Housing Regeneration in Developing Countries - Research Paper Example

 Housing Regeneration in Developing Countries Abstract Rapid urbanization is very pronounced in developing countries, especially in African nations. The purpose of this paper is to examine the evidence of rapid urbanization in developing countries, its causes, indicators and consequences. We will then focus on its impact on provision of urban housing, and what determining factors are considered when seeking interventions in housing in developing nations. The first chapter gives a background of the issues under discussion, as well as giving a definition of key terms. Chapter two explains the urbanization trends as experienced in developing nations, as well as their indicators. Chapter three zeroes in on the problem of housing as experienced in developing nations as well as their causes. Chapter four discusses the factors that should be considered in housing interventions for developing nations. Chapter five gives a summary of urban generation, some of its approaches as well as sample case studied from two African nations. Chapter six gives a conclusion for the whole document. List of Figures Figure 1: Percentage of the world’s Urban vs. Rural population Figure 2: Comparing urban population in developed vs. developing nations Figure 3: Urban sprawl spatial pattern in San Jose, California Abbreviations and Acronyms UN United Nations CBD Central Business District ARP Alexandra Renewal Project NGO Non-governmental Organization CBO Community based organization Table of Contents Abstract......................................................................................................................................ii List of Tables and Figures..........................................................................................................iv Abbreviations and Acronyms.....................................................................................................iv Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................v 1.0 Introduction....................................................................................................................1 2.0 Trends in Developing Nations........................................................................................3 3.0 The Problem of Housing.................................................................................................3 4.0 Factors to consider in Housing Development Interventions...................................................................................................................7 5.0 Urban Regeneration Approaches....................................................................................10 6.0 Conclusions....................................................................................................................13 7.0. References......................................................................................................................14 1.0 Introduction A report by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, UNCHS-Habitat (2001 cited by Dimuna and Omatsone, 2010) noted that nearly half of the world’s population are now city dwellers, and that more than a billion of these city residents live in inadequate housing mainly due to rapid urbanization. Figure 1: Percentage of the world’s Urban vs. Rural population Source: United Nations Nearly 80% of city dwellers live in slum or squatter settlements without adequate water, lighting, sanitation and waste disposal. This increase in urban population is brought about mainly by migration of the rural population into towns or cities. This trend has been mostly felt in developing nations, mostly found in Africa and parts of Asia and Latin America (Couch, 1990). The term urban or urbanization has numerous definitions. The Advanced Learners’ Dictionary defines urban as: “of relating to, or living in a city or town”. The Webster New Collegiate Dictionary adds: having “characteristics of, or constituting a city or town”. Therefore, we can summarize that the term urban refers to that which depicts the inherent characteristics of a city or town. Levy (1998) defines a city as “a concentration f people with a distinctive way of life, in terms of employment patterns and organization”. Childe (1950) lists the criteria of urbanisms, some of which include the concentration of a large number of people, a redistributive economic mode and developed social stratification among others. The definition of urban areas differs from one country to another. However, they can be simply described in relation to the roles they play and the level of services they provide. Urbanization is mainly due to rural to urban migration, natural population increase and annexation (Cohen, 2006). As a result of the rapid urbanization in many developing countries, urban areas face a myriad of problems such as rapid population growth and high densities; inadequate provision of water and electricity; and inadequate housing, infrastructure, utilities and social facilities. All these have led to urban decay, especially of older inner-city areas, and urban sprawl as new developments move outwards of the city into the rural hinterland, making for human settlements which are not sustainable, functional or up to globally acceptable standards. This brings rise to the question of urban regeneration, also referred to as urban renewal as an approach to reversing this trend. This can be defined as the process of revitalizing cities and towns so as to improve their function and competitiveness. 