Residential dynamics: the co-existence of formal and informal systems in Khartoum, Sudan

Abstract

This paper looks at the residential dynamics in Khartoum, Sudan. Some patterns demonstrate that formal and informal systems co-exist and are mutually supportive. There are also particular spatial manifestations that have resulted from a unique socio-political situation. It is believed that informality is a legitimate energy within cities and for professionals of the built environment to make meaningful interventions; solutions need to emerge from the everyday realities of a specific context – thus avoiding blanket solutions. Many agents act on an environment at any given time and decision makers need to engage with that complexity. Enterprises emerging from informal settlements or through informal processes may be better suited to low-income groups, thus support of the informal sector might better address urgent need for poverty eradication. We are challenged as professionals to investigate beauty and efficiency in informality as an antithesis to a middle-class interpretation of how life should be lived. These issues are elaborated through the discussion of the situation in the city with an analysis of the various types of housing being produced centrally and in the peripheries.