Housing IV _HOUS402

Lecture 06: Self Help Housing

Name: Lawrence Ogunsanya

Email : lawrencesanya@yahoo.com

Self Help Housing: Definition

It can be defined as specific and largely unrelated actions, in which an individual or group takes partial or full responsibility for organizing and carrying through the installation of a particular work , building and financing their homes. It also involves services and maintaining an object (House) (Ward, 1982).

Self Help Housing: Attributes Spontaneous illegal housing developments

Uncontrolled, unauthorized, unplanned, self-generated and marginal settlements

Squatter settlements, which have arisen by land invasion as well as subdivisions of land, which lacks services, and title registration

Erection of dwellings is in the hands of individual households (sweat equity). Homes are built, improved and added on progressively.

Use of empty or redundant buildings that the owners are willing to make available for a limited period on licence or lease at minimal cost.

Building materials are simple , basic and affordable

Self Help Housing: Typologies Sites and services schemes. Informal settlements and upgrading Core Housing (Incremental housing) Sites and services schemes: is a technocratic approach to

provision of houses, the government acquires a land and services it by providing infrastructure like roads, water, electricity and sewages.

Then the land is subdivided into different plots with top structures (foundation) with some kitchen and toilet appliances. These are then allocated to poor to personally complete their houses.

Self Help Housing: Typologies Informal settlements and upgrading: its aim is to

upgrade informal settlements by providing a secure of tenure for inhabitants and providing necessary infrastructure into the settlement such as roads, water and electricity.

Self Help Housing: Typologies

Core Housing (Incremental housing): This is when

the government provides services, infrastructure and a basic housing structure that can be increased or added on, progressively by the owner . Also known as a “starter pack house”.

Self Help Housing: Theories and Debates The term Self-help housing as conceived by John F. Turner.

in the 1960s-70s while researching on low –income settlements in South America. His Observations and theories include:

The poor, with scarce resources, were able to produce good quality dwellings, more cost effectively than the government i.e. they optimized scarce resources;

The poor can organize themselves and improve their own economic conditions;

Management issues can be done through collective self-help;

Cost savings can be realised through sweat and management equity.

Self Help Housing: Theories and Debates

There is a need for the ‘third sector’, i.e. Community Based Organisations, Non Governmental Organizations, etc, to act as go-between the government and the community;

The role of the state should be an “enabling” one. The state is meant to create conditions suitable for the actualisation of self-help, hence the use of the term “state-assisted self-help”. This includes:

Planning and allocation of land for purposes of housing

Tenure reforms to guarantee security and transferability.

Investment in the elements, namely: land, finance and infrastructure, rather than in components (core housing) or assemblies (complete buildings).

Generation of alternative finance for low income housing, especially short term unsecured loans instead of long term mortgage schemes;

Self Help Housing: Theories and Debates Turner’s work had a lot of criticism from various people and

researchers that created debates about Self help housing. His most vocal critic was Rod Burgess.

Burgess views self help as : an instrument of reproduction of labour. In a capitalist mode of production, this lowers the cost of labour.

Self-help housing results in a commodity with both use and exchange value, consumed by those with the power to purchase.

Other critics : It legitimises poverty (Kerr and Kwelle, 2000: 1315)

It further ignores renting as an option of alleviating the housing problem. (Kerr and Kwelle, 2000: 1315)

It is incorrect to assume that housing is a priority to everyone (see Chambers, 1995: 173-203, Alder, 2002).

International promoters of self help housing The World Bank has incorporated self-help housing

into the wider realm of global macroeconomics, founded on neo-liberal theories.

The United Nations, through its various agencies, is also seen to promote self-help housing. Chapter Seven of the Agenda 21, (UNCED, 1992), came up with several principles some of which are seen to directly promote or benefit self-help housing

Habitat for Humanity

Self Help housing is used as one of the tools to alleviate housing problems all around the world especially in third world countries.

In South Africa there are four main types of self-help delivery systems namely:

Unaided self-help: This refers to ‘illegal’ or officially not sanctioned user initiated programs such as backyard shacks, land invasion and illegal squatting.

Supported self-help: This refers to the in-situ upgrading of the housing conditions that emerge out of unaided self-help with the support of the state and other development agencies. There are 3 types- Rollover upgrading, Community sensitive upgrading and Community initiated upgrading

Project initiated self-help : This category of delivery system refers largely to programs initiated by the state, private sector and NGOs, which are located on Greenfield sites (usually on the urban periphery).

Self help Housing in South Africa

Self help Housing in South Africa Conventional housing: This type of delivery includes housing

units that conform to the national building regulations and which are subject to public authority approval. This form of housing provided ranges free standing houses to townhouses and small and large blocks of flats.

The South Africa Government has used self help strategies to provide housing to the poor through:

The People’s housing process

Sites and service schemes

Core housing: (RDP houses)

Self help Housing in South Africa

Self Help Housing Problems & Challenges: Affordability and adequate funding is common problem

to all housing deliveries.

Most of the housing schemes are located far away from employment opportunities and other urban facilities (education, health, commercial) and

The range of core housing types delivered is very narrow and don’t allow for future increment

Lack of effective training of the community

The NGOs take over the development, ignoring the needs of the community

Access to Land and provision of infrastructure.

Fraud and Corruption.

Ineffective planning and provision of services and infrastructure.

Self Help Housing Benefits: It costs the Government less to provide services and

infrastructure only.

Self-help housing, especially in squatter settlement and slum upgrading schemes, attain more desirable results, than 'greenfield' projects.

This is because the former tends to occupy land close to economic advantages, near good transport infrastructure and tends to have greater social cohesion than the 'greenfield' schemes.

Self-help housing has been known to strengthen community ties, because of its participatory nature.

It has tended to sharpen the community’s strategic survival skills and has increased the role of gender in housing delivery

It also enables the community to prioritise their housing needs, secure tenancy and manage their communal affairs better.

Questions