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Reflections on Over 100 Years of Urban Housing Policies in Sri Lanka

Published: 20 February 2013
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Abstract

This research paper evaluates the urban housing policies in Sri Lanka and related housing programs introduced by the various governments over the last 100 years. Housing and housing policies have been hot political issues throughout this history. The supply of affordable and sustainable housing has been assigned a prominent place in the list of priorities drawn up by various governments over a long period of time. The Sri Lankan government’s housing policies are a series of legislative and administrative measures that have a bearing either directly or indirectly on the provision of housing in Sri Lanka. Housing policies in Sri Lanka can be divided into two major segments: urban housing policies and rural housing policies. Sri Lankan urban housing policy and its origin can be divided into three stages: prior to independence from British rule (before 1948); after political independence and during the civil war (1948–2008) and the contemporary situation after the end of the 30 years civil war (2009 onwards). This research paper critically evaluates past and present Sri Lankan government urban housing policies for low income people and policy changes towards high rise high density low income housing (Public housing) as an appropriate solution for slums and shanties in Colombo

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ss.20130201.13
Page(s) 14-21
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Housing Policies in Sri Lanka, Urban Housing policy, Housing in Colombo, Housing policies, High rise housing, Low income housing, Urban Development Authority

References
[1] Hamdi N, "Housing without Houses", New York, Van No-strand Reinhold 1990.
[2] Deheragoda K, "Housing as a Fundamental Right and Sector Policy" Economic Review, January- March, 2004.
[3] Deheragoda K, "Living High The Social Dimension, Colombo, Institute of Town Planners Sri Lanka, 2007.
[4] Roypetty F, "High-rise Housing for Low-Income Families", New York, Saga publications, 1985.
[5] Mendis W, "Housing: The Elosive"Product in the Urban Sector: Some Targeted Actions Recommended Alleviate the Crisis. 'Housing in Sri Lanka." Economic Review, June-July -1995.
[6] Niriella C, Urban Housing Policy in Sri Lanka, GmbH &Co. KG,2010.
[7] Niridila C, "Fundamental and Operational Research for Development. Housing Market in Metropolitan Colombo", Colombo, Notational Centre Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (NCAS), 2008.
[8] Samaratunga T, "Vertical living in Colombo, Sri Lanka". MUP Thesis, Bond University Australia, 2008.
[9] Dayaratne & Kellett "Housing and Home-making in Low-Income Urban Settlements: Sri Lanka and Colombia" , House and the Built Environ 23: 53-70, 2008.
[10] Senanayake M, "An Overview of Housing in Sri Lanka." Economic Review June-July 1995, 61-65. 1995
[11] Samaratunga T, "Impact of Condominium Development in Colombo Sri Lanka", M.Sc Thesis, Lund University Sweden, 2001.
[12] Samaratunga, T, "Rapid Population Growth and Affordable Housing in Colombo city", PIA International Planning Con-ference Darwin Australia, Planning Institute of Australia, 2009.
[13] Wickrema M. (2005). "Movin' On Up: Mainstreaming Un-der-Served Urban Communities in Colombo Sri Lanka". M.Sc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),2005.
[14] Ganepola, G, "New Trends for the Construction of Cost-Effective Housing Units." Economic Review, Janu-ary/March 2004.
[15] NHDA, "Shelter for 1.5 Million Families. Colombo", National Housing Development Authority & Ministry of Housing Construction, 1990.
[16] NHDA, "Million Houses Program: Implementation Guide-lines". Colombo, National Housing Development Authority 1984.
[17] STP & REEL, "A Visionary Project to Make Colombo a World-Class City", Sustainable Townships Program , and Real Estate Exchange (Pvt) Ltd,1999.
[18] Samaratunga T, "Planning for quality urban living and sus-tainable community", PIA International Planning Conference Hobart Australia, Planning Institute of Australia, 2011.
[19] UPFA, "Mahinda Chinthanaya", http://www.sandanaya.lk, 2005.
[20] Somarathne R, "30,000 Families to Get Houses Under Jana Sevana Progeam" Daily News, Lack House Publications July, 17, 2006.
[21] Central Bnak of Sri Lanka, "Housing and Urban Development", Annual Report, Colombo, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 2009.
[22] UPFA, "A Brighter Future.", http://www.srilankanelections.com/userfiles/, 2011.
[23] UDA, "Relocation of underserved settlement programme " Urban Development Authority Sri Lanka, www.uda.lk,2010.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Thushara Samaratunga, Daniel O, Hare. (2013). Reflections on Over 100 Years of Urban Housing Policies in Sri Lanka. Social Sciences, 2(1), 14-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130201.13

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    ACS Style

    Thushara Samaratunga; Daniel O; Hare. Reflections on Over 100 Years of Urban Housing Policies in Sri Lanka. Soc. Sci. 2013, 2(1), 14-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130201.13

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    AMA Style

    Thushara Samaratunga, Daniel O, Hare. Reflections on Over 100 Years of Urban Housing Policies in Sri Lanka. Soc Sci. 2013;2(1):14-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20130201.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ss.20130201.13,
      author = {Thushara Samaratunga and Daniel O and Hare},
      title = {Reflections on Over 100 Years of Urban Housing Policies in Sri Lanka},
      journal = {Social Sciences},
      volume = {2},
      number = {1},
      pages = {14-21},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20130201.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20130201.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20130201.13},
      abstract = {This research paper evaluates the urban housing policies in Sri Lanka and related housing programs introduced by the various governments over the last 100 years. Housing and housing policies have been hot political issues throughout this history. The supply of affordable and sustainable housing has been assigned a prominent place in the list of priorities drawn up by various governments over a long period of time. The Sri Lankan government’s housing policies are a series of legislative and administrative measures that have a bearing either directly or indirectly on the provision of housing in Sri Lanka. Housing policies in Sri Lanka can be divided into two major segments: urban housing policies and rural housing policies. Sri Lankan urban housing policy and its origin can be divided into three stages: prior to independence from British rule (before 1948); after political independence and during the civil war (1948–2008) and the contemporary situation after the end of the 30 years civil war (2009 onwards). This research paper critically evaluates past and present Sri Lankan government urban housing policies for low income people and policy changes towards high rise high density low income housing (Public housing) as an appropriate solution for slums and shanties in Colombo},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

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    AB  - This research paper evaluates the urban housing policies in Sri Lanka and related housing programs introduced by the various governments over the last 100 years. Housing and housing policies have been hot political issues throughout this history. The supply of affordable and sustainable housing has been assigned a prominent place in the list of priorities drawn up by various governments over a long period of time. The Sri Lankan government’s housing policies are a series of legislative and administrative measures that have a bearing either directly or indirectly on the provision of housing in Sri Lanka. Housing policies in Sri Lanka can be divided into two major segments: urban housing policies and rural housing policies. Sri Lankan urban housing policy and its origin can be divided into three stages: prior to independence from British rule (before 1948); after political independence and during the civil war (1948–2008) and the contemporary situation after the end of the 30 years civil war (2009 onwards). This research paper critically evaluates past and present Sri Lankan government urban housing policies for low income people and policy changes towards high rise high density low income housing (Public housing) as an appropriate solution for slums and shanties in Colombo
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • Institute of Sustainable Development and Architecture, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia

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