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The Influence of Social Capital on Housing Improvement: An Investigation of Sri Lankan Plantation Worker Community

D. P. Chandrasekara

Abstract


Social capital focuses on social networks and human relationships as a vital asset. The bonding social capital represents the effects of the linkages between horizontal or similar layers of social groups. The relationships between the vertical layers of the society are described as the bridging social capital. This article attempts to understand the role of social capital as a generator of housing development. Sri Lankan planation worker community still remains alienated from mainstreams of social, political and economic life after their immigration from southern India more than 150 years ago. The community was originally provided with estate-owned barrack-type shelter called line rooms. The majority of the plantation workers still live in these compact and dilapidated housing units. The self-help detached housing project implemented during the 1998–2004 period improved the living environment of around 14% families. The study shows that bridging social capital is a decisive force which facilitates the process of housing improvement. The families with strong bridging social capital have benefited from self-help housing construction programme. The exposure through vertical connections has transformed their aptitudes and values, resulting in successfully completing and occupying the new detached houses.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.37628/.v1i2.384

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