Transforming to variety: lessons from self-built neighborhoods in Dhaka

Abstract

People, either owners or tenants, defy frequent move from houses they live, as well as from neighborhoods. However, housing consumptions change in time. Owners need to transform their houses, and tenants search for better options. Formal housings around the world, no matter how big the supplies are, and whatever effective their efforts are to reach all income groups, have frequently been suspect to cope with people’s ever-changing housing consumptions. Owners have often been handicapped with no choice to transform accordingly and tenants do not have many options around either. These eventually lead people to move out from their neighborhoods. Lower income people, the biggest economic sub-group, and usually the left-outs from the formal housing supply mechanism, are more engaged in informal self-building primarily because it is cheaper. However, more interestingly, their houses transform continuously to offer various housing solutions that are dynamic, flexible and fit to various needs. They not only offer solutions to the owners, but also offer various options for the tenants. Tenants, who usually outnumber owners, often need to move out since they cannot transform the houses they live. Considering the variety collectively offered within these neighborhoods of self-built houses, there are many choices for existing tenants as well as newcomers which eventually keep neighborhoods alive.