Informal urban development is seldomly covered in academic studies or professional architectural training. This article sets forth the first stage of a novel study that observes the informal city using the methodology...Informal urban development is seldomly covered in academic studies or professional architectural training. This article sets forth the first stage of a novel study that observes the informal city using the methodology of analysis of architecture called shape grammars. The idea is to recognize peculiarities in the occupation of the land and the volumetric features of the buildings. Rocinha favela, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is taken as a case study with the primary aim of extrapolating a set of rules for its morphological features so that these rules can be used to generate new shapes, whilst bearing in mind the issues of adaptation and transformation which are so characteristic of informal settlements. There is some expectation that this study may help improve the housing and public space in the favela and enable new housing programs to observe the way the buildings and different architectural elements combined, forming a new channel of interchange with the spatial organization of the favela.展开更多
Over 60 percent of Kenya＇s urban dwellers live in slum settlements. Here, people live under life-threatening conditions characterized with poverty, inadequate food and shelter, physical overcrowding, unsafe drinking ...Over 60 percent of Kenya＇s urban dwellers live in slum settlements. Here, people live under life-threatening conditions characterized with poverty, inadequate food and shelter, physical overcrowding, unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation. The flimsiness of these dwellers is not always due to low incomes. It is often the result of insecurity of tenure and other deprivations： the lack of entitlement inhibits their investment in better health. In Kibera Slum, Africa＇s second largest and Kenya＇s oldest and largest slum, poor sanitation and inadequate water supply is a daily challenge for the residents. Over 150 persons share one shallow pit latrine while 75 percent of the population uses sanitation practices that involve direct handling of human waste increasing in spread of infectious diseases. Insecurity of tenure; low levels of education; inadequate socio-economic, infrastructural and physical entitlements all affect the Kibera＇s residents＇ perception and attitude towards investing in better sanitation behavior.展开更多
文摘Informal urban development is seldomly covered in academic studies or professional architectural training. This article sets forth the first stage of a novel study that observes the informal city using the methodology of analysis of architecture called shape grammars. The idea is to recognize peculiarities in the occupation of the land and the volumetric features of the buildings. Rocinha favela, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is taken as a case study with the primary aim of extrapolating a set of rules for its morphological features so that these rules can be used to generate new shapes, whilst bearing in mind the issues of adaptation and transformation which are so characteristic of informal settlements. There is some expectation that this study may help improve the housing and public space in the favela and enable new housing programs to observe the way the buildings and different architectural elements combined, forming a new channel of interchange with the spatial organization of the favela.
文摘Over 60 percent of Kenya＇s urban dwellers live in slum settlements. Here, people live under life-threatening conditions characterized with poverty, inadequate food and shelter, physical overcrowding, unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation. The flimsiness of these dwellers is not always due to low incomes. It is often the result of insecurity of tenure and other deprivations： the lack of entitlement inhibits their investment in better health. In Kibera Slum, Africa＇s second largest and Kenya＇s oldest and largest slum, poor sanitation and inadequate water supply is a daily challenge for the residents. Over 150 persons share one shallow pit latrine while 75 percent of the population uses sanitation practices that involve direct handling of human waste increasing in spread of infectious diseases. Insecurity of tenure; low levels of education; inadequate socio-economic, infrastructural and physical entitlements all affect the Kibera＇s residents＇ perception and attitude towards investing in better sanitation behavior.
