Inadequate affordable housing is a well-documented problem in India and across South Asia. What is not well understood though is how affordable housing programmes and policies affect the urban poor, so that we can improve both the efficacy and delivery of such programmes.

The reasons for the gap in understanding the linkages between affordable housing and poverty are two-fold. The first challenge is that of connecting macro-level planning and programme creation efforts to micro-level impacts on an individual’s poverty. Second, poverty is multi-dimensional, therefore, affordable housing cannot be examined in isolation, it needs to be examined in conjunction with basic services and livelihoods.

In order to address these challenges, we are developing a computational model using an innovative interdisciplinary approach. The computational model aims to understand both, the linkages between the macro and the micro; and temporal effects, that include the immediate impact (short-term events such as evictions, floods, etc.) and slow-impact long-term events (such as inter-generational migration, poverty alleviation schemes, housing programmes, etc). The model will thus help to understand the relationship between mobility, livelihood and shelter and allow stakeholders to adequately design, test and implement affordable housing policies, programmes and schemes.

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