Managing Risks for a Safer Built Environment in Malawi : Building Regulatory Capacity Assessment
In a rapidly urbanising world, Malawi remains one of the least urbanised countries in Africa. Approximately 16.7 percent of Malawi's population live in urban areas. Nevertheless, the country is urbanising at a moderate rate of approximately 3....
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/684141573844805428/Managing-Risks-for-a-Safer-Built-Environment-in-Malawi-Building-Regulatory-Capacity-Assessment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32761 |
| Summary: | In a rapidly urbanising world, Malawi
remains one of the least urbanised countries in Africa.
Approximately 16.7 percent of Malawi's population live
in urban areas. Nevertheless, the country is urbanising at a
moderate rate of approximately 3.7–3.9 percent per year. If
growth continues at this rate, by 2030, approximately 20
percent of the population will be city dwellers, reaching 30
percent in 2050. This urban growth has the potential to
improve economic opportunities and living conditions across
Malawi. This is particularly significant given that
approximately 69 percent of the population are living under
the international poverty line of 1.9 US Dollars/day in
purchasing power parity terms. However, challenges are also
associated with this shift and concentration of population.
With urbanisation comes a substantial amount of new
construction. In Malawi, much of this new construction has
occurred in cities and towns with limited capacity to ensure
the structures in which people live, work and gather are
safely sited and built to withstand chronic stresses (i.e.
fire and spontaneous collapse) and disaster shocks (i.e.
earthquakes and floods). In Lilongwe, for example, estimates
indicate that 76 percent of residents live in informal
settlements. These settlements are generally characterised
by a lack of access to publicservices, tenure insecurity and
inadequate housing. Malawi is impacted by a wide range of
hazards, particularly droughts, floods, landslides,
wildfires and earthquakes. Malawi is also vulnerable to
recurrent and chronic risks. Large building fires in recent
years include the LL and Mchinji Markets and the Mulanje Bus
Depot in 2016 and the Area 13 and Zomba Market in 2018. In
many ways, Malawi is at a crossroads: the regulatory
decisions made now will significantly impact the longterm
safety, productivity and resilience of the built environment
in rural and urban areas. With its low base and moderate
rate of urbanisation, Malawi is wellpositioned to formulate
plans to maximise the benefits and to manage the challenges
of urban agglomeration. |
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