Ramin Keivani

Modes of housing provision in developing countries

Abstract In the face of an estimated one billion people living in inadequate housing conditions in developing countries the need for scaling up housing supply has become an urgent focus of policy debate. To this end the expansion of the role of the private markets has formed the central thesis of the ‘enabling strategy’ for developing the housing sector as a whole rather than relying on project based approaches such as sites and services and settlement upgrading programmes. Policy recommendations emanating from such a standpoint concentrate on adjustments to supply and demand through deregulation and institutional development of the land and housing markets in developing countries in order to overcome largely external constraints to a more efficient market mechanism. This conception of the enabling strategy, however, has been subject to much debate and criticism for its over-concentration on the private markets and exclusion of alternative/complementary modes of housing provision from serious policy consideration. By utilising the structure and agency approach as its basic methodological tool of analysis this paper provides a comprehensive review of the scope and potential of different modes of housing provision in different contexts in developing countries. Thereby providing a firm comparative basis for examining the potential for expanded private market activity. The paper concludes that the severe underdevelopment of institutional capacities and human and material resources coupled with intricate and complex social, political, cultural and economic interactions between various agents and structures of provision create major obstacles to the efficiency of private land markets in developing countries. Therefore, while private markets can and should be supported they can not form the focus of the enabling strategy in most developing countries. Instead, the paper argues for a comprehensive approach to enabling strategies which combines adjustments to overall supply and demand conditions with the identification and inclusion of different modes and agents of housing provision in a holistic integrated policy.

Refocusing the housing debate in developing countries from a pluralist perspective

Abstract The debate on housing policy in developing countries since the late 1980s has been dominated by the World Bank led strategy of developing the housing sector as a whole by enabling primarily formal private markets to work more efficiently. Yet, the emphasis on private markets has led to the exclusion of complementary and alternative public, co-operative/community based and informal modes of housing provision from serious policy consideration. This paper argues for the adoption of a more integrated housing policy that is based on the recognition and better co-ordination of plurality of provision. Thereby, not only allowing further development of specific modes in appropriate socio-economic settings but also enabling the creation of synergies through combining complementary modes in order to overcome their relative weaknesses, we can boost supply to specific target groups.

Globalisation, Institutional Structures and Real Estate Markets in Central European Cities

This paper examines the urban development process in post-socialist cities of Budapest, Prague and Warsaw in the context of economic globalisation and societal transformation. Several factors have helped to shape the post-socialist cities of central Europe since the end of the 1980s. These include political transformation, economic change, restitution, privatisation, price liberalisation and decentralisation of local government. It is argued that local government administrative and planning structures have been ill prepared in meeting the requirements of international investment capital in a co-ordinated and effective manner. Institutional constraints has promoted an organic form of urban development primarily determined through the international demand for, and supply of, commercial and retail space.

Singapore’s competitiveness as a global city: development strategy, institutions and business environment

Abstract With globalization, cities are facing increasing competitions as centers for activities and nodes for multi-national corporations. As a result, cities have to ensure that their institutional structures cater to the rising demand from such corporations. There is an increasing need for institutional thickness and free market systems. In the past four decades, Singapore, an investment driven city, has provided businesses with a secure and efficient business environment. Through semi-structured interviews with senior policy makers and private experts, this research identifies the institutional framework in Singapore and how this set up interacts with and influences the business environment and city development. However, the need to elevate itself into a knowledge based economy requires a more nimble and fluid relationship between the institutions and the businesses.

A review of the main challenges to urban sustainability

Considering the existential threat that global warming poses to humanity, the current focus on climate change is undoubtedly justified. However, this should not overshadow the fact that sustainable development does not only end with environmental concerns but also covers social and economic domains that are mediated through physical spaces and built form. There are two-way interactions between these domains with each having a reciprocal impact on the other. Based on the institutional and policy context, these interactions can move us towards either a more virtuous circle of development with more equitable growth, empowered communities, liveable spaces and reduced (or at least controlled) levels of pollution, or the reverse. Consequently, in order to set the scene for the launch of the International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, I attempt to provide an overview of the main challenges emanating from each domain for achieving urban sustainability and the contribution that the new journal can make to this debate.

