Improving Rural Shelter in Developing Countries

This publication aims at developing conceptual framework for rural shelter policy which takes into account several issues which are currently important in development, namely, poverty reduction, the enabling approach and sustainable development; secondly, by analysing some successful rural shelter improvement projects and Programs in order to isolate both positive and negative lessons; and thirdly, by presenting general guidelines for the formulation of national rural shelter policies in developing countries, within the framework of the Global Strategy for Shelter to the year 2000. The publication is also in response to one of the themes of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (Istanbul, June, 1996), Adequate Shelter for All. It is my hope that, in the long-term, this publication will contribute to general improvement of the quality of life of rural inhabitants in developing countries.