YAOUNDE HOUSEHOLD AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS

Surveyors concentrated on lower income housing types, but included some middle- and upper-income households for comparative purposes. This three volume report presents the survey results, housing policy implications, and case studies for each housing type. In Part I of Volume I, the land use, location, population density, and levels of municipal service are compared for each housing type, and differences among the three broad socioeconomic groups inhabiting urban housing are examined. In Part II of Volume I, policies to best meet Yaounde"s housing needs are described. A major recommendation is to orient policy and programs in favor of the poorest household group (Group I), which makes up 85% of the total urban population. The services most critically needed by this group are access roads, water supply, street lighting, and electricity. The authors recommend that Group I households participate in providing or upgrading these basic neighborhood services. In addition to infrastructure improvements, the development of a coherent land ownership policy, especially land title regularization, improved access to credit, and construction information are recommended as priorities over physical improvement of homes. The paper predicts the number of low-income dwelling units and related services which Group I will require as it increases. Newly developed areas should be located close to employment zones to avoid failures caused by lack of adequate, affordable transportation. Volume I contains annexes on data collection methods and infrastructure standards. Volume II presents details of the data collected, including household social and economic characteristics (family size, religion, income, rent, etc.), housing descriptions, existing levels of service and infrastructure, and needed improvements in health, education, and employment services. Volume III presents graphs and data on 50 case studies and two annexes -- a functional analysis of a typical low-income dwelling unit and a table of average room size per housing type.