New Policy Developments at The National and Global Levels 1

Past slum policies and strategies pursued by governments and local authorities are generally well known and have been reviewed extensively. ² This chapter is therefore more concerned with the forces that shape the sequence of slum policies implemented in both developed and developing countries, with emphasis on recent policy developments. As shown earlier in Chapters 4 and 5, the first experience of dealing with slums was in the now high-income, or developed, countries, starting in the late 19th century. This experience provided a starting point for developing countries as they sought to implement national urban low-income housing policies and, within that context, to address slum problems emerging in their rapidly expanding cities. In addition, slum solutions in developing countries have been increasingly shaped by the successive policies and approaches adopted by international agencies, both multilateral and bilateral.