Paper short abstract:

Current policies regarding urban informality tends to focus on providing affordable housing. However, my research shows that residents of informal settlements are heavily dependent on social networks. Therefore, the successful incorporation of social networks in policies must be closely examined.

Paper long abstract:

Much of the scholarly literature and journalistic discourse around urban informality reduces its complexity to the singular theme of a lack of affordable housing. As a result, current policies focus on providing “affordable housing” including upgrading and new development initiatives as the solution to mitigating the proliferation of informal settlements. These policy approaches ignore the fact that while informal settlements begin as a consequence of a lack of affordable housing options for the urban poor, the end result of their spatial organization is often driven by the dependence of its residents on their social networks. Therefore, the act of viewing informal settlements through the reductionist lens of a lack of affordable housing produces policies that ignores, and erases, the established culture of a place. The purpose of this paper is to argue what slums, informal settlements, and squatter encampments offer its residents besides the basic needs of shelter. This paper explores the importance of social networks – political, livelihood, familial, and friendship networks – and its impact on the built environment of informal settlements. By recognizing the importance of social networks and how these relationships shape the built environment of informal settlements, better policies can be crafted using networks as a critical criterion. Policies based on social networks will ease the transition of informal settlement residents into new housing and improved living conditions, and create sustainable projects, thus increasing the likelihood of mitigating the proliferation of informal settlements in sub-Saharan Africa.