Housing Practice and Urban Production at the formal-informal interface: the case of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (original) (raw)
Related papers
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………………………………………….
Livelihood Opportunities Through Informal Housing in the New Capital City of Dodoma, Tanzania
Cross-cultural Communication, 2011
Between March 2008 and March 2009 we conducted a desk study and field work on informal and low cost housing endeavours undertaken by building artisans in the new capital city of Dodoma in Tanzania. The study focused on the livelihood opportunities that can be derived from the informal housing building sub-sector as semiskilled artisans' grapple with the realities of unmet housing needs of the designated capital city of Tanzania. The argument is that there is a market for construction of low-cost housing in informal settlements in the new capital city even though these settlements are beset with problems of lack of legal tenure, poor infrastructure and sanitation. It is further argued that informal construction work offers possibilities for employment and income earning for semiskilled artisans. It was felt that a detailed study of informal housing building would provide a better understanding of the key factors and trends affecting the livelihood opportunities of people in the sub-sector and the expectation was that the findings would enlighten on the phenomenon and stimulate policy debates on how the sub-sector can be developed sustainably considering the fate of those concerned. The results show that the subsector could contribute immensely in the construction of the new capital city as well as improving the livelihoods of the practitioners if only they were well organised in cooperatives, enabled capacity-wise and training and given legal recognition.
2011
Between March 2008 and March 2009 we conducted a desk study and field work on informal and low cost housing endeavours undertaken by building artisans in the new capital city of Dodoma in Tanzania. The study focused on the livelihood opportunities that can be derived from the informal housing building sub-sector as semiskilled artisans' grapple with the realities of unmet housing needs of the designated capital city of Tanzania. The argument is that there is a market for construction of low-cost housing in informal settlements in the new capital city even though these settlements are beset with problems of lack of legal tenure, poor infrastructure and sanitation. It is further argued that informal construction work offers possibilities for employment and income earning for semiskilled artisans. It was felt that a detailed study of informal housing building would provide a better understanding of the key factors and trends affecting the livelihood opportunities of people in the s...
Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2023
This paper analyses the informal processes of production of dwelling spaces, specifically the process of acquiring and developing a piece of land. It aims to capture inherent dynamics governing the rationality of the process by drawing on a case study of Mamboleo “B” informal residential urban neighbourhood in the rapidly urbanizing city of Dar es Salaam. The process by which the landowners transform the dwelling spaces informally transcends socio-economic, cultural, and legal factors that demand inherent spatial dynamics to be explained from an urban transformation perspective. This leads to an inquiry into spatial dynamics, which results from unpredictability and mutation of the process and its impact on space. Further, the actors, the innovative informal practices and the urban form resulting from dwelling transformation commensurate with the prevailing socio-cultural condition are sought to inform conventional planning discourse adequately. A mixed-method was employed where the data collection tools included questionnaires, interviews, document analysis, map-reading and physical observations. This study involved snowball and purposive sampling techniques in selecting the respondents, with the first being used to determine the individual dwelling owners and the private sector practitioners while the latter choosing the public sector urban planning officials. Cultural - Historical Activity Theory was used to guide the analysis of the activities to gain their significance in the production of urban dwelling spaces. The study established that the dynamic structures are crucial to the survival of the informal dwellers as they were observed to provide a fertile ground for the survival of the informal processes of production of space together with their associated spaces. The dynamic structures characterized by negotiations, sharing, variations, incrementalism, spontaneity, and adaptability have contributed to affordable land within city boundaries, collective living and shared spaces, use of land as economic assets, and incremental constructions adaptable to users’ changing needs. The flexibility and adaptability of resulting spaces and dwellings were observed to support the socio-economic realities facing most urban dwellers, particularly people experiencing poverty, and hence their survival in urban areas. This study concludes that understanding the dynamics and rules governing spatial changes in informal urban spaces is critical to achieving complex urban spaces and successful spatial interventions in informal urban areas.
Modernization of Houses in Informal Settlements through Housing Transformation in Tanzania
2018
This paper addresses modernization of houses in informal settlements through housing transformation. It addresses on how people view modernization and how transformation is linked to modernization. A case study and qualitative research strategies were used. Interviews and observations were also used as data collection tools. Face to face interviews were done and responses were recorded and transcribed in order to listen and record feelings and aspirations of people in relation to modernization of houses. Empirical investigations have shown that residents have attempted to modernize their houses in terms of the use of “modern” building materials. The term modernization as perceived by many residents in the studied area means houses constructed with concrete blocks and corrugated iron sheets as compared to houses constructed with mud and poles. Therefore the houses are modern in the context of the studied area. Such houses when compared with say apartment blocks in Dar es Salaam in hi...
