Coordinating public and private sector action for shelter

In most developing countries, there are two basic approaches to the construction of urban low-income housing: public-sector construction programmes and private-sector delivery of shelter. Public-sector construction varies from one country to another, but typical examples are a governmental housing construction agency directly executing housing projects on behalf of the government. The capacity of the public sector is often rather limited, because the little that it produces is hardly ever accessible to target groups. On the contrary, the bulk of shelter constructed for the low-income population results from the private sector which, despite serious limitations, has had a great impact on shelter delivery in ruban areas. In rural areas, self-build approaches dominated. Individuals and families construct their own dwellings, or sometimes supplement their labour with casually-employed artisan, using local materials.