Elite informal housing and environmental sustainability: the case of forest 27 in Zambia

This study investigated the nature of elite informality together with its effect on environmental sustainability and the welfare of subaltern communities. This study is important in view of the scarcity of scholarly work looking at how elite housing informality affects vulnerable communities and environmental sustainability in the Global South. The study’s theoretical framework was informed by elite capture theory and insights on grey spacing and legitimisation strategies of governance. The research design embraced a critical discourse analytical approach that helped to understand how socio-economic and socio-political dimensions influence power relations. Empirical data collection relied on both archival and primary data sources from environmental analysts, conservationists, political and media personalities with expertise in environmental sustainability. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings demonstrate the use of symbolic and emotional strategies by the government to legitimise the elite housing project through moral evaluation, authorisation, rationalisation, and mythopoetic discourses. The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating how the government can go to great length to legitimise elite informality using vulnerable communities as masquerades.