Introduction to land for housing
In second half of the twentieth century, Land-for-housing projects were implemented in many countries in the Global South, to meet the needs of low-income households. These projects often involved organized urban land development to promote the self-reliance of individual households to build a home on their own plot. This principle is also called incremental (step-by-step) housing. In the 1970s and 1990s, it was called self-help housing, and assisted self-help-housing. Land within suitable locations was purchased, developed, and prepared for construction, providing eventually low-income home seekers with a plot of land on which they could build their own homes.
The first “sites and services” projects offered only available land for individual self-reliance and basic services, particularly drinking water and electricity. The goal was to prevent poor households from illegally occupying urban and suburban land, private or public. Such invasions occurred on a large scale, creating informal housing and neighborhoods, often making it very difficult for the local governments to manage these developments effectively. Political and social conflicts were common, and land ownership was sometimes contested. Sometimes dangerous situations arose when families settled in areas unsuitable for housing. Some areas are too dangerous to settle in, especially where river flooding, earthquakes, and the effects of volcanic eruptions are expected. Such situations occur in many countries and cities. Illegal settlements can best be prevented by proactive housing policies for low-income groups, through land-for-housing programs and a planned urban setting.
Due to the massive urban expansion and rising land prices, land acquisition by local governments for housing development is often unaffordable, requiring assistance from national governments or international aid organizations. However, the final price of the plots often proves too high for families with (very) low incomes. Therefore, they require government assistance in developing infrastructures, and financing land development programs. Supporting self-sufficient incremental housing, should therefore be part of social housing policy.
Below, information is presented about eight housing development programs, that were developed based on the principles of supporting gradual, self-sufficient housing construction. All described residential areas are still under development, and housing quality still requires attention. Efforts are being made to determine whether and how families are being helped with the necessary housing improvements, especially in the face of threats from natural phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and flooding.
The author has done personally research work in the seven projects mentioned below.
2025 Documents by Jan Bredenoord
1. Municipality of Villa el Salvador, Lima, Peru.
SHORT INTRO: Villa El Salvador is a suburb of Lima that began developing in 1973 in what was then a desert area. The development was part of a national government-led planning process aimed at meeting the high demand for land for self-build homes. First, main access roads were constructed, and then an urban development plan was drawn up. Within the plan area, plots were laid out block by block and allocated to individual families. Initially, there were only basic services, such as drinking water and electricity. Villa El Salvador (also called ‘VES’) is now a municipality within the Lima metropolis. The development of VES was considered a test case for self-help housing and the development of micro-enterprises, all with the cooperation of the local government and private NGOs. Many families succeeded in building their own homes, but others failed or made it halfway, a fact evident in almost every street scene. In 2020, Villa El Salvador is considered a consolidated urban area with many low- and middle-income households. In 2025, its population is approximately 452,000. The development model was a mix of planning and guidance by national and local governments on the one hand, and self-reliant or self-managed incremental housing construction on the other. The current major challenge for VES is how to densify the urban area, to accommodate part of the growth in the urban population of Greater Lima.
2. Self-reliant urban community of Huaycán, municipality of Ate, Peru.
SHORT INTRO: The urban community of Huaycán, officially the “Comunidad Urbana Autogestionaria de Huaycán,” is a suburb of the municipality of Ate, approximately 20 km east of Lima. Huaycán is a large suburb of Lima, where thousands of immigrants from various parts of Peru settled to find work in Lima. Huaycán was founded in the 1980s and had a population of over 120,000 in 2004. In 1985, the Lima municipality took over the management of the urban development planning process. Later, the local government of Ate took over urban management and began delegating responsibilities to community organizations. Together with the residents, the municipal council developed the so-called UCVs, neighborhood-level housing units. Over time, Huaycán’s housing program was transferred to the Ate municipal council. Unlike other settlements around Lima, Huaycán was developed systematically. Since around 2000, many residents’ homes have been built on the mountainsides surrounding Huaycán. Initially, this was prohibited because building on the mountainsides could be dangerous and would cost a lot of money to connect the new residential areas with the older, yet safe, part of Huaycán. Families are fully responsible for completing and improving the homes. The development model is a mix of planning and management by local governments on the one hand, and self-sufficient or self-managed, gradual housing construction on the other. However, the illegal occupation on mountainsides remains difficult to control. The current major challenge facing Huaycán is how to make the informal developments on the mountain slopes surrounding Huaycán safe and integrate them with the ‘old’ planned Huaycán.