International Journal of Urban Sciences, 2020
Since the 1990s, the Tanzanian public housing authority, the National Housing Corporation (NHC), has been changing its goal, from prioritizing delivery of affordable housing, to becoming a leading commercial and residential real estate developer. This happens against a backdrop of market-based reform and the state’s growing reliance on private markets to support urban development. In this paper, we look at the impact of NHC’s new approach and its effect on housing production and every day practice in Dar es Salaam. The analysis is based on a case study of two new NHC middle to high-income development projects and housing practice in the neighbourhoods surrounding these projects. Analysis is informed by semi-structured interviews, and project and site investigation. Findings indicate that currently, NHC operates like a private corporation, prioritizing market-rate developments over low-income housing projects, and promoting segregated developments based on land value criteria, while also lacking protocols regarding its trickling down approach. High input costs and declining state subsidies are some of the factors mentioned as a challenge towards meeting the housing needs of moderate to low-income households. The paper contributes to the international debate concerning the state’s adoption of business-like approaches to housing production and the affordability crisis.
Deep Blue (University of Michigan), 2024
Major cities in sub-Saharan Africa grapple with a persistent issue: despite extensive efforts to tackle urban informality with policies and financial investments, informal settlements continue to proliferate. Moreover, residents relocated to formal developments often encounter ongoing challenges. Unfortunately, prevailing discourse oversimplifies urban informality as an affordable housing problem, leading policies to narrowly focus on affordable housing solutions. This research delves into the complexities of urban informality by exploring the role of social networks in shaping informal settlements. Three key questions are addressed: (1) How do social networks and livelihood activities influence the built environment of informal settlements? (2) What impact does this built environment have on residents' livelihoods? (3) How does resettlement affect social networks and livelihoods? Using mixed methods, six case studies in Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Accra are analyzed. These cities offer insights into longstanding informal settlements (control groups) and newly developed formal housing (treatment groups), with data collected through surveys, focus groups, and interviews with municipal officials. Findings reveal the overlooked significance of social networks in fostering a sense of place within informal settlements. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for crafting more effective urban policies and ultimately curbing the growth of informal settlements in sub-Saharan Africa.
Journal of Sustainable Development, 2018
Informal settlements constitute the largest means of habitation in the urbanizing world especially in the developing countries. In Dar es Salaam, informal settlements serve over 75% of the population. Among the often-mentioned characteristics of informal settlements include the dominance of informal economic activities. In particular, spaces for trading activities are observed to be randomly distributed in the informal settlements as they serve for the everyday life of its dwellers.However, little had been studied and analysed on the role of trading in shaping socio-spatial character of informal settlements. The aforesaid called for the need to investigate the underlying trading processes and products that characterise the setting of informal settlements. Using Mlalakuwa settlement in Dar es Salaam as a case, this paper maps and analyzes the social and institutional context of trading facilities and the resulting spatial character of informal settlements. One of the key findings in ...
URBAN HOUSING FOR THE POOR IN TANZANIA: POLICY, LAW AND THE REALITY
Conference presentation at the University of Antwerp, 2017
There have been many attempts aimed at ensuring that the urban poor have access to quality housing, in terms of access to basic services, infrastructure, materials used and secure land tenure. Such attempts are manifested in different programmes and initiatives which have been pursued by the Government of Tanzania over the years; these include, for example, the Urban Housing Programme, the Sites and Services and Squatter Upgrading Programme, projects by the National Housing Corporation and Schemes of Regularization. It is to be noted that all developments in urban areas in Tanzania must be in accordance with relevant planning laws. As such, housing for the poor in urban areas should be looked at in the context of urban land use planning law and policy. Thus, while the Government is taking some initiatives to address the question of housing, the poor are also required to observe the relevant regulatory regime when setting up their residential houses. By using Dar es Salaam as a case study, the article gives a critical analysis of selected urban planning policy and legislation as well as Government practices and initiatives. The article has established that while at policy level the state seems to commit itself to ensuring that the urban poor have access to decent housing, there are scanty supportive legislative provisions. Furthermore, the selected initiatives and practices do not, actually, work in favour of the urban poor. The article recommends that the Government should formulated and implement a clear policy on housing for the urban poor as well as amending relevant planning legislation. 2