The de-politicisation of housing policies: the case of Borei Keila land-sharing in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

This paper examines the design and evolution of a land-sharing process established for the on-site re-housing of an urban poor group in Phnom Penh (Cambodia), in the locality Borei Keila. The study is based on eight months of ethnographical and action research fieldwork. Some regard this land-sharing process as a success, but we find widespread criticism of it for excluding many original residents of the neighbourhood from the land-sharing agreement, leading either to their eviction or to difficult living conditions on site. We argue that these exclusionary results come from the deliberate misrepresentation of the urban poor group as a homogeneous block, and from the use of the housing provision as a pacifying tool against dissent. The case of Borei Keila highlights the risks of de-politicised and consensus-driven housing policies. It also provides the basis for a conclusive reflection on the recently approved National Housing Policy of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Available for download

Journal Article