Expert Solutions to Affordable Housing Finance Challenges in Developing Economies

Authors: Timothy Akinwande, Eddie C. M. Hui

Abstract:

Housing the urban poor has remained a challenge for many years across the world, especially in developing economies, despite the apparent research attention and policy interventions. It is apt to investigate the prevalent affordable housing (AH) provision challenges using unconventional approaches. It is pragmatic to thoroughly examine housing experts to provide supply-side solutions to AH challenges and investigate informal settlers to deduce solutions from AH demand viewpoints. This study, being the supply-side investigation of an ongoing research, interrogated housing experts to determine significant expert solutions. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with housing experts in Nigeria. Through descriptive, content, and systematic thematic analyses of data, major findings are that deliberate finance models designed for the urban poor are the most significant housing finance solution in developing economies. Other findings are that adequately implemented rent control policies, deliberate Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approaches like inclusionary housing and land-value capture, and urban renewal programs to enlighten and tutor the urban poor on how to earn more, spend wisely, and invest in their own better housing will effectively solve AH finance challenges. Study findings are informative for the best approaches to achieve effective, AH finance for the urban poor in Nigeria, which is indispensable for the achievement of sustainable development goals. This research’s originality lies in the exploration of experts’ opinions in relation to AH finance to produce an equation model of critical solutions to AH finance challenges. Study data are useful resources for future pro-poor housing studies. This study makes housing policy-oriented recommendations toward effective, AH for the urban poor in developing countries.

Keywords: Affordable housing, effective affordable housing, housing policy, housing research, sustainable development, urban poor.

References:

