Sustainability issues in urban housing in a low-income country: Bangladesh

Bangladesh, a low-income country, experiences an unsatisfactory situation in urban housing. Improvement in the situation is constrained by a number of factors, such as rapid population growth, an inequitable social structure, poor economy and persisting poverty, an ineffective public policy and a hostile natural environment. In sustainability terms, rapid urbanisation and large-scale demands for housing in urban areas may pose some problems for ecological sustainability. There are also conflicting and competitive issues in technological and economic sustainability versus cultural and social sustainability. The provision of easy access to housing finance, in the model of Grameen Bankʹs housing credit, access to land, realistic building standards and access to affordable building materials along with community involvement are some of the options towards achieving a sustainable housing policy in Bangladesh. At the same time strong political commitment and a stable political environment are recognised as preconditions to sustainable urban housing.