Upgrading housing settlements in developing countries - The impact of existing physical conditions

Both conventional policy, and the literature on housing consolidation for low-income groups in developing countries typically focus only on tenure status as the key variable in housing improvement, and on tenure legalization, as the preferable, in situ improvement strategy. Demolition of slums and their redevelopment is not considered as an option that may be in the best interest of slum dwellers. This paper, however, presents evidence from Mumbai's experience with slum redevelopment programs that suggests that the prevailing wisdom has limitations and that under certain conditions, there is a constituency among slum dwellers for redevelopment. Secondly, the Mumbai case suggests that policy makers and analysts, apart from focusing on tenure status should also pay attention to the existing physical conditions within settlements. Physical conditions - the location of settlements; the land uses in them; settlement layouts; and the sizes of the lots within them - can impact the success of upgrading strategies, particularly, the preference of beneficiaries for different strategies. However, the slum dwellers' interest in redevelopment is not simply because of a consumer preference for better housing conditions but more likely because of an economic interest in more valuable housing. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.