[1] Bredenoord, J., Van Lindert, Paul and Smets, Peer, Affordbale housing in the urban global south: Seeking sustainable solutions. 2014: Tailor and Francis. 142.
[2] Desai, B., et al., Making development sustainable: the future of disaster risk management, global assessment report on disaster risk reduction. Genève, Suisse: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), 2015, 2015.
[3] Fraser, A., et al., Africa’s urban risk and resilience. 2017, Elsevier. p. 1-6.
[4] Akinwande, T. and E.C.M. Hui, Housing supply value chain in relation to housing the urban poor. Habitat International, 2022. 130.
[5] Srivastava, A. and R. Singh, Slums and associated problems: A case study of Bhilai, an industrial city, India. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 1996. 50(1): p. 51-60.
[6] Roy, A., Urban informality: toward an epistemology of planning. Journal of the American planning association, 2005. 71(2): p. 147-158.
[7] Bolay, J.-C., Slums and urban development: Questions on society and globalisation. The European Journal of Development Research, 2006. 18(2): p. 284-298.
[8] Owusu, G., S. Agyei-Mensah, and R. Lund, Slums of hope and slums of despair: Mobility and livelihoods in Nima, Accra. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift-Norwegian Journal of Geography, 2008. 62(3): p. 180-190.
[9] Patel, A., N. Koizumi, and A. Crooks, Measuring slum severity in Mumbai and Kolkata: A household-based approach. Habitat International, 2014. 41: p. 300-306.
[10] Roy, D., et al., Survey-based socio-economic data from slums in Bangalore, India. Scientific data, 2018. 5(1): p. 1-9.
[11] Yap, K.S., The enabling strategy and its discontent: Low-income housing policies and practices in Asia. Habitat International, 2016. 54: p. 166-172.
[12] Gohil, J. and Z.H. Gandhi, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) Scheme—an emerging prospect of affordable housing in India. Int Res J Eng Technol, 2019. 6(12): p. 2546-2550.
[13] Ademiluyi, I., Public housing delivery strategies in Nigeria: A historical perspective of policies and programmes. Journal of sustainable development in Africa, 2010. 12(6): p. 153-161.
[14] Organization, W.H., Health as the pulse of the new urban agenda: United Nations conference on housing and sustainable urban development, Quito, October 2016. 2016: World Health Organization.
[15] Arijeloye, B.T., I.O. Aje, and A.E. Oke, Evaluating the key risk factors in PPP-procured mass housing projects in Nigeria: A Delphi study of industry experts. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 2021.
[16] Martin, A., M.-F. Agnoletti, and É. Brangier, Ordinary users, precursory users and experts in the anticipation of future needs: Evaluation of their contribution in the elaboration of new needs in energy for housing. Applied Ergonomics, 2021. 94: p. 103394.
[17] Han, H., et al., Providing affordable housing through urban renewal projects in Australia: Expert opinions on barriers and opportunities. International Review for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development, 2021. 9(2): p. 41-61.
[18] Morgan, D.L., Successful focus groups: Advancing the state of the art. 1993.
[19] Morgan, D.L., Focus group interviewing. Handbook of interview research: Context and method, 2002. 141: p. 159.
[20] Fontana, A. and J. Frey, The art of science. The handbook of qualitative research, 1994. 361376.
[21] Tong, A., P. Sainsbury, and J. Craig, Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. International journal for quality in health care, 2007. 19(6): p. 349-357.
[22] Plummer-D'Amato, P., Focus group methodology Part 2: Considerations for analysis. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 2008. 15(3): p. 123-129.
[23] Hartman, J., Using focus groups to conduct business communication research. The Journal of Business Communication (1973), 2004. 41(4): p. 402-410.
[24] Burnard, P., A method of analysing interview transcripts in qualitative research. Nurse education today, 1991. 11(6): p. 461-466.
[25] Brink, H.I., Validity and reliability in qualitative research. Curationis, 1993. 16(2): p. 35-38.
[26] McDaniel, R. and C. Bach, Focus group research: The question of scientific rigor. Rehabilitation Nursing Research, 1996. 5: p. 53-59.
[27] Horsburgh, D., Evaluation of qualitative research. Journal of clinical nursing, 2003. 12(2): p. 307-312.
[28] Natow, R.S., The use of triangulation in qualitative studies employing elite interviews. Qualitative research, 2020. 20(2): p. 160-173.
[29] Guion, L.A., D.C. Diehl, and D. McDonald, Triangulation: establishing the validity of qualitative studies: FCS6014/FY394, Rev. 8/2011. Edis, 2011. 2011(8): p. 3-3.
[30] Jonsen, K. and K.A. Jehn, Using triangulation to validate themes in qualitative studies. Qualitative research in organizations and management: an international journal, 2009. 4(2): p. 123-150.
[31] Mays, N. and C. Pope, Assessing quality in qualitative research. Bmj, 2000. 320(7226): p. 50-52.
[32] Carey, M.A., Comment: Concerns in the analysis of focus group data. Qualitative health research, 1995. 5(4): p. 487-495.
[33] Duggleby, W., What about focus group interaction data? Qualitative health research, 2005. 15(6): p. 832-840.
[34] Wong, Data analysis in qualitative research: A brief guide to using NVIVO. Malaysian family physician: The official journal of the Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia, 2008. Vol. 3(1): p. 14–20.
[35] Leech, N.L. and A.J. Onwuegbuzie, Beyond constant comparison qualitative data analysis: Using NVivo. School Psychology Quarterly, 2011. 26(1): p. 70.
[36] Oyalowo, B.A., T.G. Nubi, and T.O. Lawanson, Housing Affordability, Government Intervention and Housing Informality: An African Dilemma? Journal of African Real Estate Research, 2018. 3(2): p. 63-86.
[37] Welsh, E., Dealing with data: Using NVivo in the qualitative data analysis process. Forum qualitative sozialforschung/Forum: qualitative social research, 2002. 3(2).
[38] Basit, T., Manual or electronic? The role of coding in qualitative data analysis. Educational research, 2003. 45(2): p. 143-154.
