This study aims to re-visit the concept and practice of social housing, take stock of good practices and innovations, as well as the failures of social housing, and suggest ways in which the World Bank can help client countries/cities to make social housing work for the poor and low income households, as well as for the functioning of the housing market overall. Specifically, the task at hand in preparing this report was to: Develop a working/operational definition of the loosely used 'social housing' terminology
Take stock of housing policies and programs since the "demise" of public housing
Undertake in-depth case studies of successes and innovations, lessons learned, and factors for success
and Reflect upon how the World Bank could engage with the social housing sector. The research included an extensive literature review of primary and secondary sources on social housing and in-depth case studies.