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COURSE OUTLINE

1. Introduction to the course

2. The Global Housing Problem and the Ethiopian Context

HOUSING AND 3. Housing policy

 Housing Policies through time: Globally and in the case

INNER CITY 
of Ethiopia
Housing Demand and Supply

REDEVELOPMENT 4. Housing finance & affordability – Cost & socio-economic

factors
5. Housing actors – Interaction & level of participation among
actors
INTRODUCTION 6. Tenure and its impact on Housing
7. Housing intervention approaches

INTRODUCTION UN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING

The right to adequate housing in international human rights

• What is Housing? law
 The right to adequate housing is a human right recognized
• As a Noun the : The stock of dwelling, in international human rights law as part of the right to an
 What it is adequate standard of living.
 Finished Product Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
 Provision Paradigm • The International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, widely considered as the central instrument
• As a Verb: The process by which that stock is for the protection of the right to adequate housing, refers
created to the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living
 What it does for himself and his family, including adequate food,
 Process clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement
of living conditions
 Support Paradigm

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• Housing is therefore much more than providing people a HOUSING PROBLEM

place to live, ‘housing investment contributes, directly and
indirectly, through backward and forward linkages in the Rapid urbanization
economy, to national economic growth and, to a large
extend, to national capital stock. Main causes
• Housing is a tool for employment creation, providing • Rural to urban migration
opportunities to solve the underemployment problem and • Natural population increase
improve human capital, as well as for improving business
• Boundary redefinition of cities.
capacity and private enterprise to deliver land and housing
efficiently and economically.
• Expanding access to affordable housing does not only have In 2001, about 900 million lived in
social or equity benefits but also clear economic benefits slums, in 30 years number of ‘slum’
where the housing market can contribute to the overall
dwellers, Will be about 2 billion
economic development of nations, cities, and households.
• The challenge is to harness the economic power of the • Over burdened meager
housing sector to contribute to national economic resources
development and filter these benefits down to households. • Overcrowded Slums
(UN-Habitat, 2003)

HOUSING PROBLEM HOUSING PROBLEM

Poverty - Urban Inequalities Poverty - Urban Inequalities

• Discrepancies of access to local • Environmental degradation

Resources • Projects intended to create

• Spatial locations positive city image in the pretext

• Societal organizations of attracting investments.

• Personal relationships • Islands of activities, for those who

can afford, surrounded by slums.
• Land ownership and tenure

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN

HOUSING HOUSING
• Consequently, many low- or even middle-income households
• As UN-HABITAT’s experience over the world indicates, the most build their own houses progressively over long periods as long as
important factor limiting progress in improving housing and living ten to fifteen years, or as is the case for the majority of the low-
conditions of low income groups particularly in informal income population in many cities, they are simply tenants.
settlements and slums is the lack of sufficient political will to Upgrading initiatives should not rely entirely on governmental
address the issue in a fundamentally structured, sustainable and subsidies or on full recovery from slum dwellers.
large scale manner.
• Progressive municipal finance, cross-subsidy mechanisms, micro-
• One crucial and common shortcoming in the housing sector is credit schemes and beneficiary contributions should be
the inadequacy and limitations of housing finance mechanisms. associated to ensure financial viability.
• The fact that conventional housing finance usually works in favor • Security of tenure is another fundamental challenge in urban
of middle and high income groups is reflected in highly housing. Promoting security of tenure is a prerequisite for
segmented housing markets. the poor, low and even middle- sustainable improvement of housing and environmental
income majority of the population in most developing countries conditions. Squatter upgrading projects need to be carried out
cannot afford a loan even for the least expensive commercially and these projects should prevent unlawful evictions.
built housing units.

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN HOUSING EQUITY AND EFFICIENCY;

• Governments should focus on regularization schemes in
PARAMETERS OF HOUSING
order to provide incentives to families to invest in their • There should be no discrimination against private rental
homes and communities. there is no doubt that every housing in the national housing policy and the involvement
effort should be made to ensure optimal use of the of tenants and owners in finding solutions prioritizing
housing stock and improve the quality of life in existing collective interests should be promoted.
settlements. • Another major challenge of housing policies is to adopt an
• Another important topic requiring attention is the promotion of
adequate approach to urban land management.
rental housing options. Regardless of the nature of existing or new • Due to rapid urbanization, the urban poor are forced to find
finance mechanisms, the reality for many poor and low-income their shelter in illegal settlements located in a variety of
urban residents remains that adequate housing is simply too places: customary land, public land reserves, marginal land
expensive to own. or in illegal sub-divisions.
• The majority of urban residents in many developing countries are • The resulting growth of informal settlements, primarily in peri-
actually tenants in the private informal sector. Data on urban urban locations, is often the response to public inaction, or
housing tenure in developing countries are not very reliable but it is ineffective interventions that create more problems than
estimated that a considerable number of urban dwellers, probably they solve.
in the range of 30-50 percent, are tenants.

