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Planning in process: AORTA as a new instrument for the upgrading of informal settlements in developing countries
development scenarios with an 'AORTA toolbox' generate a sustainable basis for decision
making of planning authorities and residents.
Fig. 1: Perspective, design example of AORTA
1 Introduction
Urban and landscape planning in cities worldwide always means dealing with the
phenomenon of informal settlements. In the beginning of the 21 st century about 1.000 million
people – 30% of the world's urban population – live in such settlements without security of
tenure. In threshold and developing countries this value can reach up to 50%. Prognoses say
that – due to the ongoing urbanization – the number of people living in informal settlements
can reach 2.000 million within the next 30 years. Problems in informal settlements are
manifold: most households have only a low and sporadic income and the inhabitants are often
excluded from political decisions and social processes. Access to public health care, to
information and education is difficult; crimes and violence often menace the public order as
well as the personal safety. Living conditions are mostly characterized by inadequate hygienic
conditions and the lack of basic supply e.g. drinking water, electricity or communication
systems. Houses are often made of insufficient material and most quarters have a very high
population density. Public and private open spaces e.g. squares, streets, gardens or parks – the
most important areas for social life in many countries – are rare and often in a bad state. Due
to this strong concentration of social, economic and ecological problems and because of their
high dynamic – the informal housing sector produces the majority of all new housing units in
the cities of developing countries – informal settlements are of outstanding significance for
the future development of urban agglomerations worldwide.
1.1 Change of strategy
In most cases, the emergence of these settlements is neither being initiated nor controlled by
urban planning authorities. In many countries disregard or rejection of informal settlers have
been the only reactions to the ongoing process of urbanization. Also many 'formal' planning
approaches such as official housing programs failed because of their lack of adaption to the
economic and social requirements of the residents. But changes in the strategy of problem
solving appear: meanwhile more and more importance is attached to the upgrading of living
conditions within existing informal settlements. The active involvement of local communities
and their potentials and resources thereby become an existential part of the planning,
implementation, monitoring and management process.
1.2 A new instrument
Considering the living conditions in informal settlements there are two aspects of increased
significance for further development steps:
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Workshop: Housing and Sustainable Urbanisation in Developing Countries
Author: Moritz Groba, Jochen Hansen, Christian Krause, Christoph Ruckert