User-initiated extensions as housing supply:: A study of government-built low-cost housing estates in Malaysia

In this study of housing estates around Kuala Lumpur, we examine the extension (transformation) by households to government-built dwellings. These households mostly have higher incomes than the target group and begin to extend almost as soon as they move in. Extensions are generally of a high standard and more appropriate for the households than the original buildings. The original planned homes are only the beginning of the development of the area, so it makes sense to provide generous plots to facilitate extension and to avoid the constricted plots and narrow frontages of some current designs.