Unplanned Urbanisation

Unplanned urbanisation is urban growth that outpaces coordinated provision of land, housing, infrastructure and public services. It produces unsafe housing when affordability and tenure constraints push households into overcrowded, hazard-prone or poorly constructed neighbourhoods that lack basic services and emergency access.

Pathways into insecure housing

When planned housing supply does not match demand, low-income migrants with limited savings, uncertain incomes and weak access to formal rentals are pushed towards informal settlements, crowded rentals and unserviced 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 dense neighbourhoods become unsafe

High density becomes dangerous when it combines with deficient planning, services and regulation. Exclusionary land markets concentrate poorer households on cheaper land, while limited space encourages overcrowding and incremental construction without adequate attention to structural safety.

• Dwellings on low-lying land, near drains or unstable slopes face greater exposure to floods, fires and structural failure.
• Closely spaced buildings, combustible materials, unsafe electrical connections and narrow lanes can accelerate fires and obstruct emergency access.
• Additional floors or alterations that do not comply with building standards may overload structures or reduce ventilation and safe exits.
• Inadequate water, sanitation, drainage and waste removal increase disease, waterlogging and environmental health risks.
• Tenure insecurity discourages household investment in safer construction, while peripheral locations raise transport costs and separate residents from jobs, schools and health services.

Reducing housing vulnerability

Urban policy must treat migrants as residents requiring housing and services rather than as a temporary population. It should combine affordable rental housing, settlement improvement and risk-sensitive planning.

• Land-use plans should anticipate migration 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 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.