Impact story: Working with informality

Due to rapid urbanisation and high levels of inequality, informality is an integral part of many African cities. In fact, in some areas, significant portions of the urban landscape are entirely unplanned.

As informal development is not authorised and competes with formal land-use plans, the UNA team found that some municipal officials are, understandably, hesitant to operate in informal areas. Servicing planned areas already requires much time and effort, and so extending service delivery on a mass scale to unplanned parts of the city is challenging.

Through various interventions, the UNA programme has helped to establish mechanisms for collaboration between city officials and informal communities, and has showcased how informal settlement upgrading schemes can be strengthened by integrating nature-based solutions (NBS).