The two ABCs of aided self-help housing in Ecuador

In 1998, a market-based programme called the Housing Incentives System (SIV) was introduced in Ecuador to promote low-income housing in urban areas. It was based on three components abbreviated as ABC: Ahorro (savings), Bono (subsidy) and Crédito (credit). Quantitative data suggest that the programme has been successful so far. Since 2007 the SIV programme has been adapted to improve access to low-cost housing in non-urban areas as well. For inhabitants in marginally urban and rural areas, the ‘C’ has been changed into Comunidad, meaning obliged communal work. This paper explores the territorial distinction embedded in the ABC formula. It is argued that the programme's duality presupposes socio-cultural distinctions between city and countryside that risk enhancing civic inequality, since it forces non-urban citizens to perform more duties than urban residents. The impact of territorial differentiation in housing policy will be interpreted from the point of view of non-urban applicants.