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Reconceptualizing housing finance in informal settlements: the case of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Department at the University College of Lands and Architectural Studies (UCLAS), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, sheuya{at}yahoo.com

Most urban dwellers in developing countries live in informal settlements in housing that is built incrementally. Low-income households most often have no access to formal housing finance institutions and largely depend on informal housing finance mechanisms in addition to the recently established shelter microfinance institutions. However, both formal and informal shelter-financing institutions have a requirement for savings. Based on empirical investigations in two informal settlements in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this paper explores the nature of savings in incremental housing development. The findings show that unpacking the concept of savings has the potential to uncover new opportunities for promoting housing finance in informal settlements, other than shelter microfinance.

Key Words: housing finance • incremental housing development • informal settlements • livelihoods • savings • Tanzania

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Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 19, No. 2, 441-456 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0956247807082823


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Sheuya, S. A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?