Utilizing Learnings of Informal Settlements in Community Planning:

Abstract: Informal settlements, or unplanned sectors of the city, are vital for providing shelter for low and middle income households in the developing world. In the case of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, informal settlements have a long history dating back to the early colonial beginnings and today provide housing to over 70% of the city. In these densely populated environments of the informal sector, residents freely create environments that contain desirable characteristics of neighborhood planning, including shared open space, local economy, and community participation. These environments have the potential to create environments that have a resilient local economy and deeper sense of place, however without access to municipal infrastructure and land tenure, these environments have little chance to reach their full potential. A new approach is necessary to unite both the characteristics of the informal settlements and the sensibilities of the planned developments. My thesis utilizes a new approach, which unites aspects of both the formal and planned settlements to create a new neighborhood on the grounds of a former meatpacking factory and pasture in the Kawe neighborhood of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.