In search of a home - Alan Gilbert

For many years, self-help settlement and the owner-occupier have commanded the attention of governments and researchers, leaving huge numbers of tenants and sharers invisible. However, the assumption that every family both wished and was able to become an owner-occupier is now under scrutiny and it is becoming clear in many of the larger Latin American cities that there is a limit to universal home ownership, even of the self-help kind. Several Third World governments have expressed concern about the rental housing market, which has long been neglected at the policy level. Research activity has begun to respond to these changes, and this book puts the spotlight on rental and shared housing.;Based on three large surveys carried out by research teams from Caracas, Mexico City and Santiago, the book investigates the nature of owners, tenants, sharers and landlords, and explores the relationships between them. It considers both government policy and the reasons why rental housing has been in decline. "In Search of a Home" is intended for government planners, social scientists and students of development - particularly those concerned about urbanization and the housing of the poor. It is relevant not only to Latin America but also to many other parts of the Third World where large numbers of families live in rental accommodation.;Alan Gilbert is Professor of Geography at University College London. He is the author or editor of many articles and books on the developing world in general and Latin America in particular. He has acted as an adviser to several Third World governments and UN agencies.