Trends in built environment semantic Web applications: Where are we today?

Abstract The built environment sector impacts significantly on communities. At the same time, it is the sector with the highest cost and environmental saving potentials provided effective strategies are implemented. The emerging Semantic Web promises new opportunities for efficient management of information and knowledge about various domains. While other domains, particularly bioinformatics have fully embraced the Semantic Web, knowledge about how the same has been applied to the built environment is sketchy. This study investigates the development and trend of Semantic Web applications in the built environment. Understanding the different applications of the Semantic Web is essential for evaluation, improvement and opening of new research. A review of over 120 refereed articles on built environment Semantic Web applications has been conducted. A classification of the different Semantic Web applications in relation to their year of application is presented to highlight the trend. Two major findings have emerged. Firstly, despite limited research about easy-to-use applications, progress is being made from often too-common ontological concepts to more innovative concepts such as Linked Data. Secondly, a shift from traditional construction applications to Semantic Web sustainable construction applications is gradually emerging. To conclude, research challenges, potential future development and research directions have been discussed.

An ontology-driven decision support system for land delivery in Zambia

Land is increasingly becoming important as the global economic crisis and climate change impacts continue to grow. This is mirrored in Zambia where the management of land has become very critical, prompting urgent government intervention/regulatory measures in the form of land reform. However, lack of efficient communication mechanisms inhibits the success of these efforts as officials are unable to make efficient land delivery decisions. This paper investigates the extent to which Semantic Web technology, an emerging communication technology, can be used in developing decision support systems that can facilitate the Zambian land delivery process.

Development of the ICT sector and urban competitiveness: The case of Dubai

innovation, and knowledge functions that have come to characterize the urban condition at the heart of this process. ICTs provide the instantaneous and real-time connectivity that underpins many of the main theoretical concepts used for analyzing and comprehending the globalization phenomenon. These range from Harvey’s time-space compression to Castells’s network society and Sassen’s global city and hierarchies of global urban networks. This does not negate the importance of other infrastructure networks to the functioning of the modern city. As Graham notes, it is the synergetic effect of the different infrastructure networks that creates the necessary technical and social environment that provides the basis for modern living and production activities. In his words, “What is the Internet without electricity?” However, what makes ICTs unique is the extraordinary capability they provide in reconfiguring space and time barriers to provide real-time connectivity for the smooth operation of global production and transaction functions. In his explanation of the network society thesis, Castells defines the current global context as the “information age” or “a historical period in which human societies perform their activities in a technological paradigm constituted around microelectronics-based information/

The Limits and Potentials of the Housing Market Enabling Paradigm: An Evaluation of China's Housing Policies from 1998 to 2011

This paper examines the housing policies in China in the last 14 years in the context of the international debate on the World Banks housing market enabling strategy to improve low-income housing provision in developing countries. A review of Chinas urban housing outcomes reveals housing price inflation and shortage of affordable housing in the fast expanding housing market. The paper analyzes policies to increase both demand for and supply of housing and argues that these policies have contributed to worsening affordability. This situation has been exacerbated by problems in the institutional framework managing the housing sector. The paper concludes that market enabling alone is not sufficient to achieve a satisfactory housing outcome for low- and middle-income groups in Chinese cities. It advocates more effective and direct public intervention for enhancing social housing provision and tightening market regulation to address both market and government failures to improve housing conditions for lower income groups.

Public Management of Urban Land, Enabling Markets and Low-income Housing Provision: The Overlooked Experience of Iran

This paper examines the first 10 years (1979—89) of the implementation of the Urban Land Act in Iran in order to revisit the debate on the capacity of market-enabling policies to improve low-income housing provision in developing countries. The outcome of the Iranian experience during the study period shows that, at the very least, governments can play an important and effective role in low- and middle-income housing provision through direct provision of urban land in parallel with markets. This suggests that the best way forward may be a combination of market-enabling approaches that develop basic institutional functions plus proactive government intervention for developing public land banks to provide better access to cheap land for a range of housing providers including individual households, co-operatives and private developers.