Pro-Poor Urban Housing Provision in Ghana: Implementation Challenges and Prospects

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 98-107
Author(s):  
Ishak Mohammed ◽  
Kh Md Nahiduzzaman ◽  
Adel Aldosary
Keyword(s):  
Housing Market ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Housing Provision ◽  
Housing Policies ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
The Poor

The importance of housing in enhancing the quality of life has been widely reported. It represents one of the basic human needs, provides protection from harm and ensures survival. Like many developing countries, different Ghanaian governments have variously pursued several programs and interventionsdirected at addressing the country's housing challenges including housing loan schemes in the colonial era to affordable housing projects in the 2000s. Notwithstanding, access to adequate housing for the low to middle-income groups still remains unresolved. This paper is an attempt to gain deeper insights into Ghana's housing situation, its challenges and the efforts made by governments during the periods before independence and after independence. The nature of the housing policies implemented during such eras is explored and the reasons for the implementation failures examined. In the end, the paper provides policy recommendations that could potentially help increase the supply of affordable urban housing in the country. The paper calls for a strong political will and pragmatic intelligence in the implementation of housing policies and programs in the country. Mechanisms to provide sufficienthousing finance for the poor to adequately participate in the housing market have also been outlined. It is concluded that the over-empowerment of the private real estate sector to be the major providers of housing may not be optimal. Rather, it would only lead to the inability of the poor to be able to actively participate in the housing market, consequently exacerbating housing poverty. Effective public-private partnership has the potential to guarantee the supply of reasonably-priced and affordable housing provision.

THE LOW-MIDDLE INCOME HOUSING CHALLENGES IN MALAYSIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernawati Mustafa Kamal ◽  
Kong Seng Lai ◽  
Nor Aini Yusof
Keyword(s):  
Housing Policy ◽  
State Government ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Income Group ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
One Stop ◽  
Group Interviews

Homeownership is recognised as one of human needs. However, in the 21st century, homeownership remained as one of the greatest challenges in most developing countries, and Malaysia is no exception. Housing for everyone remained an issue in Malaysia. Homeownership for the low to medium income group (LMIG) is getting difficult overtime. Questions raised on the competency of the existing housing policy in catering the uprising needs to house the LMIG. This study aims to explore the challenges within the housing policy and its implementation, and to identify ways to overcome those challenges. Opinions from four major stakeholders in the housing sector; the federal government, the state government, non-governmental organisations, and academicians were solicit using focus group interviews protocol. The results point-out three major concerns- 1) loose connection between the federal and state government, 2) mismatched of housing policy, and 3) inadequacy of financial system and poor demographic profile. Subsequently, four alternatives were proposed to address the issues raised- 1) one-stop center that operates above the differences between the governments, 2) establishes the social infrastructures before Affordable Housing in sub-urban/rural area is approved, 3) government’s active interventions on affordable house pricing, and 4) public awareness on homeownership through education.

Housing Policy Across the United States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin M. Szylvian
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Housing Policy ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Ronald Reagan ◽  
The United States ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
National Association ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Government

Federal housing policy has been primarily devoted to maintaining the economic stability and profitability of the private sector real estate, household finance, and home-building and supply industries since the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945). Until the 1970s, federal policy encouraged speculative residential development in suburban areas and extended segregation by race and class. The National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Realtors, and other allied organizations strenuously opposed federal programs seeking to assist low- and middle-income households and the homeless by forcing recalcitrant suburbs to permit the construction of open-access, affordable dwellings and encouraging the rehabilitation of urban housing. During the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan, a Republican from California, argued it was the government, not the private sector, that was responsible for the gross inequities in social and economic indicators between residents of city, inner ring, and outlying suburban communities. The civic, religious, consumer, labor, and other community-based organizations that tried to mitigate the adverse effects of the “Reagan Revolution” on the affordable housing market lacked a single coherent view or voice. Since that time, housing has become increasingly unaffordable in many metropolitan areas, and segregation by race, income, and ethnicity is on the rise once again. If the home mortgage crisis that began in 2007 is any indication, housing will continue to be a divisive political, economic, and social issue in the foreseeable future. The national housing goal of a “decent home in a suitable living environment for every American family” not only has yet to be realized, but many law makers now favor eliminating or further restricting federal commitment to its realization.

scholarly journals PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AS A DETERMINANT FACTORS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN ABUJA NIGERIA

2019 ◽  
Vol XLII-4/W16 ◽  
pp. 71-78
Author(s):  
Y. Ahmed ◽  
I. Sipan
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Housing Affordability ◽  
Public Private Partnership ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Housing Provision ◽  
Private Partnership

