COMMUNITIES in Harare are increasingly becoming a testing ground for climate-resilient urban upgrading as climate change, insecure land tenure and weak infrastructure deepen vulnerabilities in informal settlements, a new research has revealed.
A continent-wide study conducted by African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) across 13 African cities, has identified Harare as a critical case study — not only because of its mounting climate risks, but also due to growing community-led adaptation efforts that could shape policy responses across Africa.
The findings position Harare at the centre of efforts to rethink how African cities respond to climate shocks in informal settlements, highlighting the urgent need to secure land tenure, strengthen infrastructure and institutionalise grassroots resilience initiatives before extreme weather events become more destructive.
Under the Informal Settlements Climate Change Action (ISCCA) research project, vulnerability assessments were carried out in 11 informal settlements. The process culminated in the formulation of climate change response action plans and policy engagement with decision-makers.
The ISCCA action research process drew on household surveys, settlement profiles or focus group discussions and GIS-aided participatory mapping of climate change vulnerability hotspots, with 10 informal settlements and 2 496 reached through household surveys, 33 focus group discussions conducted and 12 vulnerability maps produced.
According to the research, informal settlements encounter varied extreme weather events, with each settlement experiencing unique challenges due to multiple reasons, including location and absence of infrastructure. Despite being formally allocated some areas have also not been spared, and the flooding incidents in parts of Budiriro attest to this.
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“Land tenure precarity presents a huge stumbling block preventing informal settlement communities from undertaking resilience-building actions,” the report said.
“However, still in the absence of secure land tenure, communities initiate locally-led actions that can be potentially institutionalised and scaled.
“The precarious land tenure story of Stoneridge is illustrative that settlements constitute active sites where locally-led actions are contributing towards building climate resilience. Despite various innovations, there is still a huge need for connecting these efforts with State and non-State actors to amplify and institutionalise these actions, with Tafara Fedland's experiences as an example.”
Addressing journalists during an urban development tour in Tafara recently, Dialogue on Shelter programme coordinator Evans Itai Banana said findings from ongoing assessments under the ACRC show that flooding, extreme heat and strong winds are the most pressing climate-related threats facing informal settlements across the capital.
“We are increasingly finding that climate emergency impacts are being magnified by the absence of secure tenure, where communities are unsure about their future; they are less likely to invest in proper, resilient infrastructure,” he said.
Banana highlighted that flooding remained the most immediate risk, with roads and homes routinely affected during heavy rains.
He said extreme heat presented a slower but equally dangerous threat, contributing to long-term health challenges that communities have gradually normalised.
“Heat-related illness is a slow-onset disaster and people survive day to day, but over time the impacts become severe, especially where housing is poorly ventilated and poorly lit,” Banana said.
The assessments also revealed that informal housing construction is often done with temporary materials due to fear of demolitions leaving residents vulnerable to strong winds that regularly blow off roofs.
To address these challenges, Dialogue on Shelter is working with the Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation, the City of Harare and other partners to co-create solutions driven by communities themselves.
“On housing, Dialogue on Shelter has engaged the City of Harare to promote climate-resilient construction through improved ventilation, lighting and design standards,” Banana said.