The incremental housing as a strategy in upgrading housing in informal settlements; Case study: Chabahar city

The informal settlement, as a result of rapid urbanization, is created in or outside of formal and illegal skirts of cities. This research insists on the strategy of incremental housing as a process in the physical improvement of Chabahar informal settlements. In the final pattern for residents, besides enhancement in physical aspects, maintaining spatial units among residents is highlighted. compatibility of replaced plans with the culture of living in the community is a key aspect in any upgrading physical pattern. From one step to the end, the residents themselves decide how to subdivide, aggregate, or complete the inner spaces.

Informal settlement, as a result of rapid urbanization, takes place inside or outside the formal, legal limits of cities. These areas are mainly settlements of rural immigrants or poor urban dwellers. Inefficiency in the housing supply system and instability of the economic aspect of housing in the urban market are the main causes of the emergence of informal settlements. This research is focused on the strategy of incremental housing as a process effective in the physical improvement of informal settlements in the city of Chabahar, Iran. Moreover, it seeks to promote the quality of life in informal settlements and, consequently, integrate them into the official areas of the city. In the final model for the residents, maintenance of the spatial structures is highlighted besides enhancement of the physical aspects. This means that the alternative plans are compatible with the residents’ culture. The residents’ economic restrictions are considered besides all these features. The results demonstrate that a decent model can be achieved using incremental housing and its varieties: subdivision, aggregation, and expansion. This model assumes a more cooperative attitude than in the top-down type of development. The incremental approach is based on individuals’ participation in the processes of making their own houses given their types of social network and cultural habits. The research method involves the researcher’s active attendance of the study area and observation of the inhabitants’ experiences. After all, the designer has no more than a facilitating role in this strategy. From a certain step on, the residents themselves decide how to subdivide, aggregate, or complete the inner spaces. Thus, a sympathetic method of creation occurs within the target community.

In Nazrie et al. (2016), the consent rate of residents of informal settlements in the Afshar district, Kabul, Afghanistan to the promotion strategy was challenged through interviews with them. The findings highlighted that it was insufficient to consider only the physical aspects of upgrading settlements, and that the economic and social perspectives were as important as the physical features. In a study on the strategy of upgrading informal settlements in Egypt, Khalifa (2015) discussed the negligence of the residents of these areas. As long as the existing settlements are a kind of compensation for the lack of formal settlements, they must be assumed to have a positive aspect as well. These constructive features can contribute to any upgrading alternative model.

The methodology of this research involves deep interviews with residents of Chabahar informal settlements and active in-field participation of the researchers. The natural lifestyle of the inhabitants is observed, and the culture dominant among the target community is interacted with more deeply. The data collection methods involve a physical study and assessment of units where the informal dwellers live.

In Chabahar, the Balochi word kampan is used to refer to a residential unit with a unique role and distinct social, economic, and spatial features. Socially, the families inside each kampan can interact with each other. The members of these families have an ethnic relation with each other. Economically, a kampan is a place where the inside dwellers play the role of self-employers. Spatially, there is a courtyard inside each kampan where means of both livelihood and life are provided. The results indicate that a kampan has an organizing characteristic as a spatial module within the fabric of Chabahar informal settlements. Thus, a kampan can maintain its functions in any new pattern devised for promotion of the informal settlements. For application of the economic aspect to the pattern, the outside structure of the design is established, and the inside of the units is then completed by the residents in a post-occupancy process.

The main strategy adopted to confront informal settlements, incremental housing can be regarded as a productive, participatory process. In this strategy, the architect has a facilitating role, designing and preparing the outside and intermediate spaces. Then, the residents themselves complete the inside of the residential units. There are a number of rules governing the completion process. Firstly, development is restricted inside the courtyard, because of the importance of this space. Secondly, the residents can add up to one story to the existing buildings. Overall, the residents have an approach in parallel with the architects’ toward a proper solution to the problem of upgrading informal settlements. From a certain step on, the residents themselves decide how to subdivide, aggregate, or complete the inner spaces. Thus, a sympathetic method of creation emerges within the target community.