Dt h afety and comfort, and for protection against enemies and vagaries of climate. It includes space for rest, for sleeping, for cooking and bathing. mn of hou The World Health Organization (WHO) has given the following defin ing “An enclosed environment in which man finds protection and feels safe and secured from hostile forces and can function with increased comfort and satisfaction as regards to privacy to the individual and his family. The environment must include all necessity, services, facilities, equipment’s and devices needed for physical and social well-being of the family or the individual" Housing: By housing it is meant not only a mere form of shelter but also it includes all those qualities of jal for social and emotional well- comfort, convenience and environmental amenities essenti being of families. It serves for a family as a centre of total residential environment. ‘Thus, the total community is the main concer in housing, and not just a series of houses. “The fundamental aims of housing are safety and comfort, and also the physical, social and emotional health ofthe individual in relation to the conduct of the joint performance of family ‘and community life. Indeed, the primary objective of housing is health and home is an instrument of the health. Housing, as a physical component includes, other than dwellings, various community facilities ‘and services such as water supply, sanitation, transportation ete. Again, as a focus of economic activity, as a symbol of achievement and social status, as an element of urban growth and income distribution, housing fulfills social and economic needs of mankind. Differences between House and Housing: House Housing (2 meanings) Buildfrom for accommodation. (@D Build form: Ensuring certain qualities, having government approval and built: by does not have any reference to: ere a ‘competent persons. That is: a) Livability condition, a) The built form was designed by b) Qualification of the designer, Architects ensuring certain qualities. b) The design was approved by approved authorities of the government ) Visual beauty, 4) Considerations for Safety, i ) ae ae c) The Architecture gave certificate ¢) Approval of authorized organizationsete. | regarding the soundness of construction and accepted responsibilities for any failure (@)A Program: The program taken by the government or other organization for providing quality accommodation to the citizens- 7 Characteristics of housing: Housing is basically a product a highly complex product, a bulky, durable and permanen product. It encompa y of pipes, ducs, wiring and plumbing, There are single family houses, duplex . pucea, semi-pucea and atcha houses row hou Housing is a composite, social good. It is not produced or consumed piecemeal. It has floor, ‘wall and roof, also it ineludes spaces for rest, sleep, cooking and bathing, all combined together make it usable. A housing stock, once created, is a community resource of great importance and, in one way or another, is managed as a whole by the community. The use of one dwelling unit affects the usefulness of others in very material ways. The structure of social, moral, legal and economic relationships in the community is relentlessly relevant to its housing sector. ‘The basic resources of which housing is made are land and capital. Land, particularly the urban land, is not only limited and indispensable, but it ties people spatially. The individual does not have the opportunity to determine his own housing standard, because he must share in the land ich defines the community and also the capital (facilities) which is jointly created by that ‘The standards for one and all are determined by a set of systems which cross the frontiers of several disciplines. ing is a salable commodity, subject to the laws of supply and demand. The supply is usually scarce and inelastic, whereas the demand is elastic and constantly growing. Housing is not only sold but also rented. Home ownership reflects the achievement of both economic and social goals. The economic characteristics of a house can be viewed as a good investment, as an incentive for saving, as a ‘way of improving credit standing in the community, and as freedom from landlords. The social character which encourages home ownership include family pride in owning, family security, a belief in the virtue of private ownership, and a sense of better citizenship. Role of Housing/ Importance of Housing: Housing is no longer viewed simply as a physical structure or only as a consumer product. It has significant social and personal impact. An adequate housing environment can play a vital role in the development process of a nation The role of man-made physical environment is to fulfill, wholly or partially, the human needs whether these needs are readily recognized or not. Human needs may be discussed at two levels; the biological (also called basic) and the socio-cultural. Housing fulfills human needs from both levels. 1) Housing plays both a direct and indirect role. In its direet role housing serves as the area where the individual becomes capable of experiencing privacy, shelter and protection against hostile physical forces and disturbances. In its indirect role housing serves as the area where a abundant supply of social relationships and services are accessible, such as places for social interactions, recreation, sports, social welfare, and health protecting services, shopping and transportation.2) Health: Housing plays a k in maintait fa nation's population by lea ey role in maintaining the ion's popul } ig the health of a nation's i providing zee for sleep sna rest which is the biological need of human being sn the careful design of housing, it can impi iti pace, lighting eee ee rm m8 such health-related conditions as space, lighting, 3) Privacy: Housing provides priva is important for rest, sleeping, development. cy to the individual against interruption from others which study, meditation and maintaining one's personal integrity and 4) Housing provides facilities for social interactions, co-ordination of shared activities and recreation for different age groups, community cohesion and political participation. Housing, also facilitates social integration on the basis of race, religion, language ot ethnic background which help to derive social significance and form balanced communities. 