Albert Nyiti | Ardhi University (original) (raw)
Albert Nyiti is a registered town planner with over ten years of experience in the field. He is currently employed as an Assistant Research Fellow at the Institute of Human Settlements Studies (IHSS), Ardhi University (ARU) in Tanzania. He holds an MSc. in Housing and a BSc. in Housing and Infrastructure Planning, both from ARU. Albert also serves as an adjunct faculty/professor at the University of the Fraser Valley’s (UFV) Department of Planning, Geography and Environmental Studies in Abbotsford, BC, Canada. His research areas of interest include: affordable housing and infrastructure; critical urban theory; just cities; urban food systems; and climate change. Moreover, Albert is a Queen Elizabeth Scholar and a member of various national and international associations dealing with urban related issues, including, among others: the Town Planners Registration Board (TPRB) of Tanzania, the Tanzania Institute of Town Planners (TITP); the Just City Platform (JCP) in Tanzania; UN HABITAT's global network of Planners for Climate Action - P4CA; the East African German Transdisciplinary University Network (EAGER Trans-Net) and the Development Studies Association (DSA) of the United Kingdom.
Address: Tanzania, United Republic of
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CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Spanish National Research Council)
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Papers by Albert Nyiti
The Journal of Building and Land Development, Jun 15, 2021
This qualitative reflective paper seeks to analyse how the existing governance and institutional ... more This qualitative reflective paper seeks to analyse how the existing governance and institutional framework at both local and national levels affect and impact the promotion of a just access to housing for all in Tanzania. Literature and documentary review on housing related research publications; as well as policies, acts and regulations were done respectively. This offered a basis for un-packing political developments and trends in housing policy administration since independence struggle-times to date. The review also paved a way for providing a detailed account on the roles, interactions and power relations of national and city level key actors that promote access to housing in the country. The findings inform that Tanzania lacks a legal framework designated to the housing sector. However, at both national and local levels, the study points out several related laws and policies that have an impact on the housing sector; among others, the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania (1977 - as amended) and the National Human Settlements Development Policy of 2000. This un-statutory nature of the housing sector has largely contributed to the unjust access to housing. There is a clear indication that housing has been marginalised and left behind in the national agenda. This is evidenced by the lack of an up-to-date National Housing Policy (NHP) and delayed approval of the new housing policy by the government. Furthermore, the housing sector has never found a permanent home within the institutional framework of Tanzania, as it has been shifting within various ministries and departments. In order to address these issues, the paper calls for major transformations in the governance and institutional framework of the housing sector. The Just City Platform (JCP) should prioritise to capitalise on facilitating debates and dialogues for promoting just access to housing for all. All key actors from the housing sector at both national and local levels should be engaged in these debates so as to work together towards putting just access to housing at the centre of the national development agenda. Doing so will trigger a chain reaction that is expected to switch on the drive towards giving housing the prominence it deserves in the political, social and economic development of the nation and hence, promoting just access to housing in Tanzania.
This qualitative study is questioning attitudes and/or mindsets originating from Swahili language... more This qualitative study is questioning attitudes and/or mindsets originating from Swahili language that have shaped the general understanding on the meaning of housing in the country. In order to achieve this, a literature review was conducted to identify scholarly gaps in the existing local body of knowledge from the housing sector. Furthermore, interviews with land and housing sector experts as well as regular citizens were conducted to check whether one’s profession or level of education had an influence on their general understanding of the meaning of housing. Findings indicate that housing appears to be misunderstood almost exactly the same amongst different groups of individuals, regardless of their education levels or profession. This confusion in the country is deeply rooted in the Swahili language where the terms ‘housing’ and ‘settlement’ are interchangeably used. The article calls for collective action from housing sector experts in raising awareness on the meaning of housing among Tanzanians.
Originally posted by the African Center for Cities In poor and informal communities of Sub-Sahara... more Originally posted by the African Center for Cities In poor and informal communities of Sub-Saharan Africa, like in other countries and regions of the Global South, the new corona virus pandemic highlights a long lasting urban crisis. This crisis is manifested through a lack of water and sanitation, and adequate shelter, as well as food insecurity. Mitigating the risk and the effects of this pandemic in these poor communities must combine social isolation with protection of livelihoods through free access to clean water, adequate shelter, food security, and the provision of context-based information to local communities about the disease and how to protect from it.
The Journal of Building and Land Development, Jun 15, 2021
This qualitative reflective paper seeks to analyse how the existing governance and institutional ... more This qualitative reflective paper seeks to analyse how the existing governance and institutional framework at both local and national levels affect and impact the promotion of a just access to housing for all in Tanzania. Literature and documentary review on housing related research publications; as well as policies, acts and regulations were done respectively. This offered a basis for un-packing political developments and trends in housing policy administration since independence struggle-times to date. The review also paved a way for providing a detailed account on the roles, interactions and power relations of national and city level key actors that promote access to housing in the country. The findings inform that Tanzania lacks a legal framework designated to the housing sector. However, at both national and local levels, the study points out several related laws and policies that have an impact on the housing sector; among others, the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania (1977 - as amended) and the National Human Settlements Development Policy of 2000. This un-statutory nature of the housing sector has largely contributed to the unjust access to housing. There is a clear indication that housing has been marginalised and left behind in the national agenda. This is evidenced by the lack of an up-to-date National Housing Policy (NHP) and delayed approval of the new housing policy by the government. Furthermore, the housing sector has never found a permanent home within the institutional framework of Tanzania, as it has been shifting within various ministries and departments. In order to address these issues, the paper calls for major transformations in the governance and institutional framework of the housing sector. The Just City Platform (JCP) should prioritise to capitalise on facilitating debates and dialogues for promoting just access to housing for all. All key actors from the housing sector at both national and local levels should be engaged in these debates so as to work together towards putting just access to housing at the centre of the national development agenda. Doing so will trigger a chain reaction that is expected to switch on the drive towards giving housing the prominence it deserves in the political, social and economic development of the nation and hence, promoting just access to housing in Tanzania.
This qualitative study is questioning attitudes and/or mindsets originating from Swahili language... more This qualitative study is questioning attitudes and/or mindsets originating from Swahili language that have shaped the general understanding on the meaning of housing in the country. In order to achieve this, a literature review was conducted to identify scholarly gaps in the existing local body of knowledge from the housing sector. Furthermore, interviews with land and housing sector experts as well as regular citizens were conducted to check whether one’s profession or level of education had an influence on their general understanding of the meaning of housing. Findings indicate that housing appears to be misunderstood almost exactly the same amongst different groups of individuals, regardless of their education levels or profession. This confusion in the country is deeply rooted in the Swahili language where the terms ‘housing’ and ‘settlement’ are interchangeably used. The article calls for collective action from housing sector experts in raising awareness on the meaning of housing among Tanzanians.
Originally posted by the African Center for Cities In poor and informal communities of Sub-Sahara... more Originally posted by the African Center for Cities In poor and informal communities of Sub-Saharan Africa, like in other countries and regions of the Global South, the new corona virus pandemic highlights a long lasting urban crisis. This crisis is manifested through a lack of water and sanitation, and adequate shelter, as well as food insecurity. Mitigating the risk and the effects of this pandemic in these poor communities must combine social isolation with protection of livelihoods through free access to clean water, adequate shelter, food security, and the provision of context-based information to local communities about the disease and how to protect from it.