One of the things that has struck me about several of the developing countries I have visited is the constant state of construction that buildings seem to be in, not just in new districts, but in settled districts. Most houses are incomplete at best, and often look abandoned. I know from previous experience that the exterior can be very misleading, but when you see block after block of half built houses, it is really striking. This is just one hillside that is largely "unfinished" ie the houses do not have exterior paint (very gray hillside). When houses are not finished, they are not taxable property, so only a few houses here or there actually have any color.
It is likely that many houses are constructed in stages because of lack of funds, but I think it is more than that. It likely reflects a lack of available credit as well, because poor people in the US don't construct half a house. They take out a loan and build the whole thing. It probably makes been financial sense to build only what you can pay for at the time, instead of going into deep debt, but its still startling to see so many construction projects underway in neighborhoods.
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