Abstract. The implementation of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in housing provision in Nigeria meant to increase urban housing provision and address housing affordability and accessibility problems. Consequently, the study aims to identify the critical success factors of Public-private partnerships for affordable housing provision in Nigeria. However, the data were obtained using interviews with PPP experts to build the questionnaire for affordable housing in Nigeria. Overall, 254 responses were obtained and analysed using smart PLS to identify PPP success factors for affordable housing in Abuja. The result shows that good governance, availability of financial markets, Sound economic policies, consistency monetary, a commitment of public and private sectors are the key parameters of PPP for affordable housing in Nigeria. Therefore, the main contributions of the article indicate that strong government intervention, dependent of foreign building materials, easier access to mortgage institutions, and provision of land at no cost are the challenges to address in order to succeed in providing affordable housing in Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that a good design a framework should put in place in order to achieve the desired aim of providing affordable housing in Nigeria.

Affordable housing policies in a post-COVID aftermath

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Andres Fernandez ◽  
Shane L. Martin
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Housing Market ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Housing Policies ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
The Face

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the outcomes of a suite of affordability policies in Auckland, New Zealand, in the face of a post-COVID aftermath. Improving the access to homeownership while preserving the competitive nature of the housing market will remain a critical goal for New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops a spatially delineated one-to-one matching model to assess affordable housing policies such as the targeting of houses to target population groups, a shared ownership/equity scheme and the cascading (or release) of the developed affordable houses into the broader market. Findings Results show that a targeting programme with an income threshold set between $120,000 and $150,000 maximises house sales, but a threshold set at $96,000 maximises the number of moderate-income households becoming homeowners. Several parameterisations of the model demonstrate the potential contradictions (or overlaps) between policy goals. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is a deeper understanding of the market outcomes of affordability policies, and inputs to design strategies that balance market efficiency and fairness. Also, this paper shows that stronger integration across governments (central and local) and actors of the housing market.

The global urban housing affordability crisis

Urban Studies ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (14) ◽  
pp. 3159-3177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Wetzstein
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Housing Affordability ◽  
Housing Provision ◽  
Critical Commentary ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Regulation Policy ◽  
State And Market ◽  
Wage Increases

This critical commentary confronts and explores the – so far under-recognised and under-researched – emergent global crisis of urban housing affordability and affordable housing provision. This crisis results from the fact that housing-related household expenses are rising faster than salary and wage increases in many urban centres around the world; a situation triggered by at least three global post-Global Financial Crisis megatrends of accelerated (re)urbanisation of capital and people, the provision of cheap credit and the rise of intra-society inequality. Reflecting on the recent findings of extensive comparative ethnographic research across Western countries, and analytically approaching housing affordability and affordable housing issues from a broadly understood intersection of political and economic spheres (e.g. issues of state and market, governance and regulation, policy and investment), the paper pursues four key objectives: raising awareness of the crisis, showing its extent and context-specificity but also the severe social as well as problematic spatial implications, linking current developments to key academic debates in housing studies and urban studies, and importantly, developing a research agenda that can help to redress the currently detectable ‘policy–outcome’ gap in policy making by asking fresh and urgent questions from empirical, theoretical and political viewpoints. This intervention ultimately calls for more dedicated and politicised knowledge production towards achieving affordable urban futures for all.

scholarly journals Exploring Housing Policies in Five Swedish Municipalities: Alternatives and Priorities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Heller ◽  
Lisa Ekstam ◽  
Maria Haak ◽  
Steven M. Schmidt ◽  
Björn Slaug
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Housing Provision ◽  
Housing Policies ◽  
Sustainable Housing ◽  
The Future ◽  
Accessibility Issues ◽  
Policy Solutions

Abstract Introduction: Housing shortage due to population growth within metropolitan areas, combined with an ageing population has put pressure on current housing provision policies in Sweden. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable housing policies to accommodate the growing number of seniors in accessible home environments. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of how municipalities currently address housing accessibility issues and to explore what types of policy solutions they consider for the future.Material and methods: Five Swedish municipalities were selected to represent a diversity of the population, housing provision approaches, and geographical areas. To understand current housing policies, two key actors (e.g. public officials, housing adaptation grant managers, city architects, etc.) from each municipality participated in semi-structured interviews (N=10). Subsequently, those key actors, two senior citizens, and three researchers participated in a research circle to explore future policy solutions. Data were analyzed using content analysis.Results: The interviews revealed common approaches to deal with housing accessibility issues such as regular renovations and maintenance, individual adaptations based on specific needs, and seeking collaboration with private housing actors on housing provision matters. Possible measures suggested for the future included increasing the national coordination of housing accessibility policies, amending legislation to only allow the construction of housing according to strengthened accessibility standards, and introducing economic incentives for seniors to move from housing with poor accessibility to more accessible accommodations,Conclusions: Municipalities struggle with the lack of accessible and affordable housing for the ageing population. The results suggest that collaboration needs to be improved between all actors involved in housing policies. The overall housing standard in Sweden is high, but preventive measures within the current law may be needed to strengthen the construction of more accessible and affordable housing for the population ageing in place.

