A policy recommendation from the CSCC Housing Action Group
Across Commonwealth cities, urban development is failing the people it is meant to serve. Rapid urbanisation, weak institutions and top-down planning systems have combined to produce a widening gap between what cities need and what they deliver. In some cities, over half of all residents live in informal settlements — a direct consequence of regulatory frameworks that are too slow, too costly and too burdensome for low-income households to navigate, effectively criminalising the self-help efforts of those most in need.
The core problem is systemic. Centralised, sectoral planning has consistently failed to keep pace with urban growth, leaving communities to rely on improvised, fragmented systems for basic services. When government agencies work in silos — one investing in community upgrading while another carries out demolitions in the same area — trust breaks down and reform stalls. Marginalised communities are treated as passive recipients rather than active participants, their agency ignored and their knowledge overlooked.
This policy recommendation, authored by Chris Jordan of the African Cities Research Consortium at the University of Manchester, argues that the solution lies in a different model: the urban reform coalition.
Reform coalitions bring together a diverse range of stakeholders — local authorities, community organisations, universities, NGOs and businesses — to co-produce solutions to complex urban challenges. Rather than replacing government, they work alongside it, building the trust, evidence and political momentum needed to enable locally-led, scalable reform. Four strategies are central to their effectiveness:
- Creating space for dialogue. Universities are particularly well-placed to convene neutral, evidence-led discussions on contested issues. In Harare, the Urban Informality Forum shifted city officials’ attitudes towards informal traders and residents through structured dialogue, and provided a ready platform for constructive engagement following a major market fire in 2024.
- Building relational capital. Coalitions amplify marginalised voices by aggregating diverse actors and building cross-class alliances. In Cape Town, the Township Developers Forum brought together small-scale property developers to negotiate collectively with the City Council, prompting wide-ranging reforms to the city’s approach to informality.
- Co-producing knowledge. By blending technical expertise with community experience, coalitions generate evidence that challenges exclusionary practice. In Nairobi, a consortium of over 40 organisations used community-collected data to secure government commitment to the Mukuru Special Planning Area — a landmark in-situ upgrading initiative.
- Testing innovation through pilots. Small-scale pilots reduce risk and build confidence for wider reform. In Mukuru, collaborative action research adapted the city’s sewer standards for dense informal settlements; 8,000 households now have toilet access, cholera rates have fallen, and the model is being rolled out across Nairobi.
Reform coalitions are not a guarantee of success, progress is often slow, uneven and shaped by political context. But where commitment and relationships are strong, they can generate a lasting cascade of reform momentum.
The recommendation calls on governments to shift from top-down providers to enablers of inclusive solutions; on universities to take an active convening role; and on all urban actors to recognise the power of coalition-based approaches to drive change at scale.