Urban (in) security in an emerging human settlement: Perspectives from Hopley Farm Settlement, Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This article examines the urban (in) security landscape in a postcolonial emerging human settlement in Africa. Hopley Farm Settlement is used as a case study focusing on the perspectives of this urban (in) security on spatial justice. This study contributes to the emerging scholarship on African cities that focuses on urban security, which is increasingly becoming a critical issue owing to multiple socioeconomic, political, and environmental risks inherent in Africa. We argue that the poor residing in emerging human settlements are victimized mainly and subjected to different forms of violence exposing them to urban (in) securities. This insecurity makes it challenging to achieve the envisaged sustainable development goal that aspires to create safe and resilient cities and settlements by 2030. The study employed an exploratory phenomenological research design where data were collected from 450 questionnaires administered to residents and 20 in-depth interviews with residents from Hopley. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The study maps Hopley's (in) security terrain, focusing on different parameters that bring insights to the security scape of the settlement. The strategies employed by the community to navigate this complex terrain are explored in light of infrastructural violence theory, which brings insights into spatial justice. The findings reveal that the envisaged mixed used settlement form considers urban security in the design of Hopley. However, the realities of the settlement show complex urban insecurities, including unsafe living environments, political victimization, lack of tenure, crime and violence that manifest even through severe cases such as murder and rape. Marginalization of the poor is thus prevalent in this community and calls for the government to reconsider the planning, development, and management of emerging settlements where the poor reside in the shadow of the state.