Getting urban density to work in informal settlements in Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Visagie ◽  
Ivan Turok
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Participatory Planning ◽  
Tenure Security ◽  
Urban Density ◽  
The Core ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Urban Population Growth

The drawbacks of crowded informal settlements stand in stark contrast to the theoretical promise that urban density is the key to building more productive, sustainable and resilient cities. African cities cannot be expected to prosper while the majority of residents live in sprawling informal settlements with no prospect of improvement beyond the provision of basic services. There is a strong case for governments to embrace a broader reconstruction agenda in order to harness the potential of density for all-round progress. The core proposition of the paper is that urban population growth would be accommodated more effectively by building upwards and not merely outwards. We consider the circumstances under which this is true and how the state and communities might refashion conditions in informal settlements despite their restricted resources. To expand upwards requires participatory planning, more tenure security, settlement redesign, and in-situ investments in public services and housing.

From ‘Sunshine City’ to a Landscape of Disaster

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muchaparara Musemwa
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Cholera Outbreak ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
City State ◽  
Urban Population Growth ◽  
The Impact

Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city, has now joined the growing list of cities and ‘mega cities’ of the global South, which are now confronted by an ever-growing crisis precipitated by the deficient provision of basic services such as water and housing. Emblematic of these challenges are the cities of Lagos, Nairobi, Kumasi, Mumbai and Cairo. This article examines the mutation of Harare from what was once regarded as one of the most developed post-colonial cities in Africa dubbed the ‘sunshine city’ in local Zimbabwean parlance in the 1980s to a landscape of crisis and disease. The cholera outbreak in Harare towards the last quarter of 2008 extending into the first quarter of 2009 exposed the full magnitude of the city’s decrepit infrastructure. This pestilence laid bare the intricate political and municipal governance issues, the historical city–state tensions, and the impact of rapid urban population growth. Although the article focuses on the contemporary water crisis, it injects into the discourse a historical perspective in order to demonstrate that the recent set of factors which contributed to the occurrence of disease has profound structural origins dating back to the colonial days. The article, however, also emphasizes that postcolonial Harare’s dysfunctional water systems have been worsened by rapid urban population growth and repressive forms of political interventions in city governance.

scholarly journals PENGGUNAAN HASIL SENSUS UNTUK ESTIMASI URBANISASI

Populasi ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhadjir Darwin ◽  
Tukiran Tukiran
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Longitudinal Analysis ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
Population Number ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Urban Population Growth

Urbanization canbedefined inmanyways: various definitions concerning it are found in population literature. Different censuses also tend to define the concept of urban differently. This inconsistency of definitionhas obstructed those who want to conduct acomparative analysis on urbanization, both cross- country and longitudinal analysis of a country. This article attempts to examine the problem by clarifying the definition of the concept and indicators of urban and urbanization and by making a longitudinal analysis of urbanization using the Indonesian 1920-1990 Cencus data. Regardless of how the concept of urban is defined in each census, this analysis has found a steady increase in urban population number. However, if the different definitions of the concept are taken into consideration, it may bring up different conclusion. Part of the reasons of the increase is a reclassification of village' status from being rural to become urban. Oneway to prove this proposition is by comparing the level of urban population growth between large cities and their surrounding regencies. This analysis clearly shows that the latter has higher population growth than the former.

Past, Present and Future Population Growth and Urban Management in Zimbabwe

2018 ◽  
pp. 1197-1214
Author(s):  
Innocent Chirisa ◽  
Aaron Maphosa ◽  
Lazarus Zanamwe ◽  
Elmond Bandauko ◽  
Liaison Mukarwi
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Urban Infrastructure ◽  
Natural Increase ◽  
Urban Migration ◽  
Urban Management ◽  
Population Growth Rates ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Urban Population Growth

The central focus of this chapter is to analyse the urban population growth–urban management nexus in Zimbabwean cities. These cities are registering rapid population growth rates, due mainly to massive rural to urban migration and natural increase. Ideally, rapid urban population growth rates should be proportionate to urban infrastructure, facilities and services. This is not in the case in Zimbabwean cities, where the development of informal settlements, rising urban poverty, dilapidated urban infrastructure and other urban developmental challenges are rampant. Drawing from Malthusian theory, the current conditions in Zimbabwean cities represents that stage where the positive and negative checks are expected. In putting together this chapter, we used archival sources such as newspapers, government reports and other secondary sources. We conclude that planning initiatives and population control measures need to be used in Zimbabwean cities to address inefficiency and urban management challenges, which may be compromising urban sustainability. This study provides evidence-based information that urban local authorities may use to formulate policies to manage urban problems.

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