United Nations investigations in the squatter districts of Manila” have shown
that housing there is a continuous process that takes place conditioned by the
resources and needs of the inhabitants. These houses were built, with all manner
of tolerably suitable and cheap material simply available on the spot. By far the
greater part was used material; only 20% of those questioned used new material as
well. The inferior materials were gradually replaced by better ones and the houses
extended or altered. The sums spent on such improvements varied from $40 to
$800 and are thus in some cases rather considerable. Most of those questioned
therefore stated that their houses were now very different from what they originally
had been. At the same time, the older houses are of higher quality than
the newer ones. Half of those questioned said that they wanted to improve their
houses still further. Some thought that, for financial reasons, they were in no
position to do so, while others did not wish to invest too much in their houses,
since (like all those questioned, for that matter) they had no legal claim to remain