SUMMARY
This paper presents the different facets concerning affordability of dwellings and some housing alternatives in Algeria. The concept of sustainability will be discussed here through its scales and theoretical framework. Several successful housing areas present interesting cases to study, like Setif where some positive experiences are offering better conditions for a sustainable environment and marking the contemporary history of the city. Hence, our research strategy combines the study of spatial practice and usage to the analysis of design quality. An amount of data had to be collected for environmental assessment focusing on physical and social aspects. The sustainable urban development provides city designers with criteria of social and ecological rationality that are different from those available in the market.