Introduction

The 2006/7 UN Habitat report estimated that globally from 2007 onwards, more people would live in cities than in rural areas. The same report pointed to the problematic situation for the urban poor, often living in conditions that are worse than those of their rural counterpart (UN-Habitat, 2006). Since then, urbanization has continued at high speed, particularly in developing countries. In Africa, for example, overall population growth in urban areas between 2000 and 2010 (3.38 per cent) was over twice as high as rural population growth (1.67 per cent). Whereas 294 million Africans were living in cities in 2010, this figure will rise to 761 million people by 2030 (UN-Habitat, 2011). As a result of this demographic time-bomb, the already problematic living conditions in African slums have further deteriorated.

Demographic expansion is not the only reason, however, that African slums offer such poor living conditions. In many countries, urbanization policies have failed to take account of the needs of urban dwellers living in those slums. In fact, in many countries, urbanization policies aim for a radical modernization of the urban space – in line with the needs of urban elites – without taking into account the diverse and complex needs of other groups of urban inhabitants (Peemans, 2002, 2008). This often leads to what Dorier-Aprill (2007) frames as ‘socio-spatial dualisation’ – resulting from a concentration of resources in the modern neighbourhoods and a drastic lack of provision of basic infrastructure in poor neighbourhoods. Moreover, urban policies are often instrumentalized by richer and politically-connected classes to grab urban space at the expense of poorer population groups that are not able to protect their land rights. The land of the urban poor is being grabbed, people are being evacuated, and compensation schemes are often far from sufficient to secure their livelihoods (Zoomers, 2010).

Similar evolution seems to have taken place in the context of Kigali’s urbanization and modernization processes. Authorities are committed to a drastic transformation of the city into a more competitive and attractive environment, capable of capturing the interest of international, regional and national investors (Kigali City Council, 2002). However, these policy ambitions have a drastic impact upon the organization of space and on local living conditions of the majority of urban dwellers. The stringent conditions for urban settlements in line with the city master plan are unrealistic for a large majority of the urban poor.