2.0 Trends in Developing Nations According to Cohen (2006), countries’ desire to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the set deadline of 2015 will largely depend on their ability to manage the growth of their cities. When well managed, they offer vast opportunities for socio-economic development as cities have always been the focus of economic growth, employment innovation and technology. However, managing city growth becomes increasingly difficult especially because of the speed and scale at which urban transformation occurs. City growth has adverse effects especially to the “surrounding environment, to natural resources, to health conditions, to social cohesion, and to individual rights.” The most important, however, would be the increase of urban poor. According to the UN-HABITAT (2004 as cited by Cohen, 2006) the proportion of urban poor in a large number of the world’s poorest countries is increasing faster than the overall rate of growth of the urban population. Figure 2: Comparing urban population in developed vs. developing nations Source:University of Michigan Over the next 30 years, urban population growth, expected to be particularly rapid in developing countries, is expected to average 2.3 percent. For example, Africa, where the people are still dependant in agriculture, is still predominantly rural; by 2000, around 20 percent of its population lived in urban areas. However, if the rate of growth continues as expected, there will be more ‘millionaire cities’ in Africa than in Europe or North America. (Cohen, 2006) 3.0 The Problem of Housing These statistics then bring with them a grim realization: rapid urbanization must have a bearing on how today’s cities are able to house their population (Couch, 1990). One of the primary roles of cities is the provision of housing; this is actually regarded as its first urban function. Other functions would be the provision of work/employment, recreation, transportation and communication (or simply, accessibility). As mentioned above, the massive influx of the populace into urban areas has led to provision of inadequate housing, urban decay and sprawl. According to Childe (1950) the city evolved out of man’s primary need for shelter; thus, it should function in such a way as to help its population achieve better standards of life as well as promote social living and peace. This residential function is reflected in the different housing typologies and often covers up to 40 percent of the town area. The city itself provides the framework that shapes the living conditions in its dwellings, which should then only be considered in relation to its surrounding environment, which is to say its site and neighbourhood. Thus, the main problems that are experienced in or associated with housing include the following: a) Population Density and Overcrowding Population density refers to the number of people living per given area (usually acre or hectare). In general, population is usually denser in the older central parts of a city, where land values have also continued to increase. Here, landowners usually build apartments r extensions so as to reverse this trend without affecting their income (Childe, 1950). This not only increases densities in these areas, but also eats into open spaces and recreational areas that gave the neighbourhood its character. Crowding in housing is when there are more people than rooms, while overcrowding means that there are at least twice as many people as rooms. This situation is very apparent in most developing countries. b) Slums and Squatter Settlements A slum refers to housing that is so inadequate or deteriorated as to endanger the health, safety or morals of its inhabitants. Inadequacy in housing may be observed in lack of privacy, lack of ventilation, lack of recreation spaces around the dwelling, lack of plants and vegetation, undue proximity to traffic, poor heating and plumbing, fire hazards, lack of proper sanitation and sanitation facilities as well as high rates of dependency, crime, illiteracy, illness and mortality. On the other hand, squatter settlements are a bit different (Childe, 1950). They may exhibit the same characteristics as slums, but the major distinction is the security of tenure: squatters are staying on land which does not belong to them, which may not be the case with slums. c) Wrong Siting of Housing The main challenge to accessing suitable sites for residential development, especially by the less privileged, is the high land values. Usually, the sites they can afford to access are characterized by air pollution, uncontrolled traffic, poor transportation facilities and are prone to natural as well as other environmental hazards. This situation is most times aggravated by poor legislation. d) Urban Sprawl Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts on low-density rural land. Figure 3: Urban sprawl spatial pattern in San Jose, California Source: Wikipedia Modern suburbs often develop rapidly without neither planning intervention nor development control. The development of a proper transportation system, be it merely road or supplemented by rail, or any other means, has meant that previous restrictions on movement have been removed and so the outward growth has increased. Historically, during the industrial revolution, urban sprawl was caused by the moving out of the upper class from the core city regions with the development of good transport routes (Childe, 1950). This was also caused by the low standard of living at the core, with high levels of air pollution, caused by the concentration of industries there. As the richer people began to move outwards, so did the industries, which were the main source of employment for the people then. With this sources of income gone, the inner cities began to deteriorate and decay, while the peripheral areas, previously predominantly rural, began to be transformed ad take on an urban and sometimes pseudo-urban (or peri-urban) nature (Ministry of Housing, The Netherlands, 1987). There is however another school of thought emerging in discussions about urban sprawl: that which does not view it in such a negative light per se. Its proponents argue that urban sprawl is characterized by several land use patterns that usually occur simultaneously. These are discussed below: i. Single-use zoning According to Levy (1998) single-use zoning refers to when different land uses like residential, industrial or commercial are segregated and zoned away from each other. As a result, a greater area of land is devoted to a particular use and these separate activity sites (land uses) are separated from each other by open space or physical infrastructure. However, the result of this is that the places where people live, work etc. are far away from each other, often requiring the use of a vehicle to access