Urban housing manual: making regulatory frameworks for the poor / by Geoffrey

1. Regulation and Reality; The process of urban growth; The urbanization of poverty; The growth of slums and informal settlements; International responses to urban poverty, slums and informal settlements; National issues in regulatory frameworks. City-level issues in regulatory frameworksSettlement-level issues in regulatory frameworks; Key questions--
2. Regulation and Regulatory Frameworks; Regulation in a global environment; The impact of regulatory frameworks; Definitions; Comparing new developments with upgrading; Origins of regulatory frameworks; Why regulate?; Who makes the rules?; Whose interests is the regulatory framework designed to serve?; Key questions--
3. How do Regulatory Frameworks Affect the Urban Poor?; Land; Security of tenure; Infrastructure; Housing; Home-based enterprise; Credit and finance. Why have regulations that adversely affect the poor not been changed?Key questions--
4. Reviewing Regulatory Frameworks; Using a sustainable livelihoods (SL) approach; Undertaking a regulatory audit for improving access to legal shelter for the urban poor--
5. Guiding Principles for Effecting Change; Recognize and accept realities on the ground; Focus on key aspects of public concern; Understand and acknowledge the knowledge and information systems of people living in poverty; Adopt an enabling role; Invest in precedents; Strengthen inclusiveness. Promote partnerships between key stakeholdersFacilitate local ownership of processes; Identify 'champions of change' and create a critical mass; Apply rules consistently; Integrate planning and development strategies; Accept regulation as a process rather than a product; Acknowledge the principal of incremental development; Guarantee access to information; Take advantage of windows of opportunity; Build institutional capacity; Political will; Professional will; Enforcement; Ch 6. Some Final Suggestions; Endnotes; References and Further Reading; Index.

Red tape is a significant stumbling block to the provision of affordable shelter to the urban poor and, indeed, slums are largely the result of inappropriate regulatory frameworks. This practice-oriented manual tackles the issue of regulatory frameworks for urban upgrading and new housing development, and how they impact on access to adequate, affordable shelter and other key livelihood assets, in particular for the urban poor. It illustrates two methods for reviewing regulatory frameworks and expounds guiding principles for effecting change, informed by action research. The accompanying CD-Ro.