What factors contribute to the success of community-driven upgrading of informal settlements? The Rwandan government has adopted informal settlement upgrading and governance policies that allow citizens to participate in decision-making on issues that affect them in the Umudugudu—the smallest unit of governance. This study investigates how the government’s policy has enabled community-driven informal settlement upgrading as an everyday practice, with a particular emphasis on developing and maintaining public infrastructure facilities in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. We conducted fieldwork, including interviews and observations, in Umudugudu of Kamwiza and Umudugudu of Mucyuranyana, located in the western part of Kigali City, from September to October 2019. We identified and mapped road pavements, drainage ditches, bridges, and communal water taps as public infrastructure facilities. We conducted semi-structured interviews with residents and committee members in charge of the resources and investigated the decision-making processes employed for their development and maintenance. We found that informal settlement upgrading and governance policies worked together to support the community-driven upgrading of public infrastructure facilities in Imidugudu. This approach enabled the community to mobilize government and community resources to develop and maintain public infrastructure facilities. Government funds supplemented the development of community-driven facilities, serving as an incentive to encourage further community contributions. Importantly, both landowning and renting households shared the burden of development costs. We argue that community-driven upgrading is possible when communities, markets, and governments function together. Notably, upgrading efforts become sustainable everyday practices when informal settlements are integrated into public policy in terms of governance structures, urban and housing policy, and land ownership. This integration fosters communities characterized by residents' sense of ownership and internal investment in the area, along with stable budget allocations.

中文翻译：

---

社区驱动的非正规住区升级成为日常实践：城市和治理政策的作用


哪些因素有助于社区驱动的非正规住区升级的成功？卢旺达政府采取了非正式的住区升级和治理政策，允许公民参与影响他们在最小治理单位 Umudugudu 的问题的决策。本研究调查了政府的政策如何使社区驱动的非正式住区升级成为一种日常实践，特别强调卢旺达首都基加利的公共基础设施的开发和维护。 2019 年 9 月至 10 月，我们在基加利市西部卡姆维扎的 Umudugudu 和 Mucyuranyana 的 Umudugudu 进行了实地考察，包括访谈和观察。我们确定并绘制了道路路面、排水沟、桥梁和公共水龙头，公共基础设施。我们对负责资源的居民和委员会成员进行了半结构化访谈，并调查了其开发和维护所采用的决策流程。我们发现，非正式住区升级和治理政策共同作用，支持社区驱动的伊米杜古杜公共基础设施升级。这种方法使社区能够调动政府和社区资源来开发和维护公共基础设施。政府资金补充了社区驱动设施的发展，作为鼓励社区进一步贡献的激励措施。重要的是，拥有土地的家庭和租房的家庭都共同承担了开发成本的负担。我们认为，当社区、市场和政府共同发挥作用时，社区驱动的升级是可能的。 值得注意的是，当非正规住区被纳入治理结构、城市和住房政策以及土地所有权等公共政策时，升级改造工作就成为可持续的日常实践。这种一体化培育了以居民主人翁意识和该地区内部投资以及稳定的预算分配为特征的社区。