Does secure tenure alone solve the problem of homelessness? A critical appraisal of the resettlement practices in rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Achieving secure tenure solely through land titling and house construction has shown limited success in resettling homeless individuals. State intervention in the global South through a 'one size fits all' resettlement model narrows the concept of resettlement from 'housing' to 'shelter' without considering the local people, place, and context. This study analyzes Bangladesh's largest resettlement program initiated by the current government, aiming to provide land and houses to homeless people in rural areas. The objective is to identify a range of people-centric attributes crucial for successful resettlement while ensuring tenure security within the existing bureaucratic process. The study develops a conceptual framework for people-centric resettlement attributes and collects data from resettlers to gauge their tenure satisfaction and preferred resettlement attributes. Later, the study examines the simultaneous effects of income and other resettlement attributes to explain variations in resettlers' tenure satisfaction. The results indicate that alternative people-centric attributes such as decision-making, community finance, livelihood options, nearby community facilities, community participation, and local homemaking techniques contribute to sustaining tenure satisfaction in the long run, especially for lower-income resettlers.