Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of

housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the informal housing industry is part of the

informal sector An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countri ...

. To have informal housing status is to exist in "a state of deregulation, one where the ownership, use, and purpose of land cannot be fixed and mapped according to any prescribed set of regulations or the law". While there is no global unified law of property-ownership, the informal occupant or community will typically lack security of tenure and, with this, ready or reliable access to civic amenities (potable water, electricity and gas supply, road creation and maintenance, emergency services, sanitation and waste collection). Due to the informal nature of occupancy, the state will typically be unable to extract rent or land taxes. The term "informal housing" is useful in capturing the informal population other than those living in

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

settlements or

shanty town A shanty town, squatter area, squatter settlement, or squatter camp is a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood, or from cheap building materials such as corrugated iron s ...

UN-Habitat The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settleme ...

more narrowly defines slum housing as lacking at least one of the following criteria: durability, sufficient living space, safe and accessible water, adequate sanitation, and security of tenure. Common categories or terms associated with informal housing include: slums, shanty towns,

squats Squat, squatter or squatting may refer to: Body position * Squatting position, a sitting position where one's knees are folded with heels touching one's buttocks or back of the thighs * Squat (exercise), a lower-body exercise in strength and co ...

homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

, backyard housing and pavement dwellers.

In developing countries

People around the world face issues of homelessness and insecurity of tenure. However, particularly pernicious circumstances may obtain in developing countries, leading to a large proportion of the population resorting to informal housing. According to

Saskia Sassen Saskia Sassen (born January 5, 1947) is a Dutch-American sociologist noted for her analyses of globalization and international human migration. She is a professor of sociology at Columbia University in New York City, and the London School of Eco ...

, in the race to become a "

global city A global city (also known as a power city, world city, alpha city, or world center) is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that glo ...

" with the requisite state-of-the-art economic and regulatory platforms for handling the operations of international firms and markets, radical physical interventions in the fabric of the city are often called for, displacing "modest, low-profit firms and households". Persistent conflict and insecurity can also weaken the institutions that would record and formalize housing transactions. For instance, until 1991 municipal officials possessed a registry of land in

Mogadishu, Somalia Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has an estimated urban population of 2,610,4 ...

. But these records are now held by a diasporic Somali living in Sweden, who charges a fee to verify land deeds. If households lack the economic resilience to repurchase in the same area or to relocate to a place that offers similar economic opportunity, they are prime candidates for informal housing. For example, in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, fast-paced economic growth, coupled with inadequate infrastructure, endemic corruption and the legacy of restrictive tenancy laws have left the city unable to house the estimated 54% who now live informally. Informal housing is often built incrementally, as householders acquire the resources, time and security to build additions and enhancements. Many cities in the developing world are experiencing a rapid increase in informal housing, driven by mass migration to cities in search of employment or fleeing from war or environmental disaster. According to Robert Neuwirth, there are over 1 billion (one in seven) squatters worldwide. If current trends continue, this will increase to 2 billion by 2030 (one in four), and 3 billion by 2050 (one in three). In African cities, between half and three-quarters of new housing is developed on informally acquired land. Informal homes, and the often informal livelihoods that accompany them, are set to be defining features of the cities of the future. Laquian, Aprodicio A. ''Basic housing: policies for urban sites, services, and shelter in developing countries'' (Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, 1983).

In the United States

Informal housing can also be found in developed countries like the United States. Unpermitted secondary units are seen as informal housing. In 2012, among the total stock of approximately 462,000 single-family homes in Los Angeles, California, there were estimated to be close to 50,000 unpermitted secondary units.

References

{{reflist

External links

Solving the Housing Crisis Half-a-House at a Time: Incremental Housing as a Means to Fulfilling the Human Right to Housing (U. Miami Inter-Am. L. Rev. 2021) - Law Review article reviewing legal implementation of incremental housing in Chile and the United States

In developing countries

In the United States

See also

References

Further reading

External links