Urban settlement issues : observations from 181 surveys of urban dwelling environments in developing countries

Abstract

Observations and summaries were made on 181 surveys of urban dwelling environments in developing countries, carried out by members of the Urban Settlement Design Program (U.S.D.P.), at MIT. The focus of this study is in three parts - dwelling development, land subdivision and environmental transformation. In short, surveys indicate the significance of the popular sector and progressive development; grid layout is preferred to gridiron layout; and higher density. Multifamily dwellings are a proliferate trend, but should be promoted with caution.