Managing Human Waste in Informal Settlements: Bio-centres in Kibera Informal Settlement, Kenya

AbstractApproximately one billion people across the globe are living in informal settlements with a large potential fire risk. Due to the high dwelling density, a single informal settlement dwelling fire may result in a very serious fire disaster leaving thousands of people homeless. In this work, a simple physics-based theoretical model was employed to assess the critical fire separation distance between dwellings. The heat flux and ejected flame length were obtained from a full-scale dwelling tests with ISO 9705 dimension (3.6 m × 2.4 m × 2.4 m) to estimate the radiation decay coefficient of the radiation heat flux away from the open door. The ignition potential of combustible materials in adjacent dwellings are analyzed based on the critical heat flux from cone calorimeter tests. To verify the critical distance in real informal settlement fire, a parallel method using aerial photography within geographic information systems (GIS), was employed to determine the critical separation distances in four real informal settlement fires of 2014–2015 in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa. The fire-spread distances were obtained as well through the real fires. The probabilistic analysis was conducted by Weibull distribution and logistic regression, and the corresponding separation distances were given with different fire spread probabilities. From the experiments with the assumption of no interventions and open doors and windows, it was established that the heat flux would decay from around 36 kW/m2 within a distance of 1.0 m to a value smaller than 5 kW/m2 at a distance of 4.0 m. Both experiments and GIS results agree well and suggest the ignition probabilities at distances of 1.0 m, 2.0 m and 3.0 m are 97%, 52% and 5% respectively. While wind is not explicitly considered in the work, it is implicit within the GIS analyses of fire spread risk, therefore, it is reasonable to say that there is a relatively low fire spread risk at distances greater than 3 m. The distance of 1.0 m in GIS is verified to well and conservatively predict the fire spread risk in the informal settlements.

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Fit-For-Purpose, Private-Sector Led Land Regularization and Financing of Informal Settlements in Brazil

Land ◽

10.3390/land10080797 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 797

Author(s):

Malcolm Childress ◽

Selina Carter ◽

Edgard Barki

Keyword(s):

Private Sector ◽

Business Model ◽

Social Enterprise ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Property Values ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Private Land ◽

Operational Approach ◽

Municipal Governments ◽

Fit For Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the financial and operational approach to land regularization and financing used in Brazil by an innovative private social enterprise in order to demonstrate that the approach widens the concept fit-for-purpose land regularization to include fit-for-purpose land financing, with relevance for wider efforts in informal settlement regularization and upgrading. In this approach, the enterprise acts as a coordinator and broker to organize the residents of informal settlements to regularize their settlements by negotiating buyouts of the underlying private owners at discounted values, handling titling and registration of the occupants, and coordinating with municipal governments to provide infrastructure. The analysis of parcel-level repayment and price data provides evidence of the sustainability of the business model and increase of property values of the regularized parcels. The results presented from the enterprise’s own repayment data demonstrate that under (non-pandemic) historical conditions residents are largely able to pay an affordable monthly payment over 7–10 years to the enterprise for the service to purchase the plots and maintain the enterprise. In operation since 2001, the enterprise has regularized over 20,000 parcels in more than 30 settlements, primarily in the cities of Sao Paolo and Curitiba in Brazil. The approach suggests that it could be widely replicable and add to the set of options for regularizing informal settlements, especially when purchase of private land is required.

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Exploring Just Sustainability in Re-Blocking Intervention in a Johannesburg Informal Settlement

Journal of Asian and African Studies ◽

10.1177/0021909617725771 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 53 (5) ◽

pp. 782-796 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Olumuyiwa Bayode Adegun

Keyword(s):

Environmental Justice ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Environmental Problems ◽

Urban Housing ◽

Material Distribution ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Institutional Structures ◽

Just Sustainability

Addressing intertwined socio-economic and environmental problems in informal urban areas underscores the need for just sustainability. The co-production of urban housing provides a useful domain to link issues related to sustainability with social and environmental justice. Using the example of an informal settlement re-blocking project, this paper shows how co-production as an approach might or might not promote principles ingrained in just sustainability. The study relied on data collected through semi-structured interviews with residents and key informants as well as transect walks within the settlement. The case shows that working towards just sustainability is not straight-forward. It demands efforts that navigate, with foresight rather than hindsight, the dynamics in multi-scalar contexts into which informal settlements are embedded. Social and institutional structures, processes and relationships producing and reproducing material distribution are crucial to entrenching the just sustainability praxis.

