Building maintenance in the context of developing countries.

This paper reviews literature about building maintenance in developing countries. A search of published sources revealed a disappointingly small and fragmented literature relating mostly to technical and managerial matters. These are presented in the paper under the headings: the effect of climate, design and materials choice, construction and maintenance personnel, managerial systems and financial systems. Few sources cover the economics of building maintenance and none discuss the important aspect of how building maintenance impacts on broader economic and development issues. The paper discusses building maintenance in the context of the six forms of capital usually encompassed in World Bank development projects (human, institutional, cultural, natural, physical, and financial) and as such contributes to the economic analysis of building maintenance. Several areas needing further research are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]