Just and Equitable Cities

Upgrading Urban Informal Settlements: Housing and Infrastructure for All

Using a transdisciplinary approach, the center’s Just and Equitable Cities initiative seeks ways to upgrade urban informal settlements to deliver secure, affordable housing, and core infrastructure and services.

Overview

The Challenge of Slums and Informal Settlements

Cities across the Global South struggle with rapid urbanization and the proliferation of informal settlements. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of people living in slums increased by approximately 106 million between 2000 and 2018. Existing efforts and investment in African cities, where infrastructure provision is the lowest in the world, are inadequate. Individuals and households in informal settlements struggle daily to access basic services such as water, sanitation, and energy. Residents lacking access to infrastructure and resources develop coping mechanisms, including the provision providing their own services and / or purchasing services from informal providers. It is well documented that the poor pay more for lower quality services (the “poverty penalty”), creating health risks and economic inefficiencies for everyone in the city.

A New Way Forward

The solution is citywide, participatory informal settlement upgrading in situ, as has been successfully demonstrated in parts of Asia and Latin America. For decades, African governments have seen evictions as the solution to informal settlements, while using funds to build unaffordable housing that has not scaled. Efforts to upgrade urban informal settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa have historically been top-down, lacking the meaningful community participation and flexibility around zoning, land use, and building regulations that have benefited residents in other regions. This policy context has now changed. Sub-Saharan governments are increasingly supportive of improving informal settlements in situ because they understand that economic growth and development is tied to well-functioning cities. 

A Transdisciplinary Approach

Informal settlement upgrading is complex, requiring a nuanced understanding of the urban built environment, political and institutional dynamics, as well as community knowledge built on trust. For far too long, local residents and stakeholders have been excluded from the urban development decision-making process that impacts the design of their cities and neighborhoods. Foundational to this initiative is a commitment to a transdisciplinary approach to community-led planning and building.

A Collective Effort

The Center for Cities at AAP brings faculty research and expertise on urban planning, policy, and the built environment to support and expand the work of Slum Dwellers International (SDI). SDI is a global network of and for the urban poor dedicated to realizing inclusive African cities where all residents have access to dignified housing, core infrastructure and services, and opportunities for economic security. SDI works with affiliates in 16 countries and 199 towns across Africa. This effort also partners with lead academics at the University of Ghana and the Technical University of Kenya.