[ Habiter la ville à tout prix ? Regards croisés sur les mal-logés dans les villes de Lomé et Kara au Togo ]
Volume 39, Issue 2, November 2018, Pages 228–239
OURO BITASSE Eralakaza1
1 Assistant, Département de Sociologie, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Pôle de Recherche et d’Expertise sur la Dynamique des Espaces et des Sociétés (PREDES), Université de Kara, Kara, Togo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2018 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The present research aims at showing the residential logics of the inhabitants of the precarious settlements in Lomé and Kara and to try to propose perspectives to get out of the indecency of the precarious dwellings in the Togolese cities. To achieve this, she combined three approaches: document analysis, direct observation and in-depth individual interviews with 33 inhabitants of precarious settlements. The research has highlighted the rise of precarious habitats caused by the rapid growth of Togolese cities; then, it identified three main types of perceptions of precarious habitats: precarious housing as a shelter, precarious housing as a symbol of urbanity and finally as a transplantation of rurality in the city, thus reflecting the unfinished nature of Togolese cities. The precarious habitat option is a strategy of keeping in the city. In addition, by questioning private housing on the one hand, and rental housing on the other, notably through the case study of the Katanga slum in Lomé, the article shows the system's failures. Before concluding that, in Togolese cities as in other African cities, residential occupancy responds to forms of urban transactions oscillating between indigenous traditions and modern import. Finally, the research proposes to address three main challenges to get out of indecency, including the strengthening of the regulation of land and rental lease and the promotion of social housing.
Author Keywords: Housing, living, Kara, Lomé, Togo, precarious habitats.
Volume 39, Issue 2, November 2018, Pages 228–239
OURO BITASSE Eralakaza1
1 Assistant, Département de Sociologie, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Pôle de Recherche et d’Expertise sur la Dynamique des Espaces et des Sociétés (PREDES), Université de Kara, Kara, Togo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2018 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The present research aims at showing the residential logics of the inhabitants of the precarious settlements in Lomé and Kara and to try to propose perspectives to get out of the indecency of the precarious dwellings in the Togolese cities. To achieve this, she combined three approaches: document analysis, direct observation and in-depth individual interviews with 33 inhabitants of precarious settlements. The research has highlighted the rise of precarious habitats caused by the rapid growth of Togolese cities; then, it identified three main types of perceptions of precarious habitats: precarious housing as a shelter, precarious housing as a symbol of urbanity and finally as a transplantation of rurality in the city, thus reflecting the unfinished nature of Togolese cities. The precarious habitat option is a strategy of keeping in the city. In addition, by questioning private housing on the one hand, and rental housing on the other, notably through the case study of the Katanga slum in Lomé, the article shows the system's failures. Before concluding that, in Togolese cities as in other African cities, residential occupancy responds to forms of urban transactions oscillating between indigenous traditions and modern import. Finally, the research proposes to address three main challenges to get out of indecency, including the strengthening of the regulation of land and rental lease and the promotion of social housing.
Author Keywords: Housing, living, Kara, Lomé, Togo, precarious habitats.
Abstract: (french)
La présente recherche vise à montrer les logiques résidentielles des habitants des logements précaires à Lomé et à Kara et à tenter de proposer des perspectives pour sortir de l’indécence de ces logements dans les villes togolaises. Pour y arriver, elle a combiné trois approches : l’analyse documentaire, l’observation directe et les entretiens individuels approfondis avec 33 habitants des habitats précaires. La recherche a pu mettre en évidence, la recrudescence des habitats précaires engendrée par la croissance rapide des villes togolaises; ensuite, elle a dégagé trois principaux types de perceptions des habitats précaires : l’habitat précaire comme abri tout court, l’habitat précaire comme symbole d'urbanité et enfin comme une transplantation de la ruralité en ville, traduisant ainsi le caractère inachevé des villes Togolaises. L’option de l’habitat précaire est une stratégie de maintien en ville. Par ailleurs, en questionnant d’une part, l’habitat privé et, d’autre part, l’habitat de location, notamment à travers l’étude de cas du bidonville de Katanga à Lomé, l’article montre les défaillances du système de logement avant de conclure que, dans les villes togolaises comme dans d’autres villes africaines, l’occupation résidentielle répond aux formes de transactions urbaines oscillant entre traditions autochtones et modernités d’importation. Enfin, la recherche propose de relever trois principaux défis pour sortir de l’indécence, notamment le renforcement de la règlementation du foncier et du bail locatif ainsi que la promotion des logements sociaux.
Author Keywords: L’habitat, l’habiter, Kara, Lomé, Togo, habitats précaires.
How to Cite this Article
OURO BITASSE Eralakaza, “Living in the city by hook or by crook ? Perspectives on the poorly housed in the cities of Lomé and Kara in Togo,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 228–239, November 2018.
