Questioning the concept of affordable housing - affordable to who in tanzania?

Abstract

Vast majority of African people cannot afford adequate housing. UNCHS define adequate housing as the one with acceptable level of privacy, space, physical accessibility, security, security of tenure, structural stability, durability, lighting, heating, ventilation and basic social infrastructural services. About 50% of African population is currently urban dwellers out of which 75% cannot afford formal housing. The concept of affordable housing was conceived with an aim of saving the low income earners and the poor to access formal housing especially in poor countries. Tanzania is one of the poor countries with Gross Domestic Product per capita income record of 842.37 US$ in 2015 and defines affordable housing as the one which can adequately shelter all people below and above the poverty line. Literature review was carried out to understand country’s economies and individual’s affordability levels in housing. Field surveys assisted to learn various housing scenarios in rural and urban areas; as well as planned and unplanned urban housing in Tanzania. This study has found out that 7.2% and 21.5% of Tanzanian households were below the food poverty line and basic needs poverty line respectively and they cannot afford adequate housing. The low income earners who are not necessarily in these percentages can hardly afford adequate formal housing because they cannot easily access financial institutions. Consequently formal housing units produced by National Housing Corporation and other commercial housing developers are bought by high income earners. The affordable housing concept is practically unaffordable housing concept to the targeted people. Policy makers, Spatial Planners and Architects should redefine affordable housing and propose pragmatic decent housing approaches to realistically assist the low income earners in poor countries.