A New Hypothesis on Informal Land Supply, Livelihood, and Urban Form in Sub-Saharan African Cities
In sub-Saharan Africa, the urban majorities are financially excluded from the formal housing markets and reside in informal settlements. Limited knowledge on the development of informal settlements compromises the efficacy of urban planning and policies targeting such areas. This study presents an a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/11/435 |
| _version_ | 1827702660548001792 |
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| author | Johan Mottelson |
| author_facet | Johan Mottelson |
| author_sort | Johan Mottelson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In sub-Saharan Africa, the urban majorities are financially excluded from the formal housing markets and reside in informal settlements. Limited knowledge on the development of informal settlements compromises the efficacy of urban planning and policies targeting such areas. This study presents an analysis of informal urban land use in four major cities in East Africa, as well as an analysis of urban form and household conditions in a case study area in each city. The study found more compact urban form, higher levels of tenants and overcrowding, and lower levels of access to water and sanitation in the examined cities with limited informal urban land use. The study argues that government repression of informal urban development decreases informal land supply and leads to increased competition in the informal land market, causing higher costs of accommodation and consequent fewer household resources for investments in infrastructure and thereby more compromised livelihood. The study argues that governments should accept some modes of informal development, simplify the urban development administration processes, and use technological innovation in land surveys and management, in order to lower costs of accommodation and improve livelihoods for the urban majority financially excluded from the formal housing market in East Africa. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:01:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0341e8cf918c41378370eb50f79c8bf7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:01:42Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-0341e8cf918c41378370eb50f79c8bf72023-11-20T20:06:09ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2020-11-0191143510.3390/land9110435A New Hypothesis on Informal Land Supply, Livelihood, and Urban Form in Sub-Saharan African CitiesJohan Mottelson0Institute of Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape, Royal Danish Academy, 1435 Copenhagen, DenmarkIn sub-Saharan Africa, the urban majorities are financially excluded from the formal housing markets and reside in informal settlements. Limited knowledge on the development of informal settlements compromises the efficacy of urban planning and policies targeting such areas. This study presents an analysis of informal urban land use in four major cities in East Africa, as well as an analysis of urban form and household conditions in a case study area in each city. The study found more compact urban form, higher levels of tenants and overcrowding, and lower levels of access to water and sanitation in the examined cities with limited informal urban land use. The study argues that government repression of informal urban development decreases informal land supply and leads to increased competition in the informal land market, causing higher costs of accommodation and consequent fewer household resources for investments in infrastructure and thereby more compromised livelihood. The study argues that governments should accept some modes of informal development, simplify the urban development administration processes, and use technological innovation in land surveys and management, in order to lower costs of accommodation and improve livelihoods for the urban majority financially excluded from the formal housing market in East Africa.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/11/435informal settlementsinformal land supplysub-Saharan Africaurban formlivelihoodslums |
| spellingShingle | Johan Mottelson A New Hypothesis on Informal Land Supply, Livelihood, and Urban Form in Sub-Saharan African Cities Land informal settlements informal land supply sub-Saharan Africa urban form livelihood slums |
| title | A New Hypothesis on Informal Land Supply, Livelihood, and Urban Form in Sub-Saharan African Cities |
| title_full | A New Hypothesis on Informal Land Supply, Livelihood, and Urban Form in Sub-Saharan African Cities |
| title_fullStr | A New Hypothesis on Informal Land Supply, Livelihood, and Urban Form in Sub-Saharan African Cities |
| title_full_unstemmed | A New Hypothesis on Informal Land Supply, Livelihood, and Urban Form in Sub-Saharan African Cities |
| title_short | A New Hypothesis on Informal Land Supply, Livelihood, and Urban Form in Sub-Saharan African Cities |
| title_sort | new hypothesis on informal land supply livelihood and urban form in sub saharan african cities |
| topic | informal settlements informal land supply sub-Saharan Africa urban form livelihood slums |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/11/435 |
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