The global housing affordability crisis echoes Abrams’ (1964:53) statement that “the whole world has remained underdeveloped” in terms of housing. This issue affects both developed and developing countries, and despite technological advancements, numerous housing policies, and market economy benefits, a solution remains elusive. This paper examines urban housing affordability in Africa, proposing practical solutions within the continent’s socio-economic, cultural, and political contexts to encourage further research and discussion. A survey in Lagos suggests a potential solution: “We are the answer…We can build cheap homes for ourselves”. The paper includes a literature review focused on Africa, followed by methodology, results from secondary data analyses, policy discussions, and concluding remarks.

Housing and the Housing Problem

Experts lack consensus on a single definition or scope of housing and its related issues. Terms like “home,” “house,” “shelter,” “dwelling,” and “housing” are often used interchangeably (Burn and Grebler, 1977). Rapoport (1980) sees housing as a product, commodity, process, place (reflecting identity, self-worth, and status), territory, private domain, behaviour setting, or response to functional requirements. He suggests that the lack of a clear definition might stem from the assumption that we all inherently understand housing. Teymur (1988, p.19) describes housing as a complex, multifaceted concept embedded in our lives and language. Housing is culture-specific, providing various services to diverse clientele. Many stakeholders, including architects, planners, academics, and residents, have vested interests in housing, leading to fragmented definitions and solutions (Culliton, 1975, p.1182).

Forrest and Hirayama (2015) define housing as both a consumption and investment good. Viewing housing as an investment undermines its primary function as shelter, excluding those without effective demand. Unlike in the West, where housing is often an investment, in Africa, it is primarily a dwelling (Gillespie, 2018). The concept of an asset also differs: in the West, it’s a financial good, while in Africa, it is a treasure for future generations. This implies Western models might not suit Africa. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948) states that everyone has the right to housing, but it does not specify who is responsible for providing it. In the West, governments often take this responsibility, whereas in Africa, it traditionally falls to the family head. This individual responsibility has worked well in Africa (Amoako and Boamah, 2017), making international bodies’ insistence on state responsibility seem misguided and culturally insensitive. Successful self-help housing examples in the UK and Germany suggest Africa should maintain its tradition of individual responsibility.

The market operates on the ability to buy, not on the right to own, putting housing beyond the reach of many. Another perspective sees housing as a function, addressing mismatches between people’s socio-economic and cultural situations and their housing processes and products, as well as the misuse of resources. This is relevant in Africa, where Western standards have created mismatches, leading to the non-use of local resources (GSS, 2014; UN-Habitat, 2012). This definition doesn’t address housing quality, unlike definitions focusing on housing as a noun, which consider both quantity and quality (Needleman, 1965, p.18). Many self-built homes in Africa, though labelled as informal or slums, are socially functional and decent, despite lacking infrastructure.

Increasing housing supply without considering demand can worsen the problem. For instance, in the UK, housing surplus didn’t match people’s needs. In Africa, rapid urbanization has led to significant housing deficits: Nigeria (17 million), South Africa, Kenya, Angola (2 million each), Ethiopia (1 million), and Ghana (717,059 to 2,771,961). As urbanization continues, the gap between housing supply and demand is likely to widen.