Informal Land and Housing Markets: The Case of Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract Since informal land and housing markets operate outside formal institutional channels, low-income participants in these markets are in a precarious position vis-8-vis government authorities and powerful land dealers. Planners in developing countries have traditionally focused on providing security of tenure to residents of existing informal settlements. Based on an analysis of informal land and housing markets in Istanbul, this paper argues that such legalization of existing informal settlements is insufficient to maintain or enhance the access of lowincome groups to housing. Small credits to low-income households who do not have full title to their land, as well as regulations increasing the accountability of developers to their clients, are necessary to improve the position of low-income groups in the market.