Mariana Vazquez (Cordaid) – Why Housing Projects Fail – And How To Succeed

Cordaid, March 11, 2014. Haiti is not the only country where many efforts to house the slum dwellers have failed. Why is that? Cordaid’s Mariana Vazquez, an expert in long-term development in slums, shares her perspective.

‘Four years after an earthquake in Haiti that made 1,3 million people homeless and despite massive international efforts, 200,000 people are still living in tents. In some areas, houses have been built, but many stand empty and vandalized. For some reason, people preferred to stay in their old houses, in crowded rooms, without water or electricity and in highly stressful and dangerous circumstances, rather than in the houses built especially for them. And Haiti is not the only country where efforts to house the slum dwellers have been challenging.’