Garbage housing in informal settlements

The recycling of consumer items and their use as building materials have long been recognized by researchers and scholars in studies of informal settlements. There they are used as substitutes to traditional materials for walls and roofs, scarce or unaffordable in urban areas. However, they are also used as a means to repair or protect dilapidated materials and building components.Recycled consumer items are neither accepted nor regarded as standard building materials. Nevertheless, builders continue to use them, recognizing the existence of a market where they are regarded as alternative materials in housing. The use of these materials is defined by the users' needs and priorities. However, the decision-making process also depends on availability in the market, opportunity cost of the products, the performance of each material and its perceived aesthetic and social value within the community. In the process their use has created complex supply networks that deliver building materials according to local supply and demand.Based on a field study, this thesis presents the recycled consumer items used for the provision of housing in a squatter settlement. All the recycled non-conventional materials found are recorded according to their uses in the dwelling units, classified according to building types. Later on these materials are classified and analyzed according to their properties, their provision and acquisition