Abstract
From 1989 to 1991, Dr. Mona Serageldin authored two related papers on financing urban development for the Unit for Housing and Urbanization at Harvard University: “Financing Upgrading Programs (November 1989) and “Financing Infrastructure Upgrading Programs (March 1991).
The papers assessed the exchange components of local and foreign currency, as cost factors in urban development upgrading projects. Dr. Serageldin focused on three main needs to establish effectively financed upgrading programs: 1) Construction of new infrastructure networks, 2) Building and improvement of community facilities like schools and health centers, and 3) Creation of homeowner credit mechanisms to improve residential properties. Municipalities in Jordan, Tunisia, and Hafsia provided example case studies.
Excerpt
[Excerpt: “Financing Upgrading Programs, November 1989”]
“…Upgrading is widely held to be the most effective mechanism to expand the supply of housing for limited income groups and improve living conditions for the urban poor. By providing the support infrastructure, it opens up opportunities for new economic activity.”
“Despite highly publicized haranguing by U.N. Habitat, housing is no longer viewed as a priority for public expenditure by international funding organizations and bilateral aid agencies. The debt situation in developing countries implies a widening gap between urgent needs and potential resources. Demographic pressure and the economic crisis have concentrated efforts on economic development and employment generation rather than social infrastructure.”
See related I2UD projects below
| Project Year: | 1989-1991 |
| Project Type: | Research Paper |
| Geographic Regions: | Global / None Specified |
| Reports: | Financing Upgrading Programs: (Mona Serageldin, November 1989) Financing Infrastructure Upgrading Programs: (Mona Serageldin, March 1991) |
| Authors: | Mona Serageldin |
| Sponsors: | Unit for Housing and Urbanization at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (1989); USAID Office of Housing and Urban Projects (1991); |
| Categories: | Reconciliation and Development |
| ID: | 1989_11_001 |