5) Housing optimizes the availability and use of the social services such as education, medical care, matemal and child care, retail buying, cultural facilities such as theatres, cinemas, libraries, art galleries, museums, exhibition halls, religious and sports centre. 6) Well planned housing can economize on urban space, minimize the cost of urban intra~ structure and increase national productivity. 7) Housing can reduce the transportation problems of an urban area, depending on its location with respect to other vital activities such as employment, education and shopping. Housing projects can be so located as to decrease the time spent in the journey to work. The reduction of travel time makes a substantial contribution to over-all societal efficiency, releasing time for other productive or leisurely activities. In addition, housing can be located in such a way as to discourage the use of public transportation, and increase take-home pay by reducing commuting expenses. 8) Housing can modify urban form and community development to improve efficiency. Access to income earning opportunities is sometimes best improved by increasing the low-income housing supply near employment concentrations; sometimes it is better to locate industrial and commercial activities near low-income housing concentrations; sometimes linking existing residential and employment areas by improved transport is the best approach, 9) Housing has multiple economic characteristics. It represents some 15% to 20% of household expenditures, and it is the major focus of saving from family income. It is recognized as a profitable investment item, yielding a flow of income. For some households, it is also a place of business. Factors contributing to the urban housing situation In most cities there may be found housing of various forms, types and standards, There are spacious and luxurious houses forthe rich, moderate houses forthe midale-ineome group, shacks and thatched for the very poor. There are four main factors which affe i situation in most urban areas. These are: and ct the housing1) Income (the most important) 2) City size 3) Rate of urban population growth 4) Policy context of housing ane Jhaping the housing il in shaping the hous Income (both national and household) is the most important element a the ane situation. Income determines a country's capacity for housing its me ee aes determines the standard of housing that can be provided to the population \ the allocations amongst the investment sectors. Household income distribution along with the price of housing, establish the amount of housing that particular families can afford. A country with a relatively high per capita income but in which the income is heavily concentrated among upper income groups many still have a difficult housing problem Better and equitable income distribution makes it easier to devise policies to solve its housing problems. ‘The distribution of income also has spatial dimension: there are relatively rich cities in low- income countries, and relatively poor cities in high income countries. 2) City Size City size is a second major factor affecting housing situation. The largest cities, notably those with population above two million, confront the gravest problem. In big cities the spatial imbalances in the location of people and jobs are most severe. The scarcity of land with good access to employment opportunities is the central feature of their housing problem. This scarcity is often aggravated when large quantities of public and private land are either kept vacant or devoted to uses which do not require a central location. Due to scarcity, land in central locations is very high priced, of course, land is more readily available on the outskirts of big cities at much lower cost. But such areas are generally not well integrated with the city as a whole. In the city outskirts there are rarely any substantial employment opportunities nearby, infrastructure provision is often poot, and inadequate urban transport makes access to ‘employment and urban facilities costly and time consuming. In contrast, in smaller cities, even centrally located land may not be expensive, and land on the outskirts is usually very cheap. This does not mean that large cities are uneconomic. ‘The range of city sizes thus affects the housing situation in a country. 3) Rate of urban growth ‘The rate of urban growth is third important element. Many cities in developing countries have ‘grown more rapidly in the last 25 years than at any previous time in human history, Large cities are among the fastest growing ones, Most of these cities have been deficient in housing the poor at minimum desirable standard (protection from adverse elements and sanitation) and at cost they can afford.‘ost of these cities urban plannin . 1g and the provisi ir etry Sewerage, health clinics, schools and ior nstuctures cvwth, Vast areas of un-serviced ur site) hav 4) Housing Policy The fourth critical factor is housing poli i oe eae am is housing policy. The differences in housing policies and their variations in housing condition among cities Unde existing system, in most cases, the calculation of "housing deficit" and "investment Guirement" is basically unsound, There are conceptual difficulties of estimating "appropriate housing" for a variety of socio-economic conditions. Such approach ignores the potential for incremental improvement through a better use of existing resources and suggests that the housing problem isa "bottomless pit”. It has thus encouraged the adoption of counterproductive policies. In many cases, it is a common practice to refuse to accept existing low-quality housing, at least as an interion solution to the urban housing problem. The consequence is a continuous process of demolishing low-income urban housing (specially the squatter settlements and slums) and clearing the land for other purposes. Thus, the squatters are forced to move toward the expanding periphery away from employment and other opportunities. Many governments insist on maintaining high standards which raise the cost of housing and prohibit self-help construction by low-income households. The sentiment, “construct big, beautiful and forever", is not unusual.