Abstract
Housing affordability has emerged as a critical issue in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, due to growing pressures of urbanization. However, current policies aimed at addressing this challenge have proven ineffective in making housing truly affordable. This chapter investigates the reasons behind the failure of Affordable Housing policies in Kigali, shedding light on the perspectives of policymakers, planners, developers, and researchers shaping the housing sector. Analyzing Rwanda’s urban governance, this chapter explores how national and local policymakers shape and implement Affordable housing policies in Kigali through a process of rendering technical (Li, 2007). It also examines the imaginaries of a growing and prosperous Kigali and the implications of these aspirations on Affordable Housing. The analysis is based on 31 qualitative interviews conducted with experts in the field. The findings suggest that Rwandan Affordable Housing policy and planning is currently inept and even counterproductive in ensuring true housing affordability. Addressing these gaps and limitations holistically is crucial for the successful implementation of future Affordable Housing policies in Kigali.
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Notes
- 1.
Affordable Housing is capitalized here to underline that is a political concept which can be changed. Following Arturo Escobar (1992), this draws attention to the “historical, ‘invented’ nature of […] discourse” (ibid., p. 434).
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Niedenhoff, C. (2023). Why Housing Is Not Affordable in Kigali: A Fieldwork Analysis on How Urban Governance Inhibits Housing Affordability in Rwanda’s Capital. In: Rubin, M., Charlton, S., Klug, N. (eds) Housing in African Cities. GeoJournal Library(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37408-1_11
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