them. ii. Low-density zoning It is argued that urban sprawl propagates the sustainable use of land as new zoning laws encourage low-density developments, and so results in fewer housing units per unit area. Apartment complexes have fewer stories and are more widely spaced apart, and more land is reserved for parking. iii. Car-dependant communities There is high dependency on cars for transportation between far-flung activity sites, where even walking or other modes of transportation are not practical. This has led to the emergence of people sorely dependant on the car. iv. Spatial mismatch and Job sprawl Job sprawl is the low-density, geographically spread-out employment patterns, where most of these are concentrated in the city’s CBD as well as the peripheral areas. Spatial mismatch refers to the situation where the urban poor are left without access to entry-level jobs due to increase in job sprawl and lack of commuting options. However, overall, we note that urban sprawl is detrimental to city growth and development. It causes decay of the core regions, and has a detrimental impact to the character, environment and ecosystem of the peripheral areas. It causes the agricultural hinterland to be swallowed up into the rural fabric, raising concerns of the people’s food security. Dimuna and Omatsone (2010) declared that “the aim of creating self sustaining cities is inhibited by urban sprawl as development is uncontrolled.” e) Inadequacy of Community Facilities Community facilities are very important to city life. They are also referred to as social infrastructure and include schools, health facilities, open spaces, and community halls among others. They contribute to the health, education and recreation of the residents. Easy access to these facilities represents a distinct advantage of living in the city. However, these community facilities are sorely underprovided in today’s cities, and are most times very far from the residents they are supposed to serve. 4.0 Housing Development Interventions Urban housing can be characterized as upper, lower or middle income housing. There always seems to be an acute shortage of urban housing; overcrowding, especially in the low income areas; sub-standard housing because of the materials used; and the poor provision of infrastructure, social services and utilities. Various challenges facing the provision of urban housing are as follows: i. High rate of urbanization As a result of this, both the government a well as private sector developers are unable to keep up with the demand for housing in the urban areas. ii. Increase in urban poverty The increase in urban poverty in developing nations is as a direct of different aspects such as poor economic performance brought about by drought, civil strife, lack of technological innovation or even poor government policy; low level of international investments in these countries, mostly due to an unfavourable business environment; unfair trade treaties; and unstable world prices of different commodities, especially in economies that are mostly agro-based (Levy, 1998). iii. Poor condition of public-sector housing For example, in Kenya, this is particularly rampant in the old colonial estates such as Shauri Moyo or Mbotela. iv. Fragmented policy Most governments in developing countries have a fragmented policy on land and housing issues, which hamper its provision. Sorely lacking is also an implementation framework for the existing policy. v. Gap in demand and supply Cohen (2006) asserts that in developing countries like Kenya, the average housing demand averages at about 140,000 units per annum, with both public and private developers being able to meet only half of this demand. This gap between demand and supply is huge, as compared to rates in the developed world. Some of the development interventions for housing that can be applied for developing nations are as follows: i. Revitalizing public sector housing Public sector housing is usually the cheapest, thus the most accessible form of housing to low income earners, in developing countries. However, due to breakdown of these institutions, they are also the most dilapidated and inhabitable forms of housing in these countries. Thus, there is need to revitalize this sector. ii. Provision of affordable housing Affordable housing is simply used to describe housing whose total costs are deemed to be affordable to a group of people within a specified income range; that is, where the total housing costs do not exceed 30 percent of the total gross income. iii. Developing policy which is concise, complete and addresses all the needs of the housing sector. iv. Building standards and By-laws sometimes tend to be unrealistic, so these should be revised to ensure a vibrant construction industry as well as development of affordable housing. However, the success of whichever approach is chosen rests on a number of determining factors: i. The target group – Housing developed should be within the reach of the target group, be it high, middle or income earners. However, this is not often the case, and leads to uneconomical developments. ii. The cost of production – This is determined by the cost of materials, labour and land among others. It will determine the buying or rental price of the unit, and is itself determined by the building standards, by-laws about building materials and construction procedure as followed in the different countries (Cohen, 2006). iii. Location – This is an important consideration when determining the densities, land prices as well as the desires of the other land owners. iv. Housing need – This is mainly determined by the family size and status, its knowledge of the housing market, its readiness to own or rent as well as its desire to relocate. v. Willingness to buy/rent – This is also referred to as the purchase orientation and is determined by the available financial options, societal expectations (especially in the developing world), individual lifestyle, self-actualization as well as personal fulfilment. 