The rural housing dilemma: A different angle

DR SEEMA KADIR

HOUSING serves two main functions. Firstly, housing is a material possession aimed primarily at addressing needs and, secondarily, at addressing wants. Housing "needs" speak to the basic shelter requirements for well-being and survival. Housing "wants," however, reflect the cultural norms of a given society.

Housing is also symbolic of one’s socio-economic standing; the second main function of housing. For instance, if one is said to live in a squatter settlement, it brings to mind, albeit stereotypically, conditions of poverty and deprivation which are unacceptable by society’s standards. The dwelling type (single family, duplex, etc) and tenure of households contribute, therefore, to the formation of identities which consequently inform who is (or is not) included in mainstream society.

The spatial location of a household also illustrates its social position in society, and any social mobility increases its chance of spatial mobility. The housing market, therefore, provides an environment within which households attempt not only to find adequate shelter, but also demonstrate their socio-economic position in society.

Historically, in TT there has been a focus on increasing the housing stock in urban and suburban areas given growing demand. This is usually attributed to the processes of industrialisation and urbanisation, coupled with the decline in agriculture within rural areas.

Interventions aimed at increasing the formal housing stock have taken on various forms, including the construction of housing schemes, squatter upgrade and regularisation, and site and service lot provision.

Rural housing dilemma

But have we considered the other side of the same coin – the rural housing dilemma? Rural communities throughout TT continue to face unique challenges, from limited access to basic amenities, fewer jobs, access to education, poor infrastructure, including a less talked-about topic – access to affordable and adequate housing.

Perhaps the biggest oversight is to assume that those who live in rural areas who are in need of housing actually want to move out of their rural villages.

For instance, notwithstanding that TT suffers from data deficiency, according to the 2011 census, the municipality of Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo comprises 94 communities, 51,817 households, a total population of 178,410 people, with a significant number of households living in rural areas such as Gran Couva, Las Lomas, Todd's Road, Mamoral and Tabaquite.

Rural housing in many of these districts is characterised by generational family lands, fragmented, with multiple family units, simple structures reflecting their years of existence, with attempts at incremental improvements.

Within these rural areas, the housing dilemma can be summed up as one of affordability, availability, ageing housing stock, high construction costs, limited access to credit, limited new construction, low household incomes, limited rural-urban connectivity, and a weakening of community as people migrate, inter alia, in search of housing.

While there exits the National Commission of Self Help's minor repairs and reconstruction grants and, periodically, agricultural homestead programmes, the funding is quite limited to meaningfully improve and increase the rural housing stock.

So, how do we tackle rural housing? Even further, is it possible to reverse migration patterns by improving and increasing the rural housing stock? Housing offers people a space to reproduce and recreate. It can stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, agriculture and eco/agro tourism, thereby revitalising rural economies.

Recommendations

For a sustainable rural future to be realised, the rural housing dilemma must be addressed, by:

● Conducting an assessment of the existing rural housing stock.

● Establishing grants for home construction, expansion and/or improvements of rural homes (including a matching grant programme).

● Identifying suitable lands and granting planning permission for sites adjoining existing village developments for site and service lots for allocation to people in need in rural areas.

● Establishing special loan facilities for home construction, expansion and/or improvements of rural homes.

● Enabling rural communities to participate in meeting their own housing needs.

● Engaging non-governmental organisations and faith-based organisations in the provision of affordable housing in rural communities.

● Linking affordable housing to local economic development.

By addressing the rural housing dilemma through these focused interventions, the carrying capacity of rural areas can experience a positive shift, retaining its population, perhaps even reversing decades of rural-urban migration, supporting the return to village life, reducing urban pressures, and stimulating rural economies.