Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the encounters of urban dwellers with the state in state-led housing projects in Cape Town and Lagos. Based on the everyday lived experiences of residents the paper argues that for many African urbanites increased formality is often characterised by housing insecurity.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the experiences of urban dwellers in state housing projects in African cities and their encounters with the state in the pursuit of decent and dignified homeownership in Cape Town and Lagos. Using a non-comparative case study approach the paper draws on extensive research in both cities to explore the everyday experiences of state housing bureaucracy and management by residents of Ruo Emoh, Cape Town and Ilasan Jakande Estate, Lagos. Based on a longitudinal methodology, a timeline of the contingent, material, bureaucratic and political practices that define state-led housing projects as well as the encounters between urban dwellers and the state in the process of infrastructure (housing and related services) access and provision is also traced to provide an in-depth insight into everyday lived experiences. Interest in infrastructure has grown rapidly through research exploring how urban residents experience infrastructure in their everyday life, however careful consideration of how everyday practices could potentially inform conceptions of infrastructure and their role in urban production, negotiation and contestation is limited. Access to infrastructure reveals the hidden materialities of cities and reflects and reproduces urban inequality and coping strategies mediated by socio-economic status which could manifest in various ways and outcomes. These varying processes are evident in Ruo Emoh and Ilasan Jakande where after years of struggle, housing security and insecurity are the respective current realities. Based on two African cities the paper argues that despite considerable contextual differences, for many African urbanites increased formality is often characterised by housing insecurity.