Chapter 5 – Case Studies
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From challenges to opportunities Following identification of informal areas and an assessment of the people living in them, UN-Habitat took responsibilities for negotiating land issues with the local government and the relevant stakeholders, and inscribed the process into a wider urban expansion plan for the city. In order to profile the scope of intervention and design cross-sectoral strategies for future development, the Bossaso City Consultation was established, gathering representatives from the central and local authorities, NGOs, private sector, local and traditional leaders, displaced communities and the Shelter Cluster committee. Since the majority of the informal areas addressed were situated on the city’s eastern flank, an eastward urban development trajectory was proposed, with the long-term aim of socially and spatially incorporating the spontaneous settlements in the urban system. Additionally, an incremental land tenure strategy was envisioned to strengthen the link between the social and the urban fabrics.
An incremental land tenure strategy was envisioned to strengthen the link between the social and the urban fabrics.
Based on the rationale that the plan would increase the value of land in the area, local businesses and leaders were persuaded to donate part of their properties to the municipality, thus fostering internal economic growth in the city and providing donors with longterm economic returns. Ownership of donated lands was transferred to the municipality and reallocated by the latter to displaced families, who were guaranteed with full property over houses only fifteen years after reallocation. In case of land abandonment before the expiry of the period, property would return to the municipality and be reallocated according to the same patterns of distribution.
The proposed urban development pattern was directed to a more compact and socially-cohesive urban environment, with an expanded infrastructure and service network, a more costeffective administration and more local development opportunities. Local building companies were contracted to lay the foundations of new – with proper water supply, sanitation systems and following building codes – while humanitarian actors such as the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Danish Refugee Council and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees provided the resettled households with provisional flame-proofed shelter as part of a permanent relocation strategy. Families benefiting from these actions were actively involved in the construction process and encouraged to gradually invest in upgrading their properties, whereas local markets, school, mosques and green areas were also built by humanitarian agencies. For the sustainability of the project, the relocated families would be subjected to municipal laws, building codes and the payment of tax fees, yet would obtain their building permits for free as part of the resettlement arrangement. Simultaneously, the strategic urban planning guidelines put forward by UN-Habitat spanned urban governance, economic development and basic services – mainly public transport, garbage collection, water and electricity supply – in order to tackle the challenges faced by the city. The proposed urban development pattern was directed to a more compact and sociallycohesive urban environment, with an expanded infrastructure and service network, a more costeffective administration and tax-collection systems, minimum vacant land within the city’s boundaries and more local development opportunities.