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The Role of Human Capital Factors on Poverty in Informal Settlement: Informal Settlement of Sheikh-Hasan, Mashhad City, Iran

Journal of Sustainable Development ◽

10.5539/jsd.v10n4p22 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 22

Author(s):

Javad Barati ◽

Sahar Soltani ◽

Simin Froogh-Zadeh ◽

Farzaneh Razaghian

Keyword(s):

Human Capital ◽

Urban Poverty ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Household Head ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Poverty Line ◽

Education Level ◽

Poverty Level ◽

Mashhad City ◽

Household Members

This paper investigates the determinants of multi-dimension poverty in informal settlements of Mashhad City. It specially analyzes human capital factors, among factors that influence poverty level. Education, skills, experience and knowledge have important role in promoting income level and in access to sustainable jobs, especially in informal settlements that have lower human capital level than the urban areas other. Mashhad city has most marginal settlements in Iran. Sheikh-Hasan Neighborhood in Mashhad Municipality region 4 has been selected as case study. This study is based on information gathered from household level in 2016 and the ordered logit model is employed to estimate factors influencing urban poverty. Data were obtained from 300 households using the questionnaire Through the Systematic Random technique. Calculation of poverty indexes reveals that nearly 87% of households are below absolute poverty line and 20% of households are below extreme poverty line. Marginal effects show variables of “job stability”, “Ownership”, “Household size” and “Education of household head” have the greatest impact on poverty alleviation. Also, variables of “Education level” and “highest level of education of household members” have positive effect and significant on poverty. Results represent that poverty in informal settlements of Mashhad is strongly linked to factors such as human capital. In addition, with increasing the level of knowledge of household heads and creation of favorable conditions for increasing of the education level of household members can reduce poverty.

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Architecture & Legitimacy: Strategies for the Development of Urban Informal Settlements

10.32920/ryerson.14654034 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel D. Pressick

Keyword(s):

Urban Poor ◽

Social Economic ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Global City ◽

The People ◽

Urban Informal Settlements ◽

Cultural Networks ◽

The City ◽

Autonomous Development

Currently, 1 in 6 people live in slums, or informal settlements in cities throughout the developing world. They are built illegally and are characterized by lack of proper sanitation, unsafe housing, and crowded living conditions. Despite their appearance, informal settlements are legitimate communities; they are vibrant, with sophisticated social, economic and cultural networks that support the livelihoods of residents who call them home. These communities give the urban poor a physical place within the city, giving them access to the opportunities and advantages that the current age of the 'global city' can offer to any willing participant. As architects who see the responsibility in choosing the informal settlement as a realm for engagement, this thesis proposes that any architectural intervention be mindful of the importance of the networks contained within the streets and buildings of the informal settlement. By preserving the built-fabric of the settlement, the architect legitimizes the settlement's density and scale, while ensuring the urban poor have a physical place in the city. They have managed to develop their own communities without any investment from outside forces, any intervention should only support that autonomous development. These structures, as well as the people and activities with them, are vital to the survival of residents of informal settlements.

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ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING: EVALUATING SOLAR POTENTIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS USING GRASS AND FREELY AVAILABLE DATA

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-4-w8-69-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol XLII-4/W8 ◽

pp. 69-76

Author(s):

L. Hassim ◽

S. Coetzee ◽

V. Rautenbach

Keyword(s):

Informal Settlement ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Urban Fringe ◽

Safe Alternative ◽

Open Source Gis ◽

Basic Services ◽

Alternative Sources ◽

Gis Software ◽

The City ◽

Electricity Infrastructure

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Informal settlements, also known as slums or shanty towns, are characterised by rapid and unstructured expansion, poorly constructed buildings, and in some cases, they are on disputed land. Such settlements often lack basic services, such as electricity. As a result, informal settlement dwellers turn to hazardous alternative sources of energy, such as illegal electricity connections and paraffin. Solar power is a clean and safe alternative. However, informal settlements are often located on undesirable land on the urban fringe where the topography may hinder the use of solar energy. The high density of dwellings could also be a hindrance. Therefore, the solar potential needs to be assessed before any implementations are planned. Solar potential assessment functionality is generally available in geographic information system (GIS) products. The nature, cost and accessibility of datasets required for the assessment vary significantly. In this paper, we evaluate the results of solar potential assessments using GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) for a number of different datasets. The assessments were done for two informal settlements in the City of Tshwane (South Africa): Alaska, which is nestled on a hill; and Phomolong, a densely populated settlement with a rather flat topography. The results show that solar potential assessments with open source GIS software and freely available data are feasible. This eliminates the need for lengthy and bureaucratic procurement processes and reduces the financial costs of assessing solar potential for informal settlements.</p>

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TRANSITION FROM INFORMAL TO SUSTAINABLE SETTLEMENT

Construction Materials and Products ◽

10.34031/2618-7183-2019-2-6-44-49 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 44-49

Author(s):

Merdassa Feven Tariku

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Addis Ababa ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Research Problem ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Governmental Organizations ◽

Non Governmental Organizations ◽

The City

The article is devoted to the features of informal settlement in Addis Ababa and the role of governmental and non-governmental organizations and public participation in the sustainable development of informal settlements. The purpose of the article is to identify the main types and characteristics of informal settlements and to reveal the factors that hinder the success of programs for updating informal settlements in the city. The research methods were the analysis and generalization of domestic and foreign literature on this research problem. The main conclusion of this study is that the principles of folk architecture are integral components of solutions for the sustainable development of informal settlements.

