a slum before improvements Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Site Plan Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Street view, newly paved streets have sewage lines underneath Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Landscaped walkways along the river Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Street view, footpaths, storm drainage, sewerage hook-ups, and street lighting Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Street view Slum Networking of Indore City, Indore, India

Increasing Savings and Providing Access to Finance
It should be noted that the poor are not without income. What they lack is capital. Formal lending institutions, such as banks, often require collateral which the poor cannot provide. The poor feel intimidated or unable to deal with banking procedures which require high levels of literacy. Experience has shown that community-based savings-and-credit schemes assist the poor in increasing their incomes and capital.

Community-based savings-and-credit schemes preserve organized communities and increase the status of women in the community in addition to providing access to finance. In many countries , savings-and-credit schemes have formed federations or loose coalitions and as such control sizable capital. Governments can assist this process by creating finance facilities which act as reserve banks for these "mini banks of the poor".

Philippines Community Savings and Credit “One community dollar equals a thousand development dollars" It has been said that a single community dollar is equal to a thousand development dollars, because that community dollar represents the commitment of thousands of poor people to their own development.

Philippines Community Savings and Credit Without the direct commitment of a savings scheme, people can participate in any kind of development freebie that comes along. But when development comes from people's own savings, it's theirs, they own it. Without this, development and improvements have no meaning Payatas community 1999

Community-based Women-oriented Initiative to Fight Poverty, Kerala,india
Case: The urban CDS system of Kerala offers the poor urban women an open forum to express their anguish, anxieties, aspirations and developmental needs. After identifying and prioritizing the developmental needs, the poor women themselves formulates micro plans to overcome their problems. Moreover the women themselves implement various poverty reduction programmes. For economic and social empowerment of poor women, promotion of micro enterprises for the sustainable development of poor families and educational and cultural upliftment of target class etc. get priority in CDS structure, formed under Kudumbashree Mission.

Bring the Poor Into The Formal Land Market
Recommended Cases for Assignment The Incremental development Scheme - A Case Study Of Khuda-ki-basti In Hyderabad, Pakistan Upgrading Of Low Income Settlements --Senegal

INFORMAL LAND MARKET AND URBAN POVERTY

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