A Fund to Secure Land for Shelter: Supporting Strategies of the Organized Poor
Author(s)
Mitlin, Diana
Abstract
Obtaining secure land tenure for housing is one of the biggest challenges facing the urban poor and the professionals who seek to address poverty. This paper describes how a UK£ 200,000 fund supported the acquisition of secure land and the construction of housing in 13 different communities (in Cambodia, Colombia, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe), as well as advocacy work to promote access to land in urban areas of Namibia. Over 40,000 people have benefited, and many more should benefit in the future from the processes now underway. The paper explains how it was possible for a fund of this size to benefit so many low-income households. It also discusses the different strategies that were used to obtain land in different places, and what we can learn from this experience to address the needs of the urban poor more effectively.