5.0 Urban Regeneration Approaches We have already defined urban renewal/regeneration as the process of reshaping or revitalizing the fabric of towns and cities through replacement or renovation in order to improve the function and competitiveness of such urban areas (Cohen, 2006). Urban renewal is important for the following reasons: i. As more people live in large urban areas, towns and cities become larger and older. As a result, renewal has to take place. ii. Concern is raised about the expansion of urban areas into the rural hinterland while large quantities of urban land and buildings are abandoned in the core. Thus, there is need to direct resources to the proper reuse or redevelopment f the existing urban fabric. Conventionally, urban renewal includes the following actions, among others: i. Improving, renovating and reconstructing housing, public spaces, greenery, transport infrastructure, and social amenities. ii. Preventing dilapidation through better maintenance, replacement and adjustment of buildings, public spaces and the environment. iii. Maintaining the appearance and special characteristics of cities, for example historic areas. iv. Intensifying use of urban space for more economically and environmentally viable uses. v. Adopting infrastructure, public transport, streets, parking spaces, footpaths among other urban equipment into older city district to make them correspond to modern needs. The scope of urban renewal is wide: it involves physical transformation, where it is a means of dealing with derelict land and infrastructure, for example through renovation of buildings and their surrounding infrastructure, or using urban wastelands for different functions such as housing or recreation; social transformation, where it is supposed to result in changes in the people’s living conditions; and economic transformation, where regeneration bringing urban areas into renewed existence through renewal of investments (Cohen, 2006). We can look at a number of case studies to illustrate the process and value of urban renewal to developing countries. Case Study of Nigeria According to Dimuna and Omatsone (2010) the rapid rate of urbanization in Nigeria has not been met by a corresponding supply of adequate housing, infrastructure, community facilities and social amenities. This has led to the development of many slums and informal settlements. Another major reason for the urban decay witnessed in Nigeria has been negligence and irresponsible civil management. Thus, the urban regeneration programme will aim to provide adequate and sanitary housing and rebuild the deteriorated areas of the city by restoration and refurbishment of these areas. In this context, “urban regeneration is defined a deliberate effort to change the urban environment through planned large scale adjustment of existing city areas to present and future requirements for urban living and working.” (Osuide 2004 cited by Dimuna and Omatsone, 2010) The main aim of the project will then be to rebuild dilapidated regions of the city as well as to provide housing for the urban population. It will be executed through a series of steps (Dimuna and Omatsone, 2010): i. Acquisition of land This is done through negotiations with the land owners or through compulsory acquisition by the government. The value of the land is determined by independent property appraisers. ii. Displacement and relocation After compensation, the natives of the selected area are supposed to be relocated satisfactorily. iii. Site clearance Any building that is not part of the regeneration plan, and so not considered useful by the authorities is cleared to pave way for new development. iv. Site improvement The cleared site is then improved through construction of new streets, installation of electricity and water mains, and construction of schools, parks among others. v. Disposal of improved land The improved sites can then be sold, leased, donated or retained by the authorities. However, the land is sold to private developers through competitive bidding. vi. New construction New works may be fulfilling any use, but the developer is required to abide by a general plan approved by the authorities. Case Study of South Africa An urban renewal project called the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) was carried out in Alexandra in northern Johannesburg, South Africa (Cohen, 2006). It was one of the urban nodes in the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development and Urban Renewal Programme initiated by the then president, Thabo Mbeki, on February 9, 2001. It was a key step in the government’s response to addressing South Africa’s economic, social and physical challenges. The project was to be carried out over a period of 7 years at an estimated cost of 1.3 billion South African Rand. Cohen (2006) reveals that the ARP aimed at changing the economic, physical and social fabric of the township of Alexandra, and was a joint programme of the government, private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as community based organizations (CBOs). 26 infrastructure projects and 12 housing projects have been implemented in Alexandra so far. 6.0 Conclusion Considering the above discussion, we can then conclude that developing nations face many challenges in housing its urban population. This is mainly due to the rapid rate of urbanization that they experience. Most times, this then leads to urban decay as well as urban sprawl. However, urban regeneration provides a perfect solution to this problem. Various approaches of the same can be applied, as revealed in the case studies of Alexandra, South Africa and Nigeria. 7.0. References Childe, G., (1950), The Urban Revolution. Town Planning Review, 21. P.3-17 Cohen, B., (2006), Urbanization in Developing Countries: Current Trends, Future Projections and Key Challenges for Sustainability, Technology in Society. Couch, C., (1990), Urban Renewal Theory and Practice, London: Macmillan Education Ltd. Dimuna, K and Omatsone, M., (2010), Regeneration of the Nigerian Urban Built Environment, Journal of Human Ecology, 29(2). Levy, J., (1998), Contemporary urban Planning, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Ministry of Housing, The Netherlands, (1987), An Area-Based Approach to Urban Renewal, The Hague; Netherlands ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment. Read More