Away from cities, informal developments provide affordable housing for those on low incomes, but conditions are often poor

For many, informal settlements are an urban characteristic normally equated with developing countries, and not the United States. Esther Sullivan and Carlos Olmedo look at the rise of informal housing that often reaches far beyond the U.S.-Mexico border. Through a survey of residents in two informal housing communities in Texas, they find that home self-building provides an affordable way for people to obtain housing on little means. They also write that support is needed for those in informal housing in the form of credit aid, as well as improvements to insulate against the effects of the weather.