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Informal Settlement Upgrading and the Rise of Rental Housing in São Paulo, Brazil

Journal of Planning Education and Research ◽

10.1177/0739456x211065495 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 0739456X2110654

Author(s):

Kristine Stiphany ◽

Peter M. Ward ◽

Leticia Palazzi Perez

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Rental Housing ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

São Paulo ◽

Methodological Study ◽

Urban Informality ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Public Investments

Rental housing was historically a minimal feature of urban informality. Now it is surging amid municipal attempts to “upgrade” informal settlements in São Paulo, Brazil. Drawing upon a mixed-methodological study of two favelas on São Paulo’s east side, we analyze how cycles of upgrading shape informal rental housing at the urban, community, block, and parcel levels, providing detailed comparative data for 2010–2020. Our findings suggest that rental housing redevelopment can increase precarity in urban living, but is an important source of low-income housing in already built-up and “consolidated” settlements where access is declining. Our study emphasizes the need for scholars, policy makers, and planners to further explore the praxis of informal renting and rental housing, which can be effective conduits for channeling public investments across consolidated informal settlements and into individual dwellings.

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Social capital and perceived tenure security of informal housing: Evidence from Beijing, China

Urban Studies ◽

10.1177/00420980211033085 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 004209802110330

Author(s):

Mengzhu Zhang

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Property Rights ◽

Low Income ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Psychological Explanation ◽

Urban China ◽

Tenure Security

Perceived tenure security is recognised to affect the socioeconomic behaviours and wellbeing of informal settlement dwellers. The provision of perceived tenure security is centred on the developmental agenda as a key policy alternative of tenure legalisation. Despite the consensus about its importance, the reason perceived tenure security is different amongst dwellers remains unclear. To fill this gap, we introduce social capital theory to understand the formation of and disparity in perceived tenure security. The hypotheses are that dwellers living in informal settlements with higher collective social capital and having higher individual social capital tend to feel more secure on their tenure because of higher backing power attained to deter the threats of eviction. We examine the hypotheses using a structural equation model approach to a dataset collected from three small property rights housing communities, which are emerging informal settlements in urban China. Modelling results support our hypotheses and suggest that female, low-income and migrant dwellers tend to feel less secure on their tenure because of the lack of social capital to deter the threats to their tenure. This study contributes to a new sociological explanation for the disparity in perceived tenure security other than the established psychological explanation. Empirically, this study contributes to the understanding of the rapid development of small property rights housing developments in China from the perspective of how dwellers develop security on informal tenure.

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Reclaiming On-Site Upgrading as a Viable Resilience Strategy-Viabilities and Scenarios through the Lens of Disaster-Prone Informal Settlements in Metro Manila

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su122410600 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (24) ◽

pp. 10600

Author(s):

Juan Du ◽

Stefan Greiving

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Informal Settlement ◽

National Level ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Community Resilience ◽

The Philippines ◽

Disaster Mitigation ◽

City Development ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Metro Manila

The Philippines is argued as the only Southeast Asian country where informal settlers’ communities have been self-organized and produced discernible impacts on the country’s urban policies. As one of the high risk countries, fifty percent of the country’s informal settlements are located in danger and disaster-prone areas. However, informal settlement upgrading has not reached its significance in disaster mitigation and community resilience building. At the national level, on-site upgrading is not established in disaster risk management or climate change adaptation strategies, which explains the lack of strategic approaches for local implementation. Metro Manila serves as a suitable backdrop in this sense to study informal settlement upgrading under the condition of high risk and rapid urbanization with a high civil society engagement. This study investigates the underlined reasons why upgrading strategically falls short in addressing disaster mitigation and community resilience building. Theoretically, it questions what on-site upgrading is about. Empirically, two hazard-prone informal settlement communities within Metro Manila are examined with their different risk profiles, community development needs and resilience priorities. The core issues of upgrading are, therefore, differentiated at the settlement level with communities’ innate socio-economic and eco-spatial features over time. Meanwhile, the paper heightens the necessity of tackling on-site upgrading at the settlement level and articulating settlements’ spatial correlations with the city development, so as to sustain upgrading outcomes. In addition, this study attempts at setting up a range of scenarios conditioned with COVID pandemic fallout. It endeavors to provide another facet of how to deal with adaptation and resilience. This includes the urgent strategy shift in the housing sector and its financial sustainability, innovative mechanisms to manage uncertainty and risks, lessons for post-COVID planning, etc.

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