Contemporary Models for Pro-Poor Housing in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa

The proportion of the world s urban population is expected to increase to about 57% by 2050, and the share of Africa's urban population is project to increase to 60% by the same year. As a result of this phenomenal growth in urban population, urbanization and urban poverty have begun to dominate the development discourse again after years of focusing on rural development. Housing is a crucial issue for the urban poor, who often lack land to build their own houses or access to financing that would allow them to purchase or build homes and are frequently concentrated in informal settlements with insufficient access to infrastructure, health, and education services. Furthermore, housing provision has largely fallen to central governments, and policy has largely overlooked the capacity of the urban poor as individuals and communities to provide housing for themselves.
 
This book engages these challenges and assumptions, offering insight into political, economic, environmental, and financial frameworks that can help facilitate adequate housing options. Drawing on examples from case studies across sub-Saharan Africa, these contributions center the urban poor in initiatives to develop housing infrastructure, offering lessons for researchers and governments looking to address an ever-escalating housing crisis.

List of contents

An overview of housing and the urban poor South of the Sahara.- Part 1: Embracing inequality in the production process.- Housing facilities challenges for internally displaced households in Bonaberi-Douala, Cameroon.- Housing delivery for the poor in informal settlements:  Contrapuntal urbanism in a postcolonial context of Windhoek, Namibia.- Land assembly for social housing developments and the advancement of spatial transformation: Case of the Aloe Ridge social housing project in Msunduzi Municipality.- From passive victims of elite housing policies to formal decision-making spaces for impactful delivery: Lessons from efforts of urban social movements in Zimbabwe.-Best practices for designing and building alternative models of smart affordable housing for low-income families.- Part 2: Housing finance.- Uncovering the inadequacies of South Africa's housing finance system: A deep dive into the persistent housing challenges.- The search for housing finance in contested housing schemes in post-2000 housing schemes in Harare.- Part 3: Balancing the formal and informal - Innovative trends.- Sport and recreational facilities as catalysts for development and social change in low-income human settlements in Greater Kokstad Municipality, South Africa.- Strategies for sustainable public housing programmes in Bauchi State, Nigeria.- Urban gatekeepers perception and challenges of planning implementation in north-central Nigeria.- Inclusionary housing and mixed-use development as a strategy to house the urban poor: Proposal for a selected precinct of Bloemfontein, South Africa.- (De)Constructing tenure prospects in emerging housing schemes A case study of Harare.- Gender inequality and access to adequate housing provision in Buea, south west of Cameroon.- Backyard dwellings in the City of Cape Town: Implications for urban management.- Housing the urban poor An Epilogue.

About the author

Lovemore Chipungu: holds a PhD in Town and Regional Planning, a Master’s Degree in Rural and Urban Planning as well as a Bachelor of Science Degree (Honours) in Rural and Urban Planning. He is an active member of the Zimbabwe Institute of Regional and Urban Planners as well as a Corporate Member of the South African Planning Institute. He is currently an Professor in the School of the Built Environment and Development Studies, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Professor Chipungu is both a practitioner and academic. In addition, he is an editorial board member of various journals and the Managing Editor of the Journal of Inclusive Cities and the Built Environment. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and books; and his areas of interest are housing policy, land-use planning and urban design. He is currently a co-co-principal investigator on a project on inclusive cities in Southern Africa.
Hangwelani Hope Magidimisha-Chipungu is a full Professor of Town and Regional Planning at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, SARChI Chair for inclusive Cities and a national planning commissioner at the office of the presidency. She is the senior editor of Climate interaction Journal published by Tylor and Francis, the Journal of Inclusive Cities and Built Environment, and she serves on several boards locally and internationally with a focus on the built environment.
Joseph Kamuzhanje: has over 30 years of experience in the development sector. He worked for 15 years in the Department of Physical Planning in the Ministry of Local Government, where he rose to be the Chief Planning Officer for Matebeleland South Province between 2002 and 2007. He holds a BSc in Rural and Urban Planning, and MSc in Regional Development Planning and Management and he is a Professor of Practice in Regional and Urban Planning. He has worked in Government, civil society (both humanitarian and development), and in the private sector. He has contributed to several books and papers on rural, urban, and regional development. He is currently working with the University of Venda (South Africa), University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa) and the Federal University of Technology, Minna (Nigeria), on various publications for books and journals.

Summary

The proportion of the world’s urban population is expected to increase to about 57% by 2050, and the share of Africa's urban population is project to increase to 60% by the same year. As a result of this phenomenal growth in urban population, urbanization and urban poverty have begun to dominate the development discourse again after years of focusing on rural development. Housing is a crucial issue for the urban poor, who often lack land to build their own houses or access to financing that would allow them to purchase or build homes and are frequently concentrated in informal settlements with insufficient access to infrastructure, health, and education services. Furthermore, housing provision has largely fallen to central governments, and policy has largely overlooked the capacity of the urban poor—as individuals and communities—to provide housing for themselves.
 
This book engages these challenges and assumptions, offering insight into political, economic, environmental, and financial frameworks that can help facilitate adequate housing options. Drawing on examples from case studies across sub-Saharan Africa, these contributions center the urban poor in initiatives to develop housing infrastructure, offering lessons for researchers and governments looking to address an ever-escalating housing crisis.

Product details

• Assisted by: Lovemore Chipungu (Editor), Hangwelani Hope Magidimisha-Chipungu (Editor), Kamuzhanje (Editor), Joseph Kamuzhanje (Editor), Hangwelani Hope Magidimisha-Chipungu (Editor)
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 28.11.2025
• EAN: 9783032054883
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3205488-3
• No. of pages: 357
• Illustrations: XII, 357 p. 66 illus., 65 illus. in color.
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Politics and business; Nachhaltigkeit, Sustainability, Regionale Geographie, Humangeographie, land tenure, Housing Policy, Human Geography, Regional Geography, Urban policy, Urbanization, Mixed-use buildings, Housing finance, Urban housing, Housing infrastructure