博茨瓦纳的“自助住房机构”(SHHA)是一个成功达到目的的事例。该目的是要为低收入阶层能获得支付得起的住房和改善原有居住地条件提供一条可行的途径。本文肯定了SHHA在提供住房单元中取得的成就,但对这一计划的持久性和所造成的环境问题提出了疑问。由于SHHA的规划项目是由一些捐赠机构资助的,所以政府也应像“博茨瓦纳住房公司”(BHC)所做的那样,对低收入阶层的住房问题负直接责任。如果只有SHHA安居区的服务设施得到改善,为适应不同社会阶层混合居住的计划就不可能持续。由于提供给SHHA住户的即时资助没有考虑到详细的发展,政府提供的基础设施必须足以为各个家庭服务,或者说,这些基础设施必须预见到每个家庭发展后所增加的需要。只有提供了正确的先决条件,如产权保证、切合实际的建筑标准以及取得经济和技术援助的渠道等,低收入阶层才能真正投入自己的住房建设中。然而,目前政府的住房政策对住房问题所下的定义是值得怀疑的。这种政策的主要目标是解决积压的住房单元不足问题,但是,用单纯的数字概念来对住房问题下定义是太狭隘的。因此,必须在较广泛的意义上,按照对生活质量的影响来评价一种住房政策和住房环境。必须同时考虑对居住者财富的影响及对总的环境质量的影响等因素。最重要的因素可能是要能够让居民根据不同的优先性按自己的意愿来选择住房条件,同时使他们在决定切身问题中有机会起主动作用。 Botswana’s SHHA is a successful case. The purpose is to provide a feasible way for low-income groups to obtain affordable housing and to improve their original living conditions. This article confirms what SHHA has achieved in providing housing units but questions the durability of the program and the environmental issues it causes. As SHHA’s programs are funded by donor agencies, the government should also be directly responsible for low-income housing issues, as did the “Botswana Housing Companies” (BHC). If only the service facilities in the SHHA housing complex have been improved, it will not be possible to adapt to the plan of mixed living among different social strata. Given the fact that instant funding provided to SHHA households does not take into account the detailed development, the infrastructure provided by the government must be sufficient to serve families or that these infrastructures must anticipate the increased needs of each family after its development. Only when the right preconditions are provided, such as property rights guarantees, practical construction standards and access to economic and technical assistance, can low-income groups really invest in their own housing construction. However, the current definition of the housing problem by the government is questionable. The main goal of such a policy is to address the backlog of under-housing units, but defining the housing issue with a purely numerical concept is too narrow. Therefore, a housing policy and housing environment must be evaluated in a broader sense based on the impact on quality of life. Factors that affect both the wealth of occupants and the overall environmental quality must be taken into account. The most important factor may be to enable residents to choose the conditions of housing according to their own preferences according to different priorities and at the same time give them an opportunity to take the initiative in determining immediate problems.