3. Pilot project New Pachacútec, municipality of Ventanilla, Peru.
SHORT INTRO: The Pilot Project Nuevo Pachacútec (PPNP) was established in 2001 as a result of a political decision to meet the ongoing demand for land to house thousands of families. The new town of Pachacútec is located northwest of Ventanilla and was founded in 1985. Ventanilla was previously established in the 1960s as a satellite town of Lima, some 30 kilometers from the capital. Initially, services in the PPNP were very basic; drinking water, for example, was delivered by water trucks. Later, drinking water systems were constructed with storage tanks on the hills and networks of pipes and water taps in the streets. Nuevo Pachacútec has undergone two phases of large-scale land development. After the initial land development, there was discussion about allocating land to housing associations of lower-ranking members of the army and police, and to homeless organizations that established housing associations. The second development led, among other things, to the displacement of thousands of families who had occupied agricultural land in the VES area. In 2000, the government launched the Family Plot Program (PROFAM), which established the PPNP. The area is located in the urban expansion area of the municipality of Ventanilla, within the metropolitan area’s northward development axis. Initially, this pilot project lacked drinking water and sewage, leading to serious environmental problems. The access roads were unpaved, and drinking water was delivered by tanker trucks. The electricity supply was provisional, and there was high unemployment and severe poverty. These limitations are partly responsible for the problems encountered in launching the urban development process. The original vision for the satellite city of Ventanilla was to be economically independent of Lima. This meant not only building housing but also creating opportunities for employment. Today, Ventanilla is successfully developing economic growth zones. The current major challenge for Nuevo Pachacútec is how to improve Pachacútec’s informal housing as a whole, making it resilient to the potential earthquakes that can occur in the area.
These three land-for-housing projects are now large suburbs of the Lima metropolis, which were developed through a more or less orderly urban development plan, allowing for the allocation of individual plots to low-income families. The principles of self-help housing and assisted self-help housing were used here.
Download: Two Suburbs of Mexici City. 2025 JBR Website 2025
4. Self-construction of homes in the City of Piura, Peru
SHORT INTRO: Urban development in the city of Piura in Peru is strongly related to the demand for affordable housing. Piura still has sufficient land for urban expansion. Traditional self-building of homes, within land-for-house plans (sites-and-services) is a common form of organized public housing. In the area of Piura West, which became the district municipality of 26th of October since 2013, a massive growth of human settlements occurred from 2000 on. Flooding may occur in parts of the district which restricts the growth of residential areas. The large-scale expansions in Piura are compared with the developments of some suburbs of Lima. The challenges for public housing in Piura are described, based on an analysis of the experiences in Piura/26th of October. Promoting the structural quality of homes is necessary throughout Peru, and certainly also in Piura.
Download: Self-construction of homes in the City of Piura. JBR Website Oct. 2025
5. Urban development and housing in León, Nicaragua
SHORT INTRO: The urban expansion plan “León Southeast”, had been started as a traditional “sites-and-services project” for low-cost housing for families with low incomes in he city of León in Nicaragua. The history of urban planning and housing policy to support low-income earners in the municipality of León, has been folowed and written down during a period of 25 years. Jan Bredenoord executed most of this research work, while working with the municipalities of Utrecht and León, and Utrecht University – International Development Studies, Faculty of Geography, the Netherlands. The current mayor challenge for León is how to further consolidate the urban expansion area of León Southeast, while solving the backlogs in services, renovating the neighborhoods, and improving housing quality. As the researcher did not have contact with local actors in León and former counterparts since April 2018, the actual challenges cannot be defined.
Download: Urban development and land for housing in León Nicaragua. JBR Website. August 2025
6. Municipality of Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico-City, Mexico.
SHORT INTRO: Nezahualcóyotl is an early suburb developed east of Mexico City. The mass production of cheap plots with its self-built homes was an early phenomenon of urban growth in Metropolitan Mexico-City. Local initiatives and governmental involvement in urban planning and development, has led to a vast rectangular city plan, where households built their own homes individually and incrementally. In 1954, approximately 40,000 people lived in the area. In the 1970s and 1980s, the area grew very rapidly. In 2020, the population was 1.077 million. Nezahualcóyotl had already become a separate municipality in 1963. In 1983, Neza was still described by international researchers as “the largest urban area for low-income households located next to Mexico City.” At that time, there were still many shortcomings in terms of utilities, roads, and social services. By 2025, Nezahualcóyotl is a fully integrated suburb within Mexico City, with a medium-high level of services and facilities. Around ninety percent of the homes consists of individual family homes. The current mayor challenge of Nezahualcóyotl is to solve the still existing backlogs of public areas such as roads and urban greenery. Local government’s attention is focused on improving housing quality of homes, both structurally and aesthetically.
7. Municipality of Tlalnepantla de Baz, Mexico-City, Mexico.
SHORT INTRO: Tlalnepantla is a suburb north of Mexico City. In, the results of both self-construction and social housing can be found in this municipality. The number of inhabitants grew from 105,000 in 1960 to 778,000 in 1980. According to the municipal planning institute IMPLAN, Tlalnepantla had approximately 672,000 inhabitants in 2020. There are more than 2,700 industries located here, making Tlalnepantla one of the most industrialized areas in the country. Unlike Nezahualcóyotl with low-cost housing, the housing sector Tlalnepantla de Baz, is much more differentiated. For example, many residential areas have been created for low and middle incomes, while there are homes for higher income groups. This has to do with the presence of the industries. But self-build is also common. For the middle-income groups, self-build was less of an issue, but does occur. There are also housing complexes for higher income groups. The public housing of Nezahualcóyotl is compared to each other to paint a picture of the diversity of living environments around Mexico City. The current mayor challenge in Tlalnepantla de Baz is connecting the different neighborhoods with each other, to renovate the city center and connect it better with surrounding neighborhoods.
Download combined text: Two Suburbs of Mexici City. 2025 JBR Website 2025