In Conakry, the capital city of Guinea, more than two thirds of the housing stock consists of self-built housing. Self-built housing is the result of uncoordinated choices of households who buy land, decide the kind of houses and on-site facilities to build and implement their projects often without compliance with land use management policies. As a result this type of housing causes considerable environmental problems that affect the city population as a whole. Unless Conakry local authorities, i.e. communes develop capacities to design and carry out technically and financially appropriate strategies to address and improve households individual actions, the city's environmental conditions will continue to deteriorate. On the basis of lessons learned from theories and successful experiences of self-built housing improvement, the present creative project suggests general and specific guidelines, that commune officials can employ to develop the said capacities and generate substantial changes of housing conditions in Conakry. / Department of Urban Planning