Producing Affordable Housing in West Africa: How States Respond to Demand and Local Realities

Mathilde Mouton & translated by Oliver Waine — 2025-10-10T05:00:00Z

Based on her consulting work in West Africa, Mathilde Mouton highlights the limitations of state-led social housing programs. She calls for greater consideration of initiatives in the informal sector to produce housing that is adapted to the needs and resources of local populations.
A plan for 100,000 new homes in Senegal, a plan for 150,000 social housing units in Côte d'Ivoire, a plan for 40,000 dwellings in Burkina Faso, a plan to build 20,000 homes in Benin… Over the past decade, many

- From the Field / Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, Senegal, housing, affordable housing, informal housing, social housing

Large-Scale Farming in the Face of Competing Land Uses in Abidjan District, Côte d'Ivoire

Adjoba Marthe Koffi-Didia & translated by Oliver Waine — 2025-03-21T06:00:00Z

To the west of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire's largest city, large farming operations—owned by multinational companies geared toward export markets—are today facing an obstacle posed by Abidjan's growing urban sprawl and the rise of land claims among Indigenous communities whose customary rights are threatened.
Songon Subprefecture is located to the west of the Abidjan metropolitan area, 23 km (14 miles) from Abidjan's central business district (Le Plateau), and covers an area of 621.71 km² (240.04

- From the Field / land rights, Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Global South, agriculture, farming, land use, Africa, customary law, access to land, West Africa

Metropolitics

Producing Affordable Housing in West Africa: How States Respond to Demand and Local Realities

Large-Scale Farming in the Face of Competing Land Uses in Abidjan District, Côte d'Ivoire