[39] Holloway, I. and S. Wheeler, Ethical issues in qualitative nursing research. Nursing ethics, 1995. 2(3): p. 223-232.
[40] Holloway, I. and S. Wheeler, Qualitative research for nurses. 1996: Blackwell Science Oxford.
[41] Lee, N.G.F.R.M., Using computers in qualitative research. 1 ed. 1991, London: Sage Publications.
[42] Meyer, D.Z. and L.M. Avery, Excel as a qualitative data analysis tool. Field methods, 2009. 21(1): p. 91-112.
[43] Ose, S.O., Using Excel and Word to structure qualitative data. Journal of Applied Social Science, 2016. 10(2): p. 147-162.
[44] Bree, R.T. and G. Gallagher, Using Microsoft Excel to code and thematically analyze qualitative data: a simple, cost-effective approach. All Ireland Journal of Higher Education, 2016. 8(2).
[45] Sandhu, K., Formal housing finance outreach and the urban poor in India. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 2013.
[46] Programme, U.N.H.S., Financing urban shelter: Global report on human settlements 2005. 2005: Un-habitat.
[47] Datta, K. and G.A. Jones, Housing and finance in developing countries: invisible issues on research and policy agendas. Habitat International, 2001. 25(3): p. 333-357.
[48] Fieuw, W. and D. Mitlin, What the experiences of South Africa’s mass housing programme teach us about the contribution of civil society to policy and programme reform. Environment and Urbanization, 2018. 30(1): p. 215-232.
[49] Karuaihe, S.T. and P.R. Wandschneider, Limited access to services for the urban poor in Windhoek, Namibia. Development Southern Africa, 2018. 35(4): p. 466-479.
[50] Sripanich, B., V. Nitivattananon, and R. Perera, City development fund: A financial mechanism to support housing and livelihood needs of Thailand's urban poor. Habitat International, 2015. 49: p. 366-374.
[51] Rahman, M.A.U. and A. Ley, Micro-credit vs. Group savings–different pathways to promote affordable housing improvements in urban Bangladesh. Habitat International, 2020. 106: p. 102292.
[52] Boonyabancha, S. and D. Mitlin, Urban poverty reduction: learning by doing in Asia. Environment and Urbanization, 2012. 24(2): p. 403-421.
[53] Boonyabancha, S. and T. Kerr, Making people the subject: community-managed finance systems in five Asian countries. Environment and Urbanization, 2018. 30(1): p. 15-34.
[54] Karim, L., Microfinance and its discontents: Women in debt in Bangladesh. 2011: U of Minnesota Press.
[55] Anierobi, C. and C.O. Obasi, Urbanization and Rural-Urban Migration: Toward Involving the Church in Addressing Pro-Poor Urban Housing Challenges in Enugu, Nigeria. SAGE Open, 2021. 11(3): p. 21582440211040123.
[56] Amoako, C. and E.F. Boamah, Build as you earn and learn: informal urbanism and incremental housing financing in Kumasi, Ghana. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 2017. 32(3): p. 429-448.
[57] Karley, N.K., Alternative options to mortgages in Ghana. Housing Finance International, 2002. 17(2): p. 26.
[58] Boamah, N.A., Housing finance in Ghana: can community mortgage cooperatives provide a panacea? Ghana Journal of Development Studies, 2010. 7(1).
[59] Gökler, L.A., Housing market dynamics: Economic climate and its effect on Turkish housing, in Housing in Turkey. 2022, Routledge. p. 83-100.
[60] Average, C., Low-income housing problems and low-income housing solutions: opportunities and challenges in Bulawayo. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 2019. 34(3): p. 927-938.
[61] Tariq, F., The potential of microfinanced housing after Pakistan disasters. International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering, 2012. 2(3): p. 265-279.
[62] Patel, S. and S. Bartlett, “We beat the path by walking” Part II: Three construction projects that advanced the learning and credibility of the Indian Alliance. Environment and Urbanization, 2016. 28(2): p. 495-514.
[63] Davidson, C.H., et al., Truths and myths about community participation in post-disaster housing projects. Habitat international, 2007. 31(1): p. 100-115.
[64] Patel, S., Upgrade, rehouse or resettle? An assessment of the Indian government’s Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) programme. Environment and Urbanization, 2013. 25(1): p. 177-188.
[65] Grubbauer, M., Housing microfinance and the financialization of housing in Latin America and beyond: an agenda for future research. International Journal of Housing Policy, 2019. 19(3): p. 436-447.
[66] Marutlulle, N.K., A critical analysis of housing inadequacy in South Africa and its ramifications. Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review, 2021. 9(1).
[67] Buurman, J., et al., Strategies to promote the adoption of sustainable drainage by private developers: A case study from Singapore. Urban Water Journal, 2021. 18(1): p. 61-67.
[68] Makris, M.V. and E. Brown, School development in urban gentrifying spaces: Developers supporting schools or schools supporting developers? Journal of Urban Affairs, 2020. 42(4): p. 571-594.
[69] Fan, K. and E.C. Hui, Evolutionary game theory analysis for understanding the decision-making mechanisms of governments and developers on green building incentives. Building and Environment, 2020. 179: p. 106972.
[70] Gülter, H. and E. Basti, The housing finance system in Turkey. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 2014.
[71] Saidu, A.I. and C. Yeom, Success Criteria Evaluation for a Sustainable and Affordable Housing Model: A Case for Improving Household Welfare in Nigeria Cities. Sustainability, 2020. 12(2).
[72] Nzau, B. and C. Trillo, Affordable Housing Provision in Informal Settlements through Land Value Capture and Inclusionary Housing. Sustainability, 2020. 12(15).
[73] Barka, R.A. and C.S. Kumar, Critical analysis on supply and affordability of condominium housing in Adama city. International Research Journal of Human Resource and Social Sciences, 2020. Vol. 7(02): p. 137 - 153.
[74] Young, G., Urban informal economies in peacebuilding: Competing perspectives and implications for theory and praxis. Third World Quarterly, 2020. 41(11): p. 1937-1956.