Abstract

Home ownership for the urban poor poses a major challenge to metropolitan management and urban governance. The key aim of this study is to determine the role of the state in providing the opportunity for the urban poor to become home owners. Secondly, it also seeks to examine the level of sustainable owner-occupation amongst the urban poor given the opportunity to enter into homeownership. Drawing upon a case study of low-income housing in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur the study establishes that for many decades the governance of Kuala Lumpur has played an active role in designing and implementing a wide range of housing policies to house the low-income groups. The study argued that the establishment of strong institutional capacity is vital towards successful implementation of urban poor housing programs. Further insights into the level of sustainable owner-occupation amongst the households of low-income housing project confirm that the state has been successful in providing decent and affordable housing to its urban poor.

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