Governance of Informal Settlements in Africa: Challenges, Stakeholder Roles, and Pathways to Inclusive Urban Development

Illustrative Image: Governance of Informal Settlements in Africa: Challenges, Stakeholder Roles, and Pathways to Inclusive Urban Development
Image Source & Credit: Brookings Institution
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A recent study by Ewnetu, B. M., & Seo, B. K. (2025) titled “Governance of urban informal settlements in Africa: A scoping review” published in Heliyon, reveals that governance of informal settlements in Africa is hindered by resource limitations, fragmented stakeholder roles, weak governmental capacity, and lack of coordinated, inclusive governance models.

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Fragmented governance, weak institutions, and limited resources hinder effective, inclusive management of Africa’s informal settlements.

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– Ewnetu, B. M., &a Seo, B. K. 2025

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of how slums and informal settlements are managed across the African continent. It examines the key governance challenges, the roles of various stakeholders, and existing governance models and identifies research gaps that must be addressed to improve urban management. A major finding of the review is the persistent governance challenges that hinder effective management of informal settlements. These include severe resource deficits, such as limited access to land, insufficient funding, poor infrastructure, and overall mismanagement. Governments are often constrained by weak institutional capacity, a lack of political will, poor interagency coordination, and the absence of strategic frameworks tailored to the realities of informal urban development. Moreover, stakeholder conflicts—arising from misaligned interests between local authorities, civil society groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector—further complicate collaboration and implementation of effective interventions.

The review identifies two main governance models in practice. The first is a prescriptive, top-down approach, where governments lead with rigid rules and policies. While structured, this model often neglects the lived realities of informal residents. In contrast, more innovative, bottom-up approaches emphasize community participation, inclusive decision-making, and collaborative governance involving civil organizations and residents themselves. Each stakeholder in the urban governance ecosystem plays a distinct yet interconnected role. Governments are responsible for policy development, resource allocation, and regulation enforcement. Local communities serve as vital agents in advocating for their needs, fostering trust, and contributing to grassroots initiatives. Civil organizations, including NGOs and community-based groups, help bridge gaps by delivering services, resolving conflicts, and enhancing capacity. The private sector can contribute by investing in infrastructure, housing, and employment, bringing sustainability and scale to urban development projects.

How the Study was Conducted

This scoping review systematically maps the current body of research on the governance of informal settlements across Africa. Guided by the PRISMA-ScR framework for scoping reviews, the study adopted Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage methodology to define research questions, identify relevant literature, screen findings, and extract and synthesize data.

A comprehensive search was conducted using three major academic databases—Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science—to capture a broad range of peer-reviewed and grey literature. The search covered publications from 2002 to 2023 and was restricted to English-language sources. Keywords were strategically combined to cover a wide spectrum of relevant terms, including “governance,” “informal settlement,” “squatter settlement,” “urbanisation,” “housing,” “slums,” and “African countries.”

The inclusion criteria focused on studies that addressed governance, policy, and institutional frameworks concerning informal settlements in African countries. Eligible sources included peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, theses, book chapters, and grey literature. Studies that were not centered on Africa, as well as those outside the publication window or lacking relevance, were excluded.

From an initial pool of 2,377 studies, duplicates were removed, reducing the count to 2,350. After a thorough title and abstract screening, 2,283 articles were excluded, leaving 67 full-text studies for review. Ultimately, 30 studies met all inclusion criteria and were incorporated into the final analysis. This entire screening and selection process is clearly illustrated in the study through a PRISMA-style flowchart.

Data analysis involved both descriptive and thematic approaches. Descriptive analysis captured trends such as publication year, geographical focus (with a strong concentration of studies from East Africa), and research methodology, which was predominantly qualitative. Thematic analysis entailed an in-depth review of selected studies to extract recurring themes. The key themes identified included major governance challenges—such as limited resources, stakeholder conflicts, and weak administrative systems—and the complex roles and interactions among key actors, including government bodies, local communities, NGOs, and the private sector.

Together, these insights offer a rich understanding of the current landscape of informal settlement governance in Africa and highlight areas requiring further exploration and policy intervention.

What the Authors Found

The authors found that governance of informal settlements in Africa is hindered by resource limitations, fragmented stakeholder roles, weak governmental capacity, and lack of coordinated, inclusive governance models. Despite efforts from various actors—governments, communities, civil organizations, and the private sector—governance remains challenged by conflicting interests, inadequate infrastructure, and unsustainable external dependencies. There is a critical need for more integrated, participatory approaches to effectively manage and upgrade informal settlements.

Why is this important

Guides Smarter Urban Policy: The review offers critical insights into what works—and what doesn’t—in governing informal settlements, helping policymakers design more inclusive and sustainable urban strategies beyond political tokenism.

Reveals Governance Failures: It exposes the root causes of failed slum-upgrading programs, such as poor coordination, weak leadership, and fragmented planning, highlighting the need for stronger, long-term governance frameworks.

Promotes Inclusive, Multi-Stakeholder Models: The study emphasizes the importance of shared responsibility among governments, communities, NGOs, and private actors, calling for better collaboration and clearer roles.

Centers Humanitarian Priorities: By addressing how poor governance in informal settlements fuels poverty, disease, and environmental risk, the review underscores that better governance can protect lives and dignity.

Provides a Practical Roadmap: Far from being just academic, the findings serve as a practical guide for transforming urban chaos into coordinated, humane, and resilient development—especially relevant for fast-urbanizing regions like Nigeria.

What the Authors Recommended

• Governance efforts must be grounded in a clear understanding of how residents in informal settlements access basic services like food, water, housing, and healthcare. Tailoring interventions to these lived experiences ensures more effective and relevant policy responses.
• The authors emphasise strengthening collaboration among governments, communities, NGOs, and the private sector by examining how these actors interact, identifying conflicts and synergies, and developing mechanisms to foster more integrated and cooperative governance structures.
• Furthermore, evaluate the influence of legal, financial, and institutional systems on informal settlement governance. Future reforms should aim to make these frameworks more flexible, inclusive, and capable of addressing the complex realities on the ground.
• In addition, identify and mitigate the unique challenges faced by each stakeholder group—whether political, financial, or logistical—to enable more inclusive and effective participation in governance processes.

In conclusion, the study by Ewnetu and Seo offers a timely and critical examination of the persistent governance challenges facing informal settlements across Africa. By mapping existing research and highlighting the fragmented roles of key stakeholders, the review underscores the urgent need for more coordinated, inclusive, and context-sensitive governance models. As African cities continue to grow rapidly, the findings serve as a call to action for policymakers, development partners, and civil society to rethink urban governance—not as a top-down mandate, but as a collaborative process grounded in the lived realities of informal settlement residents. Only through such inclusive and adaptive approaches can sustainable, dignified urban futures be achieved.