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GOALS OF HOUSING SCHEME

• The dynamisation of land markets is a key element of any
good housing strategy. Currently the common approaches to providing housing are limited.
• Condominium housing projects by the city government are the most
• With uncertain or illegal land tenure, the low-income, high-
wide spread and ambitious targets have been set for them.
density settlements lack basic infrastructure and services such • Site and service programs that require a blocked account in a bank in
as drinking water, sanitation and energy. an important order to secure land on which to build own house also address
obstacle to increasing investment flows in urban basic • The demands of mostly new families. Real estate housing,
services has been the reluctance of city authorities to put in predominantly targeted at a higher income group. All these require
place a realistic and sustainable pricing policy that could some kind of down payment as a precondition to own one of the units
ensure cost recovery. or be able to secure land. All of the programs concentrate on the
• Ironically, the affluent groups benefit most from under-pricing provision or construction of new housing and do not address the
of basic services such as water supply, as the poor are rarely problem of low income communities within the inner city areas.
connected to municipal services and have to rely on the • With the current economic and land lease policy giving priority to the
informal market. demands of those who can pay more for land, it is only the higher
income people who have the upper hand in the command of land in
• Generally the poorest city residents pay the highest unit price the inner city.
for services, such as water and energy. Governments should • Low income people stand to loose the advantages of location. In an
not try to provide top-class infrastructure and services to a area with good potential for various small and medium sized business.
minority but should first expand access of needy groups to  The Goal of housing Should address the above issues and provision of
basic amenities and services. housing with basic infrastructure, considering affordability and cost
recovery to the local body.

URBANIZATION IN ETHIOPIA HOUSING SITUATION IN ETHIOPIA

 Historic town life in Ethiopia goes as far back as 4th century AD • Urban housing is generally known for its crowded situation. The
during the Axumite kingdom. Large scale urbanization was national average occupancy rate is 2.2 persons per room. We
noticed however in 16th and 17th centuries. can commonly find more than one household in one housing unit.
• The city of Gondar had 7,000 inhabitants by the 17th century. The average household size is 4.6 persons for urban Ethiopia.
Cities such as Adwa, and others had 5,000-10,000 inhabitants.
Another notable and fairly recent historical town was Ankober • With the limitations of government programs, the prospect for the
found near Debre Berhan town. Ankober had a population of housing situation in urban Ethiopia is gloomy. With the currency
10,000 in the 1830’s. devalued and the current cost recovery principle of the market
oriented economy, the situation is likely to worsen.
There was limited urbanization generally in Ethiopia. • Low income people are being increasingly marginalized in the
 This is due to frequent wars, limited trade, constant housing market.
change of location of military headquarters by kings and • The neglect that low income people have suffered has given rise
nobility. to the increasing threat of informal settlements on illegally
 With its 15% urbanization Ethiopia is one of the least occupied land at the fringes of towns.
urbanized countries in sub Saharan Africa. It is however • The common trait of the urban centers of Ethiopia is their
one of the countries showing the highest rate of unplanned development.
urbanization

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INFRASTRUCTURE COVERAGE
• In terms of infrastructure coverage there is unsatisfactory
coverage in all of the urban centers of Ethiopia. The most
acute problems can be found in areas of water supply,
drainage, standard access and solid waste collection.
Infrastructure coverage of urban Ethiopia
Facility Coverage
Toilets 75 %
Kitchen 80%
Water access to unit or compound 60 %
Drainage 33 %
Car access 60 %
Private waste water 66 %
Solid waste collection 50 %
Source. Housing Conditions and Demand for Housing in Urban Ethiopia, 2001,
Gebeyehu Abelti, Marco Brazzoduro, Behailu Gebremedhin, AA, CSA