Explorations into the Characteristics, the Determinants of Production, and the Impact of Land Policies on the Informal Housing Sector in Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract

This study investigates the housing characteristics and the detenninants of housing production of the informal housing sector in Alexandria, Egypt. It also examines the impact ofland policies on the development of the informal housing sector. Informal housing, by definition, is constructed and acquired outside the legal procedure of land and building registration and without the necessary permissions and approvals. Therefore, there is a little knowledge about it, and its role in the housing market could be underestimated. The aim of this research is to enhance the factual knowledge about informal housing as a basis for future policy development.The findings of this research, based on data collected from a field study conducted in four informal settlements in Alexandria in 1991, include the following:1. Macro-economic, political, and social structures accelerated the emergence and the development of informal housing settlements, which occurred rapidly during and after times of economic and political crises. Informal settlements are heterogeneous and it is not evident that informalhousing is synonymous with marginal housing for poor people.3. Informal settlements have low levels of public utilities and infrastructure.4. Income, household size, age of household head, and tenure status of the household are the major variables that explain different patterns of housing consumption and expenditure among informal households.

La conception du logement informel en Algérie: les cas des villes de Guelaat Bou Sbaa et Bouati Mahmoud

“…En ce qui concerne le processus de production, l'acquisition et l'occupation du sol en constituent les éléments premiers incontournables (Soliman 1996). En effet, les occupants d'un logement informel peuvent utiliser un terrain dont ils ne sont pas les propriétaires: ils le louent ou l'achètent des propriétaires légaux (Coker 2016) ou illégaux (El Araby 1993). Ces derniers procèdent à une division illégale du sol en lots afin d'y construire des logements et de louer ou vendre ceux‐ci, le tout illégalement (Souiah 2010).…”

Failed planning: lost opportunities and choices for the future

“…Poor housing exists because poor people exist. Unlike new towns, the informal urban sector results from a dynamic process of change leading to self-organised communities (El Araby, 1993). State policies that aim to govern land markets affect directly land prices (El Araby, 2003).…”