With the world’s urban populations growing at a rapid rate, there is a tremendous need for housing, especially among the poor.
Most of this growth is in low-income neighborhoods, where informal building and expansion is the common pattern of growth.
Incremental construction and expansion of houses—a process in which homes are built or expanded over time by owners—is one of the key ways to help the poor build better houses and increase housing stock.
Not only does incremental housing place less of a demand on scarce urban land, the addition of an extra rental unit can provide poor families with a source of income.
The initiative aims to inform city authorities—mayors, department heads, and other policy makers—about the benefits of supporting incremental housing so that they can formulate and implement urban policies more effectively.
It will include a number of deliverables, beginning with a website and publications, to serve as resources on the issue. The resources will provide practical information such as the stages of housing construction, case studies, strategies and policies from the perspectives of both the city and the user, and where to find additional information.
