This project aims to explore citizen-led solutions to urban insecurity in the Hopley Farm Settlement of Harare, Zimbabwe. Urban insecurity is rife in Hopley, first and foremost owing to its status as a largely informal settlement, still today. This, however, is an over-simplification of the state of affairs in the area. In 2005, housing in Zimbabwe became highly politicized as a consequence of elections held that same year with the rise of the opposition to the ruling party at the time. The settlement grew out of a holding camp meant to hold people displaced from their informal homes until such a time that a solution was found for their relocation. 

Today, Hopley is a representation of human resilience; what with a significant proportion of its dwellings being constructed by those who occupy them, but perhaps more so it is a representation of the humanitarian crisis associated with that urban insecurity caused by Operation Murambatsvina. It is the intention of my research to make the case for an architectural solution to the latter by harnessing the many strengths that can be found in the former.

Student: Daan Post
Tutor: Jacob Voorthuis, Maarten Willems, Ady Steketee