Struggle for space: appropriation and regulation of prime locations in sustaining informal livelihoods in Dar es Salaam city, Tanzania

Abstract

This study explores the appropriation of prime locations for informal activities, and the regulation of such activities, based on the lived experiences of the stakeholders involved. Despite a vast body of research on informal practices, its main focus so far has been on eviction practices and responses to eviction, using power relations as an analytical framework. Up to the present, therefore, little has been understood about the processes of space appropriation and strategies for regulating them (other than eviction) used by municipalities in areas designated or undesignated for such activities, and the spatial ramifications of such processes. The theoretical framework which guided the examination of these issues in this study focuses on reciprocal relationships between operators and prime locations, operators and the municipality, the context of social relations and policy frameworks, which are embedded in poverty, land use, location and governance discourses. The study uses a mixed method approach to arrive at its findings, drawing from both secondary data and primary data, in the form of 200 questionnaires, 43 in-depth interviews, mapping and observations undertaken in the city of Dar es Salaam. The process of accessing and using prime locations and the operators’ use of both legal and illegal means to do so, are investigated through the specific locations of Msimbazi and Uhuru Roads and the Mchikichini market, exploring the lived experience of informal livelihood operators in these locations. The study offers insight into the socio-economic characteristics of operators and the wide-reaching changes in the economy and policies that have influenced their participation in informal activities. Through a focus on prime locations, the thesis demonstrates how the appropriation of such locations contributes to social and material transitions which impact on the operators’ social, economic and environmental relationships. The municipality uses two main strategies to regulate informal activities, that is, in-space arrangements and in-time arrangements. The use and regulation of prime locations bring together stakeholders including the municipality, operators’ organisations, and other non-governmental organisations. The municipal regulatory model is dominant but ineffective, owing to challenges to the municipal institutional framework (collaboration, accountability and transparency), social relations, and political interference, which together result in an inability to realise planned outcomes for operators. It is argued that a fuller understanding of the processes of appropriation and regulation could provide a lesson for future regulatory programmes. Rather than opposing the informal operators, initiatives should take into consideration the shared experience created in the process of producing spaces and implementing policies for informal livelihood activities in Dar es Salaam.