APPROACHES TO INFORMAL URBAN SETTLEMENTS IN AFRICA: EXPERIENCES FROM KIGALI AND NAIROBI (original) (raw)
Related papers
1986
Existing evidence shows that Nairobi is experiencing a serious housing problem. The existing housing stock is wholly deficient while the existing conventional housing supply mechanisms, both private and public, are not able to meet the housing 'demand' leave alone the 'need'. This situation is worsened by the rapid urbanization process Kenya is experiencing accompanied by the accelerated growth of the urban population through natural increase and the unprecedented movement of people from the rural areas to urban centres (Nairobi receives a disproportionate share of the migrants). The lower income groups are the worst hit by the urban housing. With their low levels of income and the high costs of conventional housing these are confined to finding affordable accomodation in informal housing areas which are mainly characterised by semi-permanent and temporary housing, and lack of services, utilities and ammenities. The persisting nature of informal housing in the urban ...
2011
In Kenya, as in most developing countries, the provision of adequate housing for the urban poor has been an elusive exercise for the past five decades. Since the early 1960s when serious concerns were raised over housing provision for low income groups and the proliferation of slums and informal settlements, various intervention strategies have been applied without much success. The failure of these interventions has been attributed to high costs of implementation hindering their replication, and displacement of targeted beneficiaries by better endowed income groups upon their completion. As a result, the realised moderate density housing has been transforming into multi-storey housing with intense densification. Housing and the built environment in general are realised within the prevailing systems of social, physical, and economic, settings and are influenced by development and urbanization trends. The purpose of this study therefore was to identify, account and document the prevailing systems of settings and the embedded systems of activities in the informal settlements that determine and sustain them in the city of Nairobi, Kenya. The study analysed these systems at the city, the neighbourhood, and the dwelling levels with the objective of establishing relevant systems of settings and their embedded systems of activities appropriate for adaption in the regularization of informal settlements for sustainable housing development for the urban poor in Nairobi. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodology was utilised in this explorative study. The research methodology applied entailed questionnaires, interviews, observations and discussions. Three case study areas were selected representing three different settings for informal settlements namely; informal settlement on government land with minimal level of interventions; community based informal settlement upgraded for rental housing; and site-and-service settlement informally transforming into multi-storey tenements. Theories and concepts that informed this study include Environment-Behaviour Relations, Environment-Attitude Relations, Sustainable Livelihoods, Social, and Market Theories. The study was conducted in Mathare Valley informal settlement of Nairobi which is located approximately six kilometres from the city centre. The settlement was selected because of the varied informalities it hosts in addition to being the oldest informal settlement in the city. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Understanding Barriers to Housing Delivery in Informal Settlements in Mariental, Namibia
2020
Housing is considered as one of the basic needs of a human being. In 1990, the government of the Republic of Namibia earmarked housing as a priority. Thus, the importance of effective and efficient housing delivery is crucial to the development of an urban area and the country at large. Apart from the value that formal housing adds to the lives of people through shelter and investment, housing is also an indicator of economic growth. Formal housing also creates sustainable communities and cities through poverty reduction. Despite the many initiatives employed by the Namibian government, housing the low-income groups remain a problem as in the case of Takarania Informal Settlement in Mariental, Namibia. Thus, policy makers need to understand the dynamics surrounding barriers which prevents low income groups in informal settlement from building formal houses. The support of both policy makers and implementers of housing delivery strategies is important for effective house delivery. This paper is intended to understand barriers to housing delivery in Takarania Informal Settlement in Mariental, Namibia. Triangulation of methods was used as semi-structured interviews, natural observation and structured questionnaires were used in gathering the needed information for the study. Interviews were planned to be conducted with at least 30 house owners, 3 staff members of the Mariental Municipality, 2 staff members of the Namibia Housing Action Group as well as one regional facilitator of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia. Out of the targeted 30 house owners, 26 house owners participated in the research study. The findings suggest that there are multiple factors that serve as barriers to housing delivery in the Takarania Informal Settlement. Land tenure was found to be one of the main barriers to housing delivery. The lack of support for aided self-help as well as incremental housing options is another obstacle to housing delivery in Takarania. House owners in Takarania Informal Settlement finds it challenging to afford buying land and houses due to low monthly earnings and unemployment. Although the housing and town planning policy framework is articulated well, it does not seem to have been fully operationalised to address the housing needs of low-income groups such as Takarania residents. A major limitation of the study was the inability of the researcher to speak the native language of the region, which might have compromised the quality of the data collected. v
Housing Quality in Informal Settlements and Urban Upgrading in Ibadan, Nigeria
Developing Country Studies, 2012
The paper examines the causes and characteristics of informal settlements in the assessment of housing quality. The paper identifies the problems that have aided informal settlements to: urbanization, poverty, growth of informal sector, non-affordability of land and housing shortage. The paper asserts that the informal settlements have serious adverse effects on the people's health, their built environment and housing quality. The secondary data was obtained from books, journals and seminar papers while the primary data relating to housing quality were obtained by means of structured questionnaire. The paper argues that, although the urban upgrading possesses great potential for improving housing quality in informal settlements, there is a need to rethink and repackage the upgrading exercise so that majority can benefit from it. It is necessary to incorporate community participation into the urban upgrading in order to assist the very poor that cannot take care of their housing consumption needs. Therefore, government is encouraged to see informal settlements as a solution to new city planning rather than problem to the urban areas. This paper suggests the implementation of policies and planning, physical infrastructural development, social economic improvement, environment and health improvement. Government, private and communities interventions on informal settlements are required in order to check and prevent further decay for sustainable development.
