Informal Land Investments and Wealth Accumulation in the Context of Regularization: Case studies from Dar es Salaam and Mwanza

The Urban Land Nexus and Inclusive Urbanization in Dar es Salaam, Khartoum and MwanzaBetween half and three-quarters of new housing development in African cities has been taking place on land acquired through informal channels. This paper offers insights from a study of self-builders’ investments in informal land and housing in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, two of the largest and fastest-growing cities in Tanzania. The findings demonstrate that self-builders’ investments in informal land and self-built housing are inextricably linked with household wealth accumulation processes and long-term security. In light of the research findings, the paper offers reflections on the potential impacts of ongoing land formalization processes. The paper argues that the informal housing system has far more advantages than appreciated by proponents of formalization, that the vision of bringing “dead capital” to life is misleading, and that the anticipated emergence of active formal markets for land and housing may not serve the needs or interests of low- and middle-income households.The research for this paper is part of a project funded by the East Africa Research Hub (EARH) of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), titled “The Urban Land Nexus and Inclusive Urbanization in Dar es Salaam, Khartoum and Mwanza”, led by the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex

Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 Partial Lockdown in Tanzania: Grassroots Responses in Low-Income Communities in Dar es Salaam

This article aims to understand grassroots responses to COVID-19 and how they impacted the well-being of low-income informal communities in Dar es Salaam. An exploratory qualitative research design, using semi-structured questionnaires, was adopted for use in Ubungo Kisiwani and Hanna Nassif settlements. Focus group discussions with select members of the community, including women’s groups, and mtaa (sub-ward) and ten-cell leaders, were held. The selection of respondents took into account the socio-economic and spatial characteristics of the two communities. Although Tanzania’s response to COVID-19 was based on a partial lockdown, these measures led to decline in income and loss of livelihoods among the poor. Likewise, several low-income persons, particularly those working in the hospitality industry, were temporarily retrenched owing to the poor business environment, severely undermining their ability to pay for basic services. The largely collective but limited social capital deployed by grassroots actors were crucial safety nets for the most vulnerable. These have to be acknowledged and coordinated. Mixed land use in informal settlements also proved useful in providing convenient access to the basic needs of households; reducing the need to travel outside one’s neighbourhood, thus enhancing the resilience of the communities

Partnerships to improve access and quality of public transport - a case report: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

This book presents findings from project R7786 Partnerships to improve access and quality of urban public transport for the urban poor carried out by the authors as part of the Knowledge and Research (KaR) programme of the Infrastructure and Urban Development Department, Department for International Development (DFID) of the British Government. The purpose of the project was to identify, explore, and document critical issues in the provision of transport services for and in low-income settlements in developing countries. The identified issues can be used at policy and operational levels to provide better transport services to low-income communities in urban areas. In the research methodology, a sustainable livelihoods framework was used to set the research framework. The city of Dar es Salaam has grown rapidly since the late 1940s. In the 1948 census the population was 69,227; by the census in 1957 it had grown to 128,742. During this period the city remained highly concentrated, with its boundaries on average less than five kilometres from the sea front or the then town centre. The growth has continued and the estimated population in 2000 was 2,286,730, with a continuing annual growth rate of about 4.5 per cent against the national average of 2.8 per cent

Community-based environmental management for malaria control: evidence from a small-scale intervention in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Historically, environmental management has brought important achievements in malaria control and overall improvements of health conditions. Currently, however, implementation is often considered not to be cost-effective. A community-based environmental management for malaria control was conducted in Dar es Salaam between 2005 and 2007. After community sensitization, two drains were cleaned followed by maintenance. This paper assessed the impact of the intervention on community awareness, prevalence of malaria infection, and Anopheles larval presence in drains. A survey was conducted in neighbourhoods adjacent to cleaned drains; for comparison, neighbourhoods adjacent to two drains treated with larvicides and two drains under no intervention were also surveyed. Data routinely collected by the Urban Malaria Control Programme were also used. Diverse impacts were evaluated through comparison of means, odds ratios (OR), logistic regression, and time trends calculated by moving averages. Individual awareness of health risks and intervention goals were significantly higher among sensitized neighbourhoods. A reduction in the odds of malaria infection during the post-cleaning period in intervention neighbourhoods was observed when compared to the pre-cleaning period (OR = 0.12, 95% CI 0.05-0.3, p < 0.001). During the post-cleaning period, a higher risk of infection (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.4, p = 0.0069) was observed in neighbourhoods under no intervention compared to intervention ones. Eighteen months after the initial cleaning, one of the drains was still clean due to continued maintenance efforts (it contained no waste materials and the water was flowing at normal velocity). A three-month moving average of the percentage of water habitats in that drain containing pupae and/or Anopheles larvae indicated a decline in larval density. In the other drain, lack of proper resources and local commitment limited success. Although environmental management was historically coordinated by authoritarian/colonial regimes or by industries/corporations, its successful implementation as part of an integrated vector management framework for malaria control under democratic governments can be possible if four conditions are observed: political will and commitment, community sensitization and participation, provision of financial resources for initial cleaning and structural repairs, and inter-sectoral collaboration. Such effort not only is expected to reduce malaria transmission, but has the potential to empower communities, improve health and environmental conditions, and ultimately contribute to poverty alleviation and sustainable development

Informal Urban Settlements and Cholera Risk in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

