Public Housing in Postwar Colombo’s Urban Regeneration: Pathology of Housing Discourse

Source abstract

This paper examines the Colombo Urban Regeneration Project (URP) as a state-driven initiative aimed at transforming Colombo into a “world-class” urban center in postwar Sri Lanka. Drawing on qualitative interviews with relocated families, the study examines how militarized governance and speculative urban planning have shaped the lived experiences of residents resettled in URP’s public housing. Using the concept of housing pathology, the paper interprets the systemic design, spatial, and governance failures that prevent these housing units from functioning as meaningful homes. The analysis applies a diagnostic framework that focuses on three interconnected forms: urban pathology—spatial and governance failures associated with forced relocation and urban exclusion; social pathology—disruptions to livelihood, identity, gendered forms of care, and community life; and building pathology—physical and cultural deficiencies in design, infrastructure, and comfort that contribute to place-based stigma. Although URP housing provides material security, the findings reveal widespread emotional detachment and social fragmentation. The study argues that URP public housing represents a hybrid form of state-controlled shelter—neither slum nor home—but a mechanism for urban order. These insights call for more socially integrated, context-sensitive public housing strategies prioritizing resident well-being over speculative development goals.