Unplanned Urbanisation

Unplanned urbanisation is urban growth that outpaces coordinated provision of land, housing, infrastructure and public services. It creates housing vulnerability when low-income migrants cannot obtain safe, affordable and secure shelter or recover from hazards, eviction and livelihood shocks.

Pathways into insecure housing

Migrants commonly arrive with limited savings, uncertain incomes and weak access to formal rental arrangements. When planned housing supply does not match demand, these constraints push them towards informal settlements, crowded rentals and unserviced urban peripheries.

• High rents, deposits and commuting costs restrict access to formal housing near employment.
• Dependence on casual or informal work makes regular rent payments and long-term tenancy difficult.
• Weak tenure or undocumented rental arrangements increase exposure to eviction, exploitation and frequent displacement.

How planning deficits magnify vulnerability

Unregulated expansion concentrates poorer households on cheaper land that may be environmentally unsafe or poorly connected. The resulting vulnerability is produced not by migration alone, but by exclusionary land markets and inadequate urban planning.

• Settlements on low-lying land, near drains or unstable slopes face greater exposure to floods, fires and structural failure.
• Overcrowding and inadequate water, sanitation, drainage and waste removal increase health risks.
• Non-compliance with building standards can make dwellings unable to withstand hazards.
• Tenure insecurity discourages household investment in safer construction and basic improvements.
• Peripheral locations raise transport costs and separate residents from employment, schools and health services.

Reducing migrant housing vulnerability

Urban policy must treat migrants as residents requiring housing and services rather than as a temporary population. A combination of affordable rental housing, settlement improvement and risk-sensitive planning is necessary.

• Cities should anticipate migration in land-use plans and reserve well-located, serviced land for affordable housing.
• In-situ upgrading should improve water, sanitation, drainage, fire access and structural safety without unnecessary displacement.
• Secure occupancy or transparent rental arrangements can reduce eviction risk and encourage housing improvement.
• Housing policy should be integrated with public transport and livelihood locations to prevent peripheral exclusion.
• Hazard mapping and enforcement of building and land-use norms should prevent new settlement in high-risk areas.

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