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Ramdane Djebarni: Research Fellow, Centre for Research in the Built Environment, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, UK
Abdullah Al-Abed: Lecturer, The University of Sana'a, Sana'a, Yemen
Introduction
The housing problem in Sana'a has been intensifying since the 1970s. This has been brought about by two major factors. The first is that the Yemeni economy, like that of most Middle-Eastern countries, has been rapidly transformed as revenues from oil exports increased dramatically. The second is the urban migration from the countryside.
The rapid urban growth has made the need for adequate housing for the low income people a very important concern of the Yemeni government, especially in the capital city Sana'a. It has been a primary objective of the government to provide decent housing to the citizen. The quality of housing is determined by the shelter and contiguous facilities provided as well as by the entire set of supportive and facilitative infrastructures and services. Public housing schemes were perceived by the government as the way for low income groups to own their houses and to live under better housing conditions by providing minimum acceptable standards, amenities, and facilities within and outside the dwelling units, thereby contributing to an improvement in the quality of life of the residents. However, the rush to respond to these needs seems to result in a low quality housing that does not adequately match the needs of these people.
Comprehensive research work has been carried out to compare the effectiveness of three major housing projects for the low-income in Sana'a, Yemen. The results pertaining to the residents' perceived quality of the housing and their satisfaction has been reported in an earlier paper (Al-Abed and Mustapha, 1996). This paper focuses on physical housing quality with its multi-faceted aspects. In particular, the paper assesses and compares the quality of housing environment in three major housing schemes.
Provision of housing by Ministry of Urban Planning and Housing (MUPH) in Sana'a
In Sana'a, the responsibility for providing decent homes for the urban low-income households, especially the urban poor, is undertaken by the Ministry of Urban Planning and Housing (MUPH). In the late 1970s, the MUPH was charged with supervising a housing scheme Master Plan for Sana'a. The plan was proposed by the American Consultants Berger/Kampsax (1978a)...