Housing and Human Settlement Planning, 093034

In our rapidly urbanizing world an increasing share of urban populations have inadequate access to housing. In the seminar we discuss two key phenomena and approaches to housing: standardised housing and incremental housing. Standardised housing is the external, often state-regulated provision of housing based on formal city planning. In recent decades, there has been a revival of centrally planned standardised housing schemes particularly in rapidly growing cities across the globe. Incremental housing refers to a step-by-step construction of housing, which is often managed by residents themselves. Incremental housing regularly clashes with views of city planning as the creation of a stable, and long-lasting built environment, but nevertheless remains a key driver of contemporary urbanization in rapidly growing cities across the globe.

The seminar consists of lectures, discussions and student presentations. In order to introduce students to contemporary discourses on incremental and standardised housing, we use key academic texts. Drawing on empirical research, the seminar focuses on five specific topics in relation to standardised and incremental housing:  land and finance; infrastructure, planning and construction; stigmatisation; neighbourhood relations and labour; tenure security.