Key interventions to solve the problems of informal abodes of the third world, due to poor infrastructure

Due to self-perpetuating growth of cities, urban population is increasing by 50 million per year in the developing world alone. Inability of authorities to respond adequately and greater autonomy or dweller control in the production of housing, in almost all developing countries, has resulted in informal settlements with poor physical infrastructure, which is an integral part of any sustainable human settlement. These diverse settlements share some attributes for instance, environments are conceived and constructed by the occupants themselves independently, without any professional advice; second occupation and construction frequently take place simultaneously; and these informal settlements are usually taking place in suburban and urban surroundings. Along with reporting on the research which attempted to provide a partial remedy to this situation, this paper indicates possible interventions to upgrade these informal settlements. It requires progressive improvement of infrastructure, new type of settlement master plans, strong commitment and involvement of the communities to be served in the planning, decision-making, implementation and management processes. Different types of interventions can be applied to transform an illegal and substandard environment into an acceptable and liveable place. International support and collaboration undoubtedly play a significant role in mainstreaming these low-income settlements in the developing world through technical and capital intensive interventions. Informal settlements constitute extremely complex environments, and for an intervention to be successful, it has to be able to deal with this complexity and should be based upon good precedent and strong theoretical foundations. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of The 2nd International Geography Symposium-Mediterranean Environment