Building on what people build: Material realities and local knowledge for improving informal settlements

Global housing policy too often focuses on outcomes -units delivered, standards achieved -without engaging the material realities of how people actually build. This lecture examines the local building material supply chains, construction knowledge systems, and community practices that constitute the real foundation of housing in informal settlements worldwide. Drawing on research from the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), it argues that supporting these local systems -rather than replacing them with imported materials and external contractors -produces safer, more affordable, and more culturally appropriate housing at a fraction of the cost. The lecture offers practitioners and policymakers a new entry point into incremental housing improvement that works with, rather than against, what communities already know.