Assessment of housing for the urban poor in the four local Government units in southern Mindanao, Philippines

Paper presented at the XXXIII IAHS World Congress on Housing, 27-30 September 2005,"Transforming Housing Environments through Design", University of Pretoria.ABSTRACT: Shelter for the urban poor is always a problem in the process of urbanization in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to assess the demand and provision of urban poor housing in the four local government units in Southern Mindanao, Philippines. Home lot ownerships were accessed through government shelter programs, while houses were provided by the urban poor themselves and through the assistance of NGOs. Even if gaps between need and delivery are unavoidable in every shelter programs, but the participatory approach of this research contributed positively to the approaches in local housing policies. The evolution of slum into a more permanent urban fabric was illustrated, and this must be further understood for a more feasible shelter program.Authors of papers in the proceedings and CD-ROM ceded copyright to the IAHS and UP. Authors furthermore declare that papers are their original work, not previously published and take responsibility for copyrighted excerpts from other works, included in their papers with due acknowledgment in the written manuscript. Furthermore, that papers describe genuine research or review work, contain no defamatory or unlawful statements and do not infringe the rights of others. The IAHS and UP may assign any or all of its rights and obligations under this agreement

SHELTER FOR THE URBAN POOR IN SANPASADA

With urbanization comes the problem of shelter provision for the urban poor in developing countries like the Philippines. The objective of this paper is to assess the socialized housing provision for the urban poor in the local government units of the Municipality of Sta. Cruz, Panabo City, Island Garden City of Samal, and Davao City (also known as SANPASADA). The assessment of the physical stock as an indicator includes the provision of land and the housing structure.  The study shows that both local and national government units mostly assisted only in the lot acquisition of housing beneficiaries. The provision of housing structures was mostly provided through the initiative and ingenuity of the urban poor beneficiaries or with the assistance of the non-government organizations. Site development and the provision of infrastructure and utilities were done phase by phase through the initiative of the homeowners associations and from limited assistance of local government units.  It is generally recommended that to promote a comprehensive approach in the provision of shelter needs of the urban poor, both the local and national government units should encourage the active participation and collaboration with NGOs and urban poor beneficiaries