ABSTRACT
Access to decent, affordable housing is a basic requirement for human well-being, yet in most large cities of the Third World much of the population occupies the most rudimentary forms of shelter. An indication of the difference in housing quality between high-and low-income countries is provided in Table 25.1. In terms of floor area per person the city average for Dhaka was 3.7 m2 (40 ft2) in 1990, compared with over 60 m2 (650 ft2) in Washington
DC.1 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 2 m3 and 3 m2 per person while those living in larger town houses or apartments enjoy between 22 m2 and 33 m2 per person.2 An equally wide gap exists between rich and poor countries in terms of levels of urban service provision (Table 25.1).
