This article criticizes the overwhelming emphasis in the United States on financial approaches in expanding access to homeownership, and it suggests that the focus detracts from a serious consideration of the role of design in making housing affordable. The article also suggests that modest designs that facilitate and allow for progressive expansion and improvement over time have an important role in affordable housing. The initial cost of housing has increased and the program’s ability to target very low-income households has decreased.

The United States has achieved enviable success in expanding access to home loan mortgages to help make homeownership affordable. The  incremental development is typically associated with developing countries, where access to institutional housing finance is limited or unavailable, particularly for low-income households. Although formal housing programs that incorporate incremental development are rare in the United States.

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