ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a conceptual framework for understanding the relationships between housing and economic development in the urban context. As mentioned in Chapter 1, investment in housing was for many years a debatable issue both in policy and planning circles and in the academic arena and remains a controversial issue in many developing countries. Several interrelated issues defined this debate; among them are the following. One issue concerned the allocation of resources between housing and other investments and revolved around the question of what proportion of a country’s limited resources should be invested in housing provision without compromising other equally important economic and social needs. Another issue related to the productivity of housing. It was the question of whether housing investment is productive and what role should be assigned to housing. Additionally, there was the issue of whether housing was part, or a by-product, of economic development. In terms of policy there was concern about what constituted the ‘appropriate’ role of housing policy strategies to meet housing needs effectively. In developing this conceptual framework, the goal is to demonstrate that the relationship between housing and economic development is not one-dimensional; instead, the two interact in a number of ways, and housing is a central part of economic growth and development.
