Youth and African cities: work, housing & urban futures
Convenors: Sarah Charlton (University of the Witwatersrand), Paula Meth (University of Glasgow)
Track: Alternative Futures
Keywords: Youth, Housing, Work, Futures, Urban
Thursday October 24, 15:30–17:00, PG Seminar Room, John Moffat Building
SESSION 31
YOUTH AND AFRICAN CITIES: WORK, HOUSING & URBAN FUTURES
Youth across African cities are a critical force, often dominant demographically, and the locus of much political, artistic, economic and social energy. Yet their daily lives are frequently marked by poverty, violence, exclusion and compromise. Accessing meaningful, safe work opportunities is rare. Options for housing that are affordable and meet their needs for privacy and urban access are severely lacking. Many work hard to further their education and training, alongside efforts to nurture their urban hustle and adapt their choice of where to stay. They draw on networks (family, friendships and religious groups) to extend support and secure their place in the city. These agentic actions operate alongside sticky structural realities, reinforced by weakly governed city authorities and clientalistic power relations shaping access to key resources.
Building on research in SA and Ethiopia (see bit.ly/3Ht2EJG & Rubin et al, 2022), this panel examines youths’ experiences of work and housing within African cities. It invites papers exploring both or either of these processes, and where possible, relationships between them.
The intricate nexus between youth, work and housing is underexplored, but opens to multiple dimensions surfacing both struggles and innovation. This panel encourages contributors to move beyond stories of hardship to identify aspirations, interventions, networks, policies, activisms, and methodologies which build knowledge of realizable alternative futures for African youth.
Panel questions:
- How are young people experiencing obstacles/ constraints to accessing adequate work and housing?
- How are they navigating, overcoming or circumventing these constraints?
- What alternative futures are suggested?
Presentations
Understanding the housing challenges and pathways of young adults in Accra, Ghana
Drawing from the experience of 30 young adults via interviews, the paper examines the housing challenges and pathways of young adults (24-34) in Accra. The findings suggest that most young adults face major challenges and navigate complex paths to housing. Effective policies and interventions are urgently needed to address this issue in Accra.
Engaging the Youth: Experiences and Perspectives in Transforming Family Compound Housing in Ghana´s Secondary Cities.
Housing in the urban areas of Ghana is inaccessible and affordable for low-income residents due to high rent charged by landlords, escalating land values, and cost involved in housing construction. As a result, young people in Wa, a secondary city in Ghana, have resorted to transforming family compounds as a means of obtaining housing, while simultaneously grappling with compromises, negotiations, and conflicts.
Youth-led entrepreneurship and innovation in South Africa and the global South
This study examines youth-led entrepreneurship in South Africa and the Global South. It showcases successes, challenges, and factors shaping their ventures, offering insights for policymakers and practitioners.
Analysing ‘what housing does’ through a youth-work-housing lens in SA and Ethiopia
Young people's housing circumstances in SA and Ethiopia variously help facilitate or constrain their lives. Effects are not only due to factors such as housing quality & location, or prospects/ constraints in urban contexts. Key are particular and shifting combinations of work, housing and life situations in illuminating different outcomes.
