Learning from Informal Settlements: the New ʹProfessionalismʹ for Architectural Practice

Almost one billion people, one sixth of the worldʹs total population today, live in informal settlements. The majority of these informal settlements are in developing countries. Shifts in the approach to housing policies for the low-income, from ʹto provideʹ to ʹto supportʹ, have shaped the roles of architects in practice. This paper puts forward an argument that, for architects to rise effectively to challenges posed by informal settlements and to work with poor urban communities, a new ʹprofessionalismʹ is required. The paper uses reflections from the practice of a variety of architects working for/with poor urban communities in Thailand and seeks to demonstrate that architects could learn from both ʹhopeʹ and ʹdespairʹ in informal settlements. New knowledge and skills concerning participatory design and its challenges could be integrated in architectural education in order to prepare architects to be more capable of working with poor urban communities.