Bhutan, the land of scenic beauty, lying in the middle of the gigantic Himalayan range, is known as the world's last Shangri La. This land-locked mini state has lived with many myths and legends which help to explain the origin of names which Bhutan assumed during different periods of its historical evolution. Bhutan, however, remained unknown to the world for centuries, partially because of the seclusion caused by the awesome natural barriers, i.e., stark snowy peaks of mountains and partially because of self-imposed isolation. The country figures prominently when it signed the treaty with the Government of India in 1949 and when China annexed Tibet in 1959. Bhutan exposed itself to the international community by joining the Colombo Plan in 1961 and finally by becoming a member of the United Nations in 1971. This assessment of housing conditions and of housing, land and settlement policies in Bhutan is part of a series of 12 national assessments undertaken by five Third World institutions in collaboration with the International Institute for Environment and Development's Human Settelments Programme. About Author : H.N. Misra (b. 1945) had his education at the university of Allahabad. He obtained the degree of M.A. in Geography in 1968 and D.Phil in 1975. He had his post-doctoral training at the Department of Geography, University of Pittsburgh and at the Laboratory for Application of Remote Sensing, University of Purdue, U.S.A. under the U.S. Government's Senior Fulbright Fellowship Program during 1976-77. He has been teaching at the Department of Geography, Allahabad University since 1969.Dr. Misra has published about two dozen research papers in professional Indian and foreign journals. He has successfully completed two research projects - Human Settlements System in Bhutan and the Role of Small and Intermediate Towns in Regional Development Process, both sponsored by IIED, London. Yet another project - Nutrition and Health Problems in Rural India, completed jointly with Prof. Philips Foster, University of Maryland, U.S.A., is already under publication. He is currently involved in two research projects - Popular Settlements, and Health and Habitat in Developing Countries, undertaken jointly by the IIDR, Allahabad; and IIED, London. He has also been working on the processes of ruralization of Indian cities and on the role of informal sector in the economy of small towns. Contents : PrefaceList of TablesList of IllustrationsIntroductionChapter 1 - Socio-Economic BackgroundChapter 2 - National Settlement PoliciesChapter 3 - Land Management PoliciesChapter 4 - Shelter, Infrastructure and ServicesChapter 5 - Development AssistanceChapter 6 - AssessmentAppendix AAppendix BAppendix CBibliographyIndex