- Does the new Millennium mean new Hopes for Housing the urban Poor? Does strategic Planning ensure pro-poor Housing Strategies in Developing Countries? Case of Turkey    238 kb by    Çamur, Küpra Cihangir | ccamur@gazi.edu.tr    Short Outline Affordability, housing groups and cooperatives will be considered as elements of a new strategy of pro-poor housing policy. Six new real estate investments, marketing, project management, construction and trade companies owned by TOKÝ will be analyzed. Abstract Very low and irregular income makes it difficult to save enough money and to have long-term plans. Difficulties in the urban legal housing market are various and multi-dimensional. Most developing countries not only have financial problems but also lack a holistic and comprehensive approach in planning and practice that deals with the pro-poor housing policies. In Turkey, the planning machinery at national level is inadequate for planning for low-income housing programs and projects and behaves generally on the short-term basis. Empowerment of housing groups and cooperatives have been neglected for nearly two and a half decades (after 1980s) and therefore participation, despite the current and popular argument, has lost its basis in the housing development process. Middle and high-income groups have benefited more than lower income groups from government funds served by TOKÝ (Housing Development Administration of Turkey) for that time. Although it provides an increase in urban housing stock eligibility criteria excludes the real poor and creates houses that are expensive to buy and to live in. This paper aims to find an answer to “what alternative approaches can be adopted through pro-poor housing? Generally, incomes and savings capacity are very low comparing the cost of housing. Most of the houses in Turkey are built in one phase and income levels are very difficult to assess, because of the irregular or informal sources of income. Affordability, housing groups, cooperatives and revolving funds will be considered as the elements of new strategy of pro-poor housing policy. A detailed look at six new real estate investment; marketing, project management, service; construction, restoration and trade companies owned by TOKÝ will help us grasping main problems in major recent government policies in housing and urbanization in Turkey. Keywords aforda Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2007: Urban Trialogues   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper