The debate on housing policy in developing countries since the late 1980s h
as been dominated by the World Bank led strategy of developing the housing
sector as a whole by enabling primarily formal private markets to work more
efficiently. Yet, the emphasis on private markets has led to the exclusion
of complementary and alternative public, co-operative/community based and
informal modes of housing provision from serious policy consideration. This
paper argues for the adoption of a more integrated housing policy that is
based on the recognition and better co-ordination of plurality of provision
. Thereby, not only allowing further development of specific modes in appro
priate socio-economic settings but also enabling the creation of synergies
through combining complementary modes in order to overcome their relative w
eaknesses, we can boost supply to specific target groups. (C) 2001 Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.