In 2008, for the first time in human history, more than half of the world's population was living in urban areas, and this proportion is expected to increase. As a result of poor economic opportunities and an increasing shortage of affordable housing, much of the spatial growth in many of the world's fastest growing cities is a result of the expansion of informal settlements where residents live without security of tenure and with limited access to basic infrastructure. Although inadequate water and sanitation facilities, crowding, and other poor living conditions can have a significant impact on the spread of infectious diseases, analyses relating these diseases to ongoing global urbanization, especially at the neighborhood and household level in informal settlements, have been infrequent. To begin to address this deficiency, we analyzed urban environmental data and the burden of cholera in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We found that cholera incidence was most closely associated with informal housing, population density, and the income level of informal residents. Our analysis suggests that the current growth of many cities in developing countries and expansion of informal settlements will be associated with increased risks to human health, including cholera and other infectious diseases, and underscores the importance of urban planning, resource allocation, and infrastructure placement and management, as the rapidly progressive trend of global urbanization proceeds

Applications of Geographical Information System Infrastructure in urban land management in Tanzania

Community involvement in urban land regularisation process as an urban land management entity in securing tenure decisions process integrations with Geographical Information System (GIS) has long been recognized and discussed in national and international fora for land improvement in informal urban settlements. The challenges emanating from the discussion among others, limited application of GIS tools to create habitable human shelter in the context of urban environmental change, ineffective use of GIS technology in decision making at a local level, lack of updating the index numbers to reflect migratory trends in urban areas and changes of housing ownership in the rapidly growing settlements, which seems unmet. This paper contributes to this evolving debate focusing on how local community participates in land regularisation process and how effectively Geographical Information System can be applied in improving land development and management in urban neighborhoods which have grown as informal settlements. The case of Ubungo Darajani in Dar es Salaam city is taken as an example and it provides lessons potential for community involvement, effective use of Geographical Information System and policy gaps to be addressed in urban land management at the local level.Keywords: Community Involvement, GIS Infrastructure, Land Regularisation, Informal Settlements, Security of Tenur

Formalisation of Unplanned Settlements and Its Implications on Poverty Reduction: The Case of Dar es Salaam City

With about 3 million, Dar es Salaam City—the largest and primary urban centre in Tanzania—has approximately two-thirds of its residents living in informal settlements. About 80% of its residential housing is found in informal settlements that are not formally registered. Properties found in these areas are sound or improvable. Regularisation, which includes formalising informal settlements, can lead to the provision of security of land tenure by issuing residential licenses or certificate of right of occupancy to land and property owners, and also the provision of basic municipal services. This paper discusses the process of formalisation of property rights taking place in informal settlements in Dar es Salaam, and their impacts to the urban poor in those settlements. Findings from recent research in Dar es Salaam show that owners of the regularised properties are using their licenses or certificates to access credit for improving their houses or establishing small business. Although there are several challenges, the paper argues that the experiences in Dar es Salaam may assist in the scaling-up of the regularisation process in other unplanned settlements in most urban centres in Tanzania so as to achieve one of the Millennium Development Goals - Goal 7 Target 11. Key words: regularisation, formalisation, land tenure, property rights, unplanned/informal settlements, poverty reduction, Dar es Salaa

Participation and partnerships in sanitation imporvement in informal housing areas

Informal housing settlements provide shelter to the majority of urban poor in Tanzania. However, most of the informal settlements are characterized by among others, lack of or inadequate basic services like roads and drainage, uncollected solid and liquid waste and drinking water and sanitary facilities. Buguruni Mnyamani is predominantly a low-income housing area and one of the oldest informal settlements in Dar es Salaam. Most households use pit latrines, which are poorly maintained. Recent research findings on malnutrition and other indicators of poverty have categorized Buguruni as one among the settlements with worst living conditions in Dar es Salaam City. In order to address the needs of the residents, a partnership arrangement was forged, in the 1990s, between the community and Plan Tanzania, an international Non-Governmental Organization to build capacity of the local community in order to improve some of the services starting with sanitation. A local community based organization known as CHAMABUMA was also formed to spearhead the improvement of basic infrastructure and community facilities in the area that includes education and health facilities, roads and drainage, and water and sanitation. The challenge was how to improve access of the poor to better sanitation services through the introduction of ventilated improved pit latrines, and to enhance the capacity and management capabilities of local communities. This paper, therefore, presents an analysis of the progressive improvement model of sanitation in Buguruni informal housing area. Its objective is to show how community participation through partnership arrangements and collective action could lead to capacity building spearheaded by Non-Governmental Organisations. Journal of Building and Land Development Vol. 13 (2) 2006: pp. 49-6

Assessment of exposure, coping and adaptation strategies for elements at risk to climate change-induced flooding in urban areas. The case of Jangwani Ward in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania

Urban areas are the engines of socioeconomic growth and the homes of billions of people around the globe. In a changing climate, urban areas are inexorably from vulnerability to climate hazards including flooding which deters their social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The main objective of this paper was to explore exposure to elements at risk due to climate change-induced flooding in urban areas. In addition, the paper analyses the coping and adaptation strategies practiced at the community and national levels and recommends appropriate policy measures for enhanced climate resilience in urban areas. The study adopted purposeful sampling in which n = 95 households were selected for the study. Data collection methods involved household interviews with structured questionnaires, focused group discussions, documentary reviews, transect walks, surveys, and observations. Data analysis was done with a statistical package for social sciences. The results revealed that the elements at risk of exposure to climate change-induced flooding in the study area were physical infrastructures, socio-economic activities, livelihoods, and ecosystems. The study recommends enhancing resilience of elements at risk to climate change-induced flooding at national and local levels in urban areas. This is through promoting flood policies, strategies, laws, planning and management measures; enhance non-structural actions including flood forecasting, mapping, emergency evacuation plans and land use zoning and structural measures namely dams, dikes, storm surge barriers for adaptation to urban flooding