Informal Settlements : A response to rapid urbanisation

Informal settlements are a response to the rapid urbanisation that is currently being witnessed on the continent. Consequently because of their illegitimacy informal settlements do not have the enabling infrastructure which supports the provision of clean water and distribution of electricity among other amenities. The ensuring threat is that illegal settlements become a health and safety hazard as witnessed by the common occurrence of devastating shack fires. Enkanini is an informal settlement established in 2006 in Stellenbosch, as common with other illegal settlements a fire broke which affected close to 800 families. I joined a team of students from Tonys House Children Foundation on a visit to the affected area to see how they could intervene by providing immediate relief to the affected families. A major consequence which I witnessed from my visit there is the degradation of human dignity. Walking past the densely spaced corrugated iron walls, one can feel the restlessness and frustrations among the people in these communities. It was a heart-breaking to see how so many valuable possessions had been reduced to ash moreover the horrible conditions in which affected people had to survive in while waiting for relief. Affected families were busy rebuilding their homes from the remains of the fire . An exercise which appeared to me as just rearranging rubble.

Informal settlements are safety nets for urban dwellers that cannot afford formal housing. As more people migrate to urban areas in search of better socio-economic opportunities, we should expect a proportional increase in the number of informal settlements if access to housing is not improved. The existing housing development approach focused on the provision of state subsidised houses is not in a capacity to meet the current and future backlogs currently standing at around 2 million. Similarly on the continent other member states are failing to meet their annual housing demands. Nigeria faces a backlog of about 17 million houses, with Kenya and Egypt sitting on backlogs of 2 million and 3,5 million houses respectively .If this trend continues unabated ,it will affect the biggest demographic on the continent.Currently the youth account for about 65% of the continents population. Currently faced with other challenges as unemployment and bad leadership, the youths of the continent are the next biggest victims of the continents housing crisis.

In reality, the housing crisis is a symptom of broader urban challenges. Transforming a landscape resembling metal boxes into a habitable environment requires a multi-concerted approach to leverage on the accessible resources for a more dynamic transitional housing programme which has a capacity to sustain itself. The major challenge here is not only in addressing the aesthetic of the built landscape but it is more aligned with changing the social ,political and economic structures that support resident’s lives. Local government’s investment in infrastructure should help in creating access to safe affordable and sustainable infrastructure facilities. Colonialism fundamentally disrupted the spatial, and economic environments in which people conducted their daily lives by structurally enforcing a system that has resulted in a multitude of today’s African urban problems. A rethink of urban planning on the continent may be necessary because more often than not it’s the citizens that are victims than beneficiaries of planning which is centred on an outdated approach to mass human settlements.This approach unintentionally reinforces old perspectives to township planning, infrastructure and housing design.

Politics remains a major obstacle to unlocking equitable opportunities in many African cities particularly towards addressing the increasing urban challenges. Most governments because of limited availability or in most cases mismanagement of resources abandon investment in long term housing projects for initiatives that have quick returns and better political mileage. When governments initiate housing projects they are usually meant to cosmetically attend to the problem leaving the burden on successive governments, (for countries that have democratic processes which allow leadership renewal).Power struggles and the use and abuse of “public goods” such as land for personal and political interests does nothing in rectifying a crisis which requires an innovative response to the urgent need to house the urban poor. African cities need to look at informality for what it really is .Informal settlements are a response to rapid urbanisation and as such the inability of the government to provide for the needs of citizens implies that informality becomes the framework in which urban affairs are administered .Consequently informality will claim greater legitimacy than the government itself !. Clearly there is a great deal of political dishonesty that contributes to Africa’s many housing challenges, but I believe more could be done in developing alternate housing solutions that address and speak to the needs of the continent.

Social relations are manifested in space, it is how this space is organised or reorganised that compliments the organic nature of society. This presents a challenge to development stakeholders particularly in societies that have a contested history of space, representation and aesthetics like South Africa. Understanding the dynamics and complexities associated with informal settlements will provide an alternative lens contrary to the existing one in which informal settlements are seen as a threat. A diversified approach to incorporate alternative development, methodologies and delivery strategies will facilitate the upgrading of informal settlements while promoting and improving access to housing for poor urban dwellers.Delivering affordable housing comes with its challenges, the rising cost of traditional building materials (brick and mortar) means more people will be unable to access affordable homes especially low income earners. Reality is that individuals that do not earn enough to meet their basic needs, will definitely not spend on housing regardless of the cost of the house .Such issues of affordability can be addressed in the medium term by streamlining the supply chain of land, materials and services that are necessary for the provision of housing solutions.

Enabling a multidisciplinary approach to urban development particularly in the areas of housing, will promote an integrated approach to the planning, design and development of housing solutions. With architects, engineers, urban planners and creatives actively engaged in the development of alternate housing solutions that address the needs of our people. It is more important now that the integrated approach to housing development also incorporates the end users (home owners) by means of skills and knowledge transfer. The standardisation, modularisation and industrialisation of the construction process if harnessed well can assist in alleviating the current housing challenges by incorporating would be home seekers into the process of planning, design and development of their housing units. This will require a change in perception as most people on the continent have not been receptive to new building technologies opting for traditional costly construction methods.

Africa needs to relook at development through its own lived experiences so that we can actively engage with our issues in a manner that reflects the cultural and intellectual characteristics of our people. The way we see and reorganise our space should seek to integrate and bridge the divides that are a hindrance towards the development of sustainable urban solutions. How can we explore opportunities of wealth creation for emerging communities through facilitating mutually beneficial projects between communities and the formal sector? If those affected families in Enkanini could rebuild from the burnt remains of corrugated iron, surely by creating structures that facilitate the transfer of critical construction skills can we achieve broad-based participation to solve the current housing challenges.