Initially published in 1981, this book examines the problems of housing provision for the urban poor in developing countries, within the context of the development process as a whole. The investigation concentrates on the political economy of housing investment and illustrates how programmes and policies are often determined by broader development issues.

Commencing with a discussion of urban growth in the Third World, the author then provides a general discussion on housing provision within contemporary development planning in the Third World. Four main types of accommodation - government construction, private sector, squatter housing and slum - are examined in terms of their contemporary and potential roles in meeting low cost housing needs.

Drawing on evidence from a number of Asian countries, the study argues that the real needs of the urban poor are not being met, and that other political and economic objectives, set by the established elites of society, predominate.