the zambian development series: housing
the scale: lusaka is home to more than 70% of zambia's urban population growth — the fastest-urbanising major city in southern africa. of lusaka's population of approaching 3 million, an estimated 60-70% live in informal settlements: kanyama, george, matero, chawama, chibolya, kalingalinga, bauleni, mtendere, and dozens of others.
these are not temporary waypoints. they are permanent, intergenerational communities — some in the same location for more than fifty years, with their own social structures, markets, churches, and dense mutual support networks. what they lack: secure land tenure, formal housing finance, adequate water and sanitation, road access in many areas, and the legal recognition that would allow residents to invest in their homes with the confidence of permanence.
the land tenure challenge: most residents of lusaka's compounds do not hold formal title to the land they occupy. a settlement without title deeds remains trapped in a low-investment equilibrium: residents improve incrementally with cash, without the credit that would allow larger investments in quality and permanence.
the housing finance gap: zambia's formal mortgage market is extremely small relative to the country's population and urbanisation rate — high interest rates, long processing times, large minimum loan sizes.
the informal building economy: brick manufacturers, informal building contractors (fundis), and hardware retailers have built an enormous and largely functional informal building economy. this is the housing system for the majority of lusaka's residents. it is also deeply inefficient in its use of materials, energy, and labour.
the development argument: secure land tenure increases the investment value of existing structures, creates a collateral base for formal lending, and enables the incremental improvements residents will make if given the security to do so. infrastructure provision in existing settlements — roads, water, sanitation, electricity — is also an investment in the asset value and livability of the homes those settlements contain.
a city of 3 million people, of whom the majority live in settlements that formal systems do not adequately serve, is a city with an enormous development challenge and an enormous latent investment opportunity. lusaka's informal settlements are not a problem to be solved. they are a community to be served.
the zambian development series continues. 🇿🇲🏗