Residential stability of the urban poor in Bangladesh: The roles of social capital

Abstract

The literature on low-cost housing has paid considerable attention to the economic factors influencing the residential stability of the urban poor. However, tenants' perceptions of residential stability in poor neighbourhoods still represent major gaps within the existing knowledge. This paper investigates migration, length of residency and perceived risk of eviction among urban poor, with the aim of understanding residential stability within the context of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). We frame this study within the literature on ‘social capital’, and analyse the aspects of residential stability while focusing on tenants' perceptions of eviction risk as the key outcome of interest. We used data from 1800 households, obtained from 18 poor neighbourhoods across three cities in Bangladesh. The findings suggest that social capital has a potential role to play in increasing residential stability among the urban poor. These are critical in the upgrading and redevelopment of housing, and in promoting the residential stability of the urban poor in Bangladesh and other LDCs. The potential engagement of social capital in housing the poor could make a valuable contribution to the literature on international housing policy. We discuss the implications at length, and draw links with international housing policy discourse.

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