An institutional analysis of housing and basic infrastructure services for all: the case of urban India

Abstract

Despite high and sustained GDP growth rates over the past two decades, and the emergence of a sizable middle class in most Indian cities, the vast majority of urban residents continue to live in sub-standard or informal housing, with few basic amenities. Many of those who live in formal housing pay a disproportionately high proportion of their incomes. Even then, basic services like water are not assured. This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework within which to consider existing and future policies to deliver housing and basic infrastructure services for all in urban India. The framework attempts to map the inter-linkages between underlying housing market factors (demographics, existing housing stock, affordability, housing finance, land acquisition) and local and macro institutional conditions (economic, legal, planning, financial systems, housing policy), so that existing interventions can be understood and evaluated comprehensively. The framework can help develop interventions that take into a...