Governance of urban green infrastructure in informal settlements of Windhoek, Namibia
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Wijesinghe, Amayaa
Thorn, Jessica PR
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Facing increased rural-urban migration, population growth, climate change impacts, and cascading natural, security, and health hazards, many municipalities in sub-Saharan Africa are beginning to consider the benefits of urban green infrastructure for improving the resilience and wellbeing of residents living in informal settlements. However, present governance systems are often ill-equipped to deliver the scale of planning needed. Integration of urban green infrastructure into local government mandates, spatial planning and targeted action plans remains limited, further inhibited by scarce empirical research on the topic in Africa. Taking Windhoek, Namibia, and specifically Moses ǁGaro"eb, Samora Machel, and Tobias Hainyeko constituencies as a case study, we fitted key informant interview (n = 23), focus group (n = 20), and participant observation data into existing governance theory to investigate (a) benefits and trade-offs of present urban green infrastructure in Windhoek’s informal settlements; (b) urban green infrastructure governance in terms of institutional frameworks, actors and coalitions, resources, and processes; and (c) the key desirable pathways for future urban green infrastructure governance in informal settlements. To this end, we used five green infrastructure initiatives to dissect governance intricacies and found diverse opportunities for innovative governance mechanisms. The urgent need for climate resilience in Namibia offers a policy and practice window to adopt context-specific approaches for multifunctional urban green infrastructure. However, for these initiatives to succeed, collaborative governance platforms and clearly delineated mandates are necessary, with explicit integration of urban green infrastructure into strategies for in-situ informal settlements upgrading and green job growth.
Date Issued
2021-08-10
Date Acceptance
2021-07-26
Citation
Sustainability, 2021, 13 (16)
ISSN
2071-1050
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal / Book Title
Sustainability
Volume
13
Issue
16
Copyright Statement
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
License URL
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Environmental Sciences
Environmental Studies
Science & Technology - Other Topics
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
green space
inclusive city
informality
local stewardship
participation
peri-urban settlements
policy instruments
self-governance
sub-Saharan Africa
right to the city
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
CLIMATE-CHANGE
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
CITIES
FRAMEWORK
AFRICA
REFLECTIONS
ADAPTATION
MANAGEMENT
UNPACKING
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
8937
Date Publish Online
2021-08-10