scholarly journals Algerian Housing Policies

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (13) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Riadh Djafri ◽  
Mariana Mohamed Osman ◽  
Noor Suzilawati Rabe ◽  
Syafiee Shuid
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Housing Quality ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Housing Policies ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
International Publishing ◽  
Open Access Article

Despite being one of the richest countries in Africa, Algeria’s affordable housing is still out of reach for low and even middle-income Algerians. Nowadays, Algeria is still suffering from housing shortage in terms of quality, affordability and number of units. The paper describes the Algerian Housing Policies using qualitative method of semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that new mechanisms need to be injected and the housing agencies structure need to adopt an effective local, regional and national policies to promote the housing sector in terms of its quality and adequacy to the Algerian society which certainly will improve the overall Algerian quality of life. Keywords: Housing policies; Housing quality; Algerian society; Quality of life eISSN 2514-751X © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/aje-bs.v4i13.349  

Building Affordable Housing in Urban Malaysia: Economic and Institutional Challenges to Housing Developers

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 28-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
T H Tan ◽  
H. K. Samihah ◽  
S. N. Phang
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Housing Affordability ◽  
Housing Provision ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Private Housing ◽  
Urban Population Growth ◽  
Institutional Challenges ◽  
First Time ◽  
Severe Shortage

Affordable housing has become an important issue with the greatest need being in urban centres. Currently, an increase in urban population growth is higher than the supply of affordable housing, and this has resulted in a severe shortage of affordable housing as house builders are unable to construct houses at prices which are low enough for urban middle income households. Despite efforts by the Malaysian government to launch homeownership schemes for first-time homebuyers, most private housing developers might not be motivated to participate in these schemes. One of the major reasons for the disappointing supply affordable house under these schemes is mainly due to institutional and economic issueslinked to the construction of such houses in the country. This paper looks at the challenges facing private housing developers in affordable housing provision and makes recommendations to address housing affordability in the country.

Affordable Housing in Turkey: User Satisfaction in Tokİ Houses

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
Miray Gür ◽  
Neslihan Dostoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Housing Policies ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Public ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
The Government ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Affordable housing policies in Turkey have reached a new stage over the last decade in the context of the TOKİ model advocated by the government. Housing developed by TOKİ (the Public Housing Administration), the top official agency responsible for affordable housing policies in Turkey, has become so widespread in all cities of Turkey that it involves not only the construction sector but also trade associations and the public in general. In this article, following a general discussion of the demand and supply of housing in Turkey, we evaluate user satisfaction and the quality of TOKİ implementations since 2000 for low- and middle-income groups in Bursa, the fourth largest city in Turkey. Bursa sets an interesting example for the study because of the city's long-term prominence in commerce and its current status as an important industrial city. Massive migrations and unplanned urbanization have resulted in a need for housing for every income group in Bursa, especially for low- and middle-income groups. The emphasis in this study is that, in addition to quantity, quality should be considered in housing production. Furthermore, the implementation of TOKİ should be aimed at developing more habitable and higher-quality environments by considering all socio-cultural and physical factors. It is expected that these evaluations will lead to the development of a more comprehensive affordable housing policy in Turkey..

A Big Plan for Small Homes: The Effort to Set Housing Standards in Turkey

2021 ◽  
pp. 009614422110174
Author(s):  
Emre Altürk
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Housing ◽  
Housing Demand ◽  
Housing Provision ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Low Income Groups ◽  
Turkish State ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Housing Standards

This article is about the short-lived space standards for urban housing in Turkey. Introduced in the 1960s, the standards were a crucial part of a policy that aimed to balance the housing demand and the development agenda by steering the market toward affordable housing. The Turkish state was not a significant actor in housing production. Nor had it ever before substantially intervened to regulate the housing market. The standards, however, exemplified a bold move stemming from a welfare and planning perspective. Although standards’ influence was curbed, the policy is important to address as it aimed to remedy a problem that continues today, namely, the disjunction between the housing provision and the means of the middle- and low-income groups. While a sixty-year-old policy does not provide immediate answers for today, it does offer insight into the history and context of some of the current housing issues.

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