“This is my home, and I am not ashamed to live here”: a comparative study of sense of belonging in Harare and Accra’s informal settlements

This paper examines sense of belonging among residents of informal settlements in Harare and Accra-—specifically, Hopley and Hatcliffe Extension in Harare, and Nima and Old Fadama in Accra. It contributes to and advances literature on sense of belonging in informal settlements by adopting a comparative approach. Our findings reveal both similarities and context specific dynamics on sense of belonging. Compared to Old Fadama, most participants from Nima, Hopley and Hatcliffe Extension generally expressed positive sentiments about their places of residence. They attributed their sense of home to the defacto legitimacy they enjoy and the incremental infrastructure improvements in their settlement – factors that residents of Old Fadama lack entirely. Conversely, Old Fadama residents endure spatial brutality, chronic flooding and entrenched place stigma, which disrupt their sense of belonging. Interestingly, across the four communities, participants fostered a strong sense of community resilience and collective solidarity, deeply rooted in shared struggles and social networks. Therefore, the heterogeneity of informal settlements in terms of legitimacy, exclusion, place stigma and levels of infrastructural development is critical in explaining variations in residents’ perspectives of their sense of belonging. The study highlights the need for informal settlement upgrading as a multifaceted intervention that reduces the burden of spatial deprivation.