| Abstract: | User-controlled housing is defined as a process in which the residents—not only professionals and developers—make significant decisions regarding the design and the construction or renovation of their homes. This paper argues that it is relevant to and should be commonly used in formal systems of housing in the developed countries. It draws support for its arguments from empirical evidence, primarily from Israel and the Netherlands. Much of the evidence is related to housing upgrading by moderate-income and middle-income households, which was found to be highly desirable from individual and public points of view. The paper recommends to decision-makers and planners to facilitate user-controlled housing and to make it an ordinary part of developing new neighbourhoods and renovating old ones. |
