P.G.S.M. Smets

Private housing finance in India: Reaching down-market?

Abstract Indias economic liberalisation and financial reform policies determine its housing finance sector, which is developing and expanding, particularly in the private sector. The housing finance market is regulated and supervised by the National Housing Bank, which tries to stimulate housing finance corporations serving the small man. The reasons why the attempts of down-marketing housing finance through the private sector are not as successful as may be expected are highlighted. This case study shows that the potential of down-marketing housing finance anticipated by neo-liberalism is rather limited. Furthermore, it teaches us lessons which may be useful for the development of the housing finance market in other developing countries.

Housing finance trapped in a dilemma of perceptions: Affordability criteria for the urban poor in India questioned

This paper demonstrates how formal housing finance is the product of the perceptions that prevail among the middle and upper classes, who as policy-makers, economists and managers, determine how housing finance institutions fix the terms and conditions of housing loans for the urban poor. They use affordability criteria that fit the purchase or construction of a house in one go. However, affordability criteria for the urban poor have to be linked with practices of incremental building and consequently incremental financing. Failing to do so leads to serious mismatches between the demand and supply of formal housing finance for the urban poor. To be able to serve the poor adequately, the middle and upper classes should stop aiming at the financing of housing constructed in one go. Instead, they should open their minds to the building and financing practices of the urban poor.

Community‐based finance systems and their potential for urban self‐help in a new South Africa

Agents dealing with the improvement of the living conditions of the poor often face difficulties owing to a lack of finance. A possible solution is the use and creation of community‐based finance systems for residential improvement, taking into account that additional finance can be mobilised among the target group. For the creation of such schemes, one can learn much from the organisation, operation and maintenance of financial self‐help groups such as stokvels in the informal sector. In discussing and analysing this information, lessons are drawn and policy options developed. It is of great importance that blueprints should be avoided. Consequently, alternative policy options for guided self‐help are explored.

Mobilities and neighbourhood belonging in cities and suburbs

Book synopsis: Contemporary city and suburban dwellers are constantly on the move. Does this mean they lack a sense of belonging to their neighbourhoods, or does enhanced mobility co-exist with feelings of community and belonging? This collection examines these questions through a unique series of neighbourhood-based global case studies.

Editorial Exclusion and Belonging in Urban Public and Quasi-Public Space

Public space – which comprises streets and sidewalks, parks and plazas – is one of the justly celebrated aspects of cities. If cities are rich arenas of social diversity and crucibles of civic participation, it is their public spaces which facilitate the coming together of diverse populations since there is ‘a presumption that within these spaces we will, necessarily, encounter “others” in all their many differences’ [1]. The meanings and functions of public space have increasingly become a matter of debate for urbanists, not least in relation to what, if anything, public space might mean under conditions of 21

Tenure mix: apart or together? Home-making practices and belonging in a Dutch street

Abstract This paper discusses home-making practices and senses of belonging in a street in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in the south of the Netherlands. The local tenure mix of tenants and owner-occupiers offers insight into the role class and ethnicity play in social mixing. Therefore, attention is paid to narratives and the informal organisation of different living spaces and territory-making practices. Here, the domestic space could be experienced as a vehicle of intimacy and sociability, or conversely as encouraging alienation. Such practices, in combination with length of stay result in mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. The insights derived from this study will contribute to the theoretical discussion on home-making practices and belonging.

Welcome to the neighbourhood: social contacts between Iraqis and natives in Arnhem, The Netherlands

Social mixing is viewed as an instrument for social justice because it is used to integrate different categories of inhabitants and improves social conditions in poor urban neighbourhoods. Social mixing as an instrument for integration assumes that some connections between natives and immigrants will be established. This article explores the dynamics of interethnic contact between Iraqis and native residents in a Dutch neighbourhood. It shows how cultural differences between the Iraqis and the Dutch influence the establishment of interethnic contacts. This study presents a more complex view of interethnic contact than is usually portrayed in the current debate on integration. It demonstrates that social mixing requires measures that enable and facilitate interethnic contact.

Sustainable housing and the urban poor

After last year’s adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the year 2016 promises to be a landmark year for international housing policy agendas. In October, the UN Habitat III Conference (also referred to as ‘Habitat III’) will be held in Quito, Ecuador. After the successful inclusion of Sustainable Development Goal 11 on urban development and its ratification in the General Assembly of the UN by heads of state in September 2015, it is now time to consider how the ambition of making cities and human settlements ‘inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’ can be realised. Will ‘Habitat III’ actually introduce a new paradigm shift that is able to substantially change urban policymaking? And what will the impact be on mainstream housing policies? Target 11.1 of the Sustainable Development Goal 11 states: ‘By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums’. That target alone represents a substantial task. The theme of this special issue is sustainable housing for the urban poor in the Global South. In this introduction, we will discuss some of the most relevant dimensions of urban sustainability relating to low-income housing and then introduce the papers of this special issue. First, the focus will be on the relationship between sustainability and low-income housing. Next, housing sustainability will be placed in a systemic framework that is based on ecological models. In the third section, it is argued that a crossfertilisation between housing solutions and social innovation fosters housing sustainability. This will be followed by a discussion on urban shelter policies and their implications for a new urban housing agenda. Finally, the contributions to this volume will be presented.

Housing policies in developing countries: Microfinance

Shelter is a basic human need for which financial means are required. Poorer sections of society face difficulties in accessing and coping with conventional mortgage finance and are better assisted with housing microfinance. This enables the poor, especially in ‘developing’ countries to build their shelter in an incremental way. To meet this demand, providers of housing microfinance have many possibilities for expanding their business. Innovations, for example, are found in business linkages of microfinance institutions and building material suppliers, and community-based financial systems. However, there are also bottlenecks concerning microfinance lenders, the financial sector, capital market, and shelter sector.

Een G1000 gun je iedereen: Participatiebevordering in Kruiskamp, Amersfoort

A G1000 is meant for everybody: Participation in Kruiskamp, Amersfoort, the Netherlands In the Netherlands, citizens’ summits are employed to provide citizens a space within the present democratic system. By using a micro lens to study processes at a G1000 in a neighbourhood in the Dutch city of Amersfoort, we have gained insights into the course of the programme of the summit. We analysed how deliberation, group dynamics and (differing) mind-sets affect communication, the creation of a common ground, and the activation of citizens. We found that a safe space is required to enable participants to think out of the box during deliberation. Facilitation by skilled moderators as well as transparency during the program are seen as preconditions for a powerful operation. We also found that interference by representatives of the system world – like (local) government officials – can disturb the group process based on everyday life principles. Finally, this paper shows that diversity among participants is not easily reached, if at all. While the aim is to welcome everyone, there are some implicit values that especially attract the white middleclass. This makes inclusivity of different social classes, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and age a challenge that is still difficult to accomplish.