ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on policy relating to the housing needs of low income groups. These include some who have migrated to the cities from rural areas or from countries elsewhere in the region or are longstanding, but poor, city dwellers, as well as poor groups remaining in rural areas. The chapter examines the particular case of the upgrading of squatter settlements in Kuala Lumpur. Public low-income housing has been given a high priority in Malaysian development plans since 1971, with a major portion of the public housing budget being allocated for low-income housing projects. The recent development of the private sector's role in the partnership with the local authorities should be able to balance the need for profits with a positive response to the socio-economic needs of the lower income groups. Sustainable low-income housing increases the possibilities of the environmental improvement as well as for the sociocultural development of the squatters and other lower income groups.
