After sites and services : planned progressive development strategies in low income housing during the 1990s

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Reimers, Carlos A
Other Authors: Anna Hardman.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69443
_version_ 1826190250961010688
author Reimers, Carlos A
author2 Anna Hardman.
author_facet Anna Hardman.
Reimers, Carlos A
author_sort Reimers, Carlos A
collection MIT
description Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002.
first_indexed 2024-09-23T08:37:23Z
format Thesis
id mit-1721.1/69443
institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology
language eng
last_indexed 2024-09-23T08:37:23Z
publishDate 2012
publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology
record_format dspace
spelling mit-1721.1/694432019-04-09T18:49:13Z After sites and services : planned progressive development strategies in low income housing during the 1990s Reimers, Carlos A Anna Hardman. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-90). Planned progressive development strategies and low-income housing have been out of the international development agenda since funding agencies cut-off support to sites and services and similar housing schemes. These projects were among the most widely used approaches to address the need for low-income housing during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The last fifteen years since their abandonment in the mid 1980s have been characterized by the absence of major investments in shelter for the poor in developing countries and the lack of new paradigms in housing. This study argues that planned progressive development strategies in low-income housing were inappropriately abandoned by international sponsors. The prevalent explanation is that projects were discarded because the minimum standards established by governments and donors in these projects made them unaffordable and unsustainable. While this study finds support for this explanation, it also finds that projects became too complex because of the inclusion of many components to the single idea of experimenting with progressive development under controlled conditions of planning. In addition, implementation criteria were too rigid and contrary to the principle of flexibility which is central in progressive development. The criteria used to assess these projects by donors, focusing on affordability, cost recovery and replicability, were inappropriate because they assumed that the process of progressive development which had been observed in informal housing would also occur in planned progressive development projects, but failed to evaluate this directly. A central aspect of this housing strategy was thus assumed rather than evaluated directly. The thesis reviews assessments made to sites and services after international funding of planned progressive developments and shelter projects was withdrawn. In addition, the study collected, organized and analyzed evidence about recent planned progressive development strategies that have continued on a small, local scale in several developing countries around the world. The outcome of these recent experiences demonstrates that these simpler strategies were more viable in addressing low-income housing needs, and that projects can be implemented with very little initial investment and without external support. Thus, planned progressive development strategies are still a promising approach to low-income housing. by Carlos A. Reimers. S.M. 2012-02-29T17:27:36Z 2012-02-29T17:27:36Z 2002 2002 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69443 51894789 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 90 leaves application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Urban Studies and Planning.
Reimers, Carlos A
After sites and services : planned progressive development strategies in low income housing during the 1990s
title After sites and services : planned progressive development strategies in low income housing during the 1990s
title_full After sites and services : planned progressive development strategies in low income housing during the 1990s
title_fullStr After sites and services : planned progressive development strategies in low income housing during the 1990s
title_full_unstemmed After sites and services : planned progressive development strategies in low income housing during the 1990s
title_short After sites and services : planned progressive development strategies in low income housing during the 1990s
title_sort after sites and services planned progressive development strategies in low income housing during the 1990s
topic Urban Studies and Planning.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69443
work_keys_str_mv AT reimerscarlosa aftersitesandservicesplannedprogressivedevelopmentstrategiesinlowincomehousingduringthe1990s