Alfaro d'Alercon, P., Smith, H., Alvarez de Andres, E. et al. (7 more authors) (2018) Interrogating informality: Conceptualisations, practices and policies in the light of the New Urban Agenda. Habitat International, 75. pp. 59-66. ISSN 0197-3975
Abstract
Informality is growing in a context of increasing inequity, and in many places becoming the norm. However, despite decades of studies and interventions, ‘recognising informality’ is still a key issue. This paper provides a review of the literature on informality showing the shifts in its conceptualisations. The paper firstly discusses conceptual approaches related to the term ‘informality’ in the context of urban development; it then examines practices within, and related to, informality; and it concludes with an appraisal of policy approaches and their impact as reported in the literature. The paper finds a wide range of conceptualisations, including the questioning of the usefulness and appropriateness of the term. It finds reported evidence of ‘informality’ (as understood to date) spreading to the middle classes, and increasingly emerging in the Global North. Policies seem to be lagging behind in how they engage with so-called informality, with little acknowledgement of theory and limited understanding of their impacts on ‘informal’ practices. Finally, the paper identifies the need for better understanding of governance frameworks that include the range of actors that would normally be associated with so-called ‘informality’.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 Elsevier. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Habitat International. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Informality; Urban development; Urban governance; Urban policy; New urban agenda; Global south |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Urban Studies & Planning (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 21 Dec 2018 13:18 |
Last Modified: | 04 May 2020 00:40 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.04.007 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.04.007 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:140271 |
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Filename: Habitat International 2018 Informality paper preprint version.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0