Mapping housing needs for the low income population: A Case Study of Lira District

Abstract

With the ever-increasing population of Uganda, more and more houses are needed to ensure that the basic human right of shelter is accorded to everyone. Many players in the construction industry, both public and private entities have made some headway in making housing available to the people within the country. Every other day, estates are being commissioned with ready customers waiting to purchase these houses.

Even with the available providers of these houses, the housing need in Uganda is far from being met. There is a growing presence of substandard housing in the urban areas and the houses in the rural areas are not considered ideal for the inhabitants. Just as is the case in any similar scenario, the people most affected by the lack of sufficient resources are the poor people, otherwise referred to as the low-income population.

The low-income population can be defined as a group whose level of living, which may be defined by a specific income level, is below the community standard (Glossary, 2014). The housing need for these people living below the average Ugandan living standards are not addressed or better yet understood by not just the government but also the private sector which would contribute to meeting this need.

The housing needs and preferences of the low-income population in Lira district was therefore of interest to provide a basis for which meeting their housing need can therefore be started deliberately. The available housing owned by this population was looked at, the construction materials used and the challenges faced by this group of people who are the biggest percentage of Uganda’s population.