Informal Housing and the Urban Poor
Advances in electronic government, digital divide, and regional development book series, 2018
This chapter examines the nexus between the housing market and the urban poor. Affordability, tenure security, and good governance were examined. The study has employed questionnaires, focus group discussion, key informant interview, and field observation to collect data. Mixed approaches were used for data analysis. The study has revealed that the poorer segment of the population in the study area has less likely benefited from formal housing schemes. Informal settlement areas seem affordable only to some households who have the economic potential in the early years of land transaction (2003/04-2005/06). Tenure insecurity has reached its climax first with the demolition of about 500 houses in the study kebeles in 2011 and then with the promulgation of the new land lease proclamation No721/2011. Decentralized administration has failed to ensure good governance. Therefore, more attention should be given to revisiting housing development programs and projects, taking preventive measures rather than reactive ones, promoting housing finance, and monitoring the decentralization process.
Kibera Informal Settlement Policy Intervention for Housing Improvement in the Informal Settlements
2007
The Kenyan Government has acknowledged the existence of informal settlements and is willing to improve the living environment in these settlements. In order to achieve this objective there is need to develop an informal settlement improvement policy and also implement housing improvement project for the poor. Kibera is the largest informal settlement in Nairobi and comprises of 12 villages covering approximately 225 hectares. The population is estimated at 500,000 people translating to a density of 2,200 persons per hectare. The land is owned by the Government leading to insecure land tenure. The Government has identified Kibera Informal Settlement for development through the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP) The settlement will be developed in phases due to the scale of the project. The social and physical mapping for has been completed. The development plan has also been prepared and the project will involve the development of housing, physical infrastructure and social amen...
2003
Statement of the problem ……………………………………… 1.3 Objectives of the study…………………………………………. 1.4 Significance of the study………………………………………… 1.5 Relevance of this study within the field of Built Environment Analysis ………………….……………………… 1.6 Research methodology………………………………………… 1.7 Organisation of the thesis……………………………………… 2 URBANISATION AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN DAR ES SALAAM …..……………………………………………… 2.1 Urbanisation and housing transformation………………………. 2.2 Growth of Dar es Salaam and its influence on house types……… 2.3 The Swahili house type and its transformation…………………... 2.3.1 Characteristics of a Swahili house…………………………. 2.4 Informal settlement dynamics and policy implications: The influence on house types……..…………………………….. 2.4.1 Overview of informal settlements…………………………. 2.4.2 Characteristics of informal settlements…………………….. 2.4.3 Densification of informal settlements……………………… 2.5 Hanna Nassif settlement, the case study area……………………. 2.5.1 Background information to the settlement………………… 2.5.2 Land use and settlement densification……………………... 2.5.3 Characteristics of housing and buildings…………………… 2.5.4 Infrastructure conditions…………………………………... 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK…………………………………… 3.1 What is a theory? ……………………………………………….. 3.2 Traditional versus modern houses and building materials in the transformation process….…………………………………….… 3.3 Theory of determinants of house form………………………..… 10 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ……………………………………… 10.1 Transformation as a house supply strategy………………………. 10.2 Role of actors in the transformation process…………………….. 10.2.1 The role of mafundi……………………………………….. 10.2.2 The role of house owners and tenants……………………... 10.2.3 The role of the government………………………………... 10.3 Does transformation lead to appropriate house design? ………… 10.4 The contradiction between modern and traditional building materials………………………………………………………... 10.5 Security and housing transformation……………………………. 10.6 House types classification theory………………………………... 10.7 Flexibility, participation and enabling theories for the transformation process……….…………………………………. 10.8 The rationale of housing adjustment theories, improve or move………………….………………………………………… 10.9 Transformation for modernisation……………………………… 10.9.1 What is a modern house…………………………………… 10.9.2 Rooms for renting………………………………………….
The Urban Informal Sector and Housing
With urban population in India growing rapidly, a non-elitist section is created in each growing city. This Section of Society is referred to as the Urban Poor, characterized by an economy which is "below subsistence level", poor Quality of Life, over burdened and/or nonexistent facilities, amenities and basic services. Their "informal" status excludes them from the benefits accrued by mainstream "legal" citizens. They occupy slums within a city, live in shanties and squatter settlements, and work on a daily-wage-basis. Their numbers follow a multiplier growth pattern. They encroach upon prime urban land, live in non habitable dwellings. A conventional pucca (permanent) house is far beyond their means. With all good intentions, the Government is unable to provide them affordable houses. They ask for daily bread, but are offered a piece of cake. There is no control on sky rocketing land prices, as well as those of the conventional building materials like cement concrete steel or bricks, and thereby the unit cost of construction. In this scenario, the Government policies recommend, disproportionately smaller and substandard conventional pucca (permanent) houses, while research in laboratories on alternative materials with much better performance, continues with satisfactory outcomes. One of these materials, which has been proven to be safe, structurally stable and durable, is Bamboo. A case has thus been prepared, for questioning some of the Government policies, definitions and procedures, in an attempt to accommodate this material for housing the urban poor, in order to combat the rising unaffordability of modest dwelling units.