INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

This project seeks to understand the urban morphology of what are variously known as 'squatter', 'slum' or 'informal' housing settlements. These are problematic words: a ‘squatter’ lacks land tenure; a ‘slum’ lacks space, durability, water or sanitation; and ‘informal’ implies a lack of control over planning, design and construction. Yet this is the major form of new urban design on the planet – housing over a billion people and projected to double by about 2030. Many squatter settlements have developed over time into well-serviced neighbourhoods – no longer 'slums' and with varying levels of tenure and formality. The prospect is to understand how informal urbanism works and to aid the transformation from 'slums' to decent housing and from 'squatting' to secure tenure.

Collaborators: Wing Raharjo, Ross King