| dc.description.abstract | The gap between what amount of housing is
available and the desired housing level represents
housing need. Investigations have shown that this
need is growing over time, with little in the form
of more housing being provided. In order to gauge
by how far this need is being satisfied, it is
necessary to undertake some study of housing needs
in an area.
This project work comprises a study of
methods for estimating overall housing needs.
Prevailing theories of housing need have concentrated
very much on the physical housing product itself
as a representation of what and how much housing
is required. Some of these theories and their
practical applications in estimating housing needs
are investigated. The results of most of these
methods point out that the housing problem in many
developing countries is one of unmanageable proportions,
and that the needs have in many cases been measured
unconvincingly. These methods have been applied
to the study area of Malindi Town in the Coast Province
of Kenya. The results of the study reveal the
deficiencies in the current assessment methods.
Any proper method for estimating housing needs
should consider important elements like the
environmental quality of the houses and their
surrounding neighborhoods. It should also consider
the level of housing services and peoples cultures
that are necessary for the decent living of the
occupants, whether these occupants can or cannot
afford these essentials. The proposed model in
this study incorporates a methodology for assessing
housing needs in the light of the above prerequisites,
which have often been neglected in the current
housing need estimates.
Though without fault, the method at least
tries to reduce some of the defects inherent in
the prevailing methods for estimating housing needs.
There are three main parts to the study.
First, housing needs are discussed in relation to
current theories and methods of measuring them.
Models are given and analysed against the
magnitude of the housing problem as portrayed by
other analysts.
The second part is about the study area,
Malindi Town in Coast Province, in which the
various methods have been applied in order to
test the hypothesis and carry out aims of the
study. Data on population trends, household sizes,
income structures, building materials, housing
information .and construction activities are presented
and analysed to provide a basis for the estimations.
The third section links parts one and two in
actual housing needs estimation using data obtained
from a field survey. This section winds up with
summary and recommendations obtained from the
results of the estimations. Housing needs should
not be assessed literayfor, they involve more than
what meets the eye and more often they should be
measured in recognition of the society's housing
norms and allied attitudes | en |
