When there is an affordable housing deficit, the best option for shelter is often in informal settlements, where residents self-build their own homes over time. Integrating informal settlements into cities, and ensuring that they are adequately serviced by public infrastructure, is a major challenge. With no quick solution, slum upgrading requires years of planning, engagement, and implementation.
In South Africa, a partnership between Cities Alliance, the South African National Department of Human Settlements, and the World Bank to develop a slum upgrading and secure land tenure toolkit. This research-based approach soon became a comprehensive Upgrading Informal Settlements Program, which then became a national mandate. The program also provided technical assistance and contributed to building capacity in provinces across South Africa.
Source:
Habitat for Humanity International. (2021) Best Practices for Housing in Africa. Cities Alliance: Global Knowledge.
Habitat for Humanity International. (2021) Building Solid Ground. Habitat for Humanity International.