Outrage: ‘Coordinated housing reform is crucial for cities in Africa to work’ | Thinkpiece | Architectural Review
▻https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/outrage-coordinated-housing-reform-is-crucial-for-cities-in-africa-to-work/10019138.article
In unplanned urban growth and informal settlements where the quality of life is low and land use is highly inefficient, effective policy is essential
A $3.5 billion social housing project developed on the outskirts of Angola’s capital, Luanda, offers apartments starting at $120,000 in a country where per-capita incomes are just over $4,000. It’s indicative of a wider crisis in urban development in many African cities.
Across the developing world, the pace of urbanisation has outstripped the ability of governments to provide decent and affordable housing for low-income residents. Urban growth has proceeded through unplanned, sprawling informal settlements where quality of life is low and land use is often highly inefficient. With cities in Africa set to triple in size by 2050, coordinated policy to increase housing supply is essential.
‘Where housing has been delivered, it is often beyond the reach of low-income residents, and poorly suited to the needs of poorer communities’