Dc. City averages, however, obscure high levels of overcrowding within cities and, in particular, within low-income areas. In Karachi the living space in many of the informal settlements (katchi abadis), where 40 per cent of the population lives, is between 2m and 3m per person while those living in larger town houses or apartments enjoy between 22m and 33m per person. An equally wide gab exists between rich and poor countries in terms of levels of urban service provision (Table25.1).
The failure of government housing programmes to provide affordable housing has forced the mass of the Third World urban population into cheaper alternative forms of shelter, which range from inner-city slum tenements and peripheral squatter settlements to the pavements (sidewalks) of major cities (Box 25.1). The shortage of adequate housing is exacerbated by high rates of population growth. During the 1980s in low-income Third World countries nine new households were formed for every new permanent dwelling built. Over the same period, governments typically spent only 2 per cent of their budget on housing and community services. These trends leave no doubt that the lack of decent affordable housing for the urban poor represents an ongoing challenge. In this chapter we identify the main sources of housing for the urban poor and examine The nature of different housing submarkets. We focus on the processes underlying the formation of squatter settlements and consider the