Introduction:

National Housing Programmes - New Visions

A timeline of national housing programmes across the globe shows very interesting trends, developments, shifts in focus and policies. The 50s decade saw government as an Architect. Much of the national housing programmes started as post war rehabilitation schemes. Australia's public housing schemes for instance, were aimed at housing returned soldiers of WW II. During 1925-30 many innovative municipal housing schemes were done in Germany, mostly in Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt am Main. In the Netherlands low rent apartments were mostly owned by no profit NGOs. While in Singapore, most of the residential units were publicly governed. Public housing in Singapore is not considered as a sign of poverty or lower standards of living as compared to public housing in many other countries. It is reported that about 85% of Singapore's residents live in such housing. In the 60s government acted as a Planner. The decade was dubbed as the development decade by the UN. Several Master Plans were drawn including the Calcutta Master Plan among others. The Million Programme (Miljonprogrammet) is the familiar term for an ambitious housing programme implemented in Sweden between 1965 and 1974 with the aim of building one million new dwellings in 10 years. However, much of this housing soon began to be looked down upon. The 70s saw government as a Provider. Slum and squatter settlements had assumed significance globally. Government stressed on low cost housing approaches, land banking and site and services schemes. The Kampung Improvement Programme in Indonesia was among the important urban improvement schemes. The 80s saw government as an Enabler. There was a shift towards the private sector. The Casa Propia Programme of the Buenos Aires City Government was an innovative case of public-private financing of social housing. In the UK several local and semi-independent non profit housing associations operated council housing estates, while the US passed a legislation to encourage the private sector to construct affordable homes. The 90s saw government as a Regulator. Community managed upgrading was successfully done in several places. The Orangi Pilot Project was one such best practice. The 2000 saw the government shift role and act as a Partner. This is the era of Smart Cities linking transit with work and education. New materials and construction techniques like nano-powder coated glass houses, cardboard houses, steel houses, are becoming popular. On the other hand, there is an effort to have slum less cities. Real estate development has also assumed a huge significance in many developing countries. A market driven condition prevails. Feasibility studies on best fit approaches are gaining ground and architects, planners and decision makers are having a greater and a revised role to play.

The XXXVI IAHS World Congress on Housing provides an excellent forum to interact among housing scientists, experts, policy makers, real estate developers, managers and academics, among others, and show the new visions. There would be lively presentations and threadbare discussion on the issues of urban development keeping in view the peri-urban and the fringe, innovative housing finance schemes, the latest in building technology and materials, and also construction management concepts. Latest concepts in infrastructure planning and provision, the global issue of slums and squatter settlements with possible solutions and the emerging role of public private partnership projects in shaping our cities of tomorrow will also be discussed.

The Congress will cover the various national housing programmes that have evolved the world over. It will address the issues of urban development and urban environmentalism. The effects of globalization on housing, innovative housing finance schemes will feature among discussions. An emphasis will be given on new building materials like nano and low energy materials, and construction management concepts like simulation based optimization process and best fit approach. Classical issues of slum and squatter settlement up gradation and provision of urban infrastructure will also be covered. The Congress will give us a better understanding and global perspective on housing science and may go a long way to improve the overall housing situation. This is slated to be the second IAHS Congress in India and it is our proud privilege to welcome you to Kolkata the cultural capital of India.

Contacts:

Prof. (Dr.) Subrata Chattopadhyay

Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Kharagpur 721 302

India
Tel: +91 3222 283210

Mobile: +91 9434005801

Fax: +91 3222 255303

e-mail: schat@arp.iitkgp.ernet.in

All inquiries should be directed to: iahs.2008@gmail.com