The Housing Market Value Chain: An Integrated Approach for Mitigating Risk in Informal Residential Construction in Haiti

Access to dignified housing represents a critical challenge for many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Technical and economic constraints frequently lead homeowners in these countries toward incrementally-constructed homes, which are often proven deadly when exposed to seismic or meteorological hazards. This paper offers a holistic analysis of the informal residential construction industry contextualized in Leogane, Haiti, the effective epicenter of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and offers an implementation framework geared towards integrating the housing delivery process to accommodate more resilient typologies. First, the concept of the housing ecosystem is introduced, and a thorough analysis of the technical, economic, and political factors that constrain this ecosystem in Haiti is presented. The defining elements of the resulting residential construction industry are then discussed: An informal blend of Design-Build and Master Builder methods of project delivery for incrementally-constructed (and largely masonry) permanent homes. The housing ecosystem is then redefined as a seven-step housing market value chain, and interventions to further strengthen and integrate this value chain are presented for each of the seven steps. Interventions are grounded in analogous contexts and refactored specifically for the Haitian case study scenario through extensive co-creation with stakeholders in Haiti. Particular focus is given to the Leogane Community Building Fund, a concept designed to democratize housing finance for low to middle-income groups. When implemented in an integrated fashion, risks across this housing market value chain are effectively mitigated to sustainably deliver dignified housing through a market-based approach suitable for Haiti and extensible to other LMICs.