Are somali cities competing with indian slums ?

[Thegoodshepherd]

I just watched a video about Garowe.. uhm where is the urbanplanning? This city has been built from scratch the last two decades, they had a great opportunity to build something that wasn’t an eyesore What happened? whats up with all the colours? Where are the trees? Sidewalks? Why are all the buildings so close?

reer puntland ?

where is the urbanplanning?

Urban planning in Garowe is probably the fourth best in Somalia after Mogadishu, Ceerigaabo and Burco. Garowe is actually very good by Somali standards. It has more paved road as a % of land area than any city in Somalia.

This city has been built from scratch the last two decades, they had a great opportunity to build something that wasn’t an eyesore What happened?

While Garowe itself was not a large town in 1991, all of the land that it was going to expand into was already spoken for. The city did not have the privilege of expanding into land that no one owned.

whats up with all the colours?

Somalis like bright colors.

Where are the trees?

This is a fair point. Puntland as a whole does not really plant enough trees in its cities. Huge problem.

Sidewalks? Why are all the buildings so close?

The lack of sidewalks is not a big problem on side streets (see Japan), but it is a huge problem on the main streets. Puntland has failed to construct sidewalks because landowners have built right up to the street's edge to maximize their land value. Buildings are very close to each other because landowners do not spare any of their plot. Landowners want to reach an FAR as close to 100% as possible. There is nor regulation limiting FAR.

Great questions.

 

[AbdiFreedom]

Somalia's leaders have no vision for their country's future and are only there to loot the country's resources so urban planning is on no one's radar. You'll never hear one talk about their passions to make Somalia better. It's always about kursi doon to brag of their fake power to their clansmen. If anyone on here has any influence on Somalia's corrupt influential people, convince them to give lucrative contracts to enthusiastic white planners working for municipal governments in Amsterdam or DC or Copenhagen to start the work. Don't expect urban planner Farah from the diaspora to do anything. He would likely be irrelevant clan-wise to do anything and would be of just average IQ. They need a white man to do the work in perpetuity.

 

[Midas]

Although it's been several years since I've been to somalia i was there for several months and I don't really rember seeing somali beggars? Now that I think back on that it's quite unusual. A lot of the beggars were from ethiopia and possibly some from yemen.

 

[Keep it a boqol]

I remeber there was a viral tweet of a overview of xamar and it’s city layout and the african people were impressed cuz it was better then there’s . (I think it’s on this forum)

Regardless the standard should be above african expectation we shouldn’t aim to be another favela

 

[themalenurse]

Xamar gonna have a massive slum like Lagos or Mumbai I can see it coming

 

[Lightshow]

the first part of this video is what majority of this city looks like

Have you been to Garowe?

 

[Marmarsi]

Have you been to Garowe?

Not yet, sadly

 

[Marmarsi]

It’s fair game, OP tried compare Garowe with a slum and I’m 80% certain ik where they’re from themselves

Spoiler

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[Idilinaa]

Xamar gonna have a massive slum like Lagos or Mumbai I can see it coming

Meanwhile the opposite is happening in reality.

Rebuilding Mogadishu: The Rise of Affordable Housing Estates in Somalia’s Capital​

Rebuilding Mogadishu: The Rise of Affordable Housing Estates in Somalia's Capital - MyProperty.so

Somalia, a country once ravaged by two decades of civil war, is experiencing a remarkable transformation in its real estate sector. After years of instability and destruction, Mogadishu, the capital city, is witnessing a surge in housing development, driven by the return of diaspora Somalis and...

www.myproperty.so

 

[Zak12]

The IDP camps are worse than any African slums

 

[Idilinaa]

The IDP camps are worse than any African slums

Camps are not peoples homes, every displaced person return to their real homes or are resettled. It's a short term temporary solution.

Yall speak as if its a permanent living condition, when you have displaced everywhere in the world. Even in Europe, and America. Even in other African countries, people fleeing from environmental problems or conflict.

I remeber there was a viral tweet of a overview of xamar and it’s city layout and the african people were impressed cuz it was better then there’s . (I think it’s on this forum)

Regardless the standard should be above african expectation we shouldn’t aim to be another favela

It's beyond any expectations , because Somalis are doing this themselves without little to no help from their own government.

Mogadishu especially since they are rebuilding in the midst of being situated in a protracted conflict zone.

 

[Marmarsi]

Garowe is better than most cities in Somalia and it doesn’t necessarily look like indian slums but it feels like one *to me* I think it’s because of how congested and disorganized the city feels, like here in Scandinavia you could be in the most rafaad part of any town and it’s miles ahead of the best looking somali city.. It might feel like an unfair comparison since Scandinavia is wealthy and we’re not. But it doesn’t require alot of money to make a city walkable and easy on the eyes. All you need is a little co-operation.

(Borama) This looks CRAZY to me, I think I’d feel claustrophobic here.

I feel like alot of you are from the UK/US ..you also have shitty urbanplanning, that’s why you don’t mind

 

[Idilinaa]

Garowe is better than most cities in Somalia and it doesn’t necessarily look like indian slums but it feels like one *to me* I think it’s because of how congested and disorganized the city feels, like here in Scandinavia you could be in the most rafaad part of any town and it’s miles ahead of the best looking somali city.. It might feel like an unfair comparison since Scandinavia is wealthy and we’re not. But it doesn’t require alot of money to make a city walkable and easy on the eyes. All you need is a little co-operation.

View attachment 345414
(Borama) This looks CRAZY to me, I think I’d feel claustrophobic here.

I feel like alot of you are from the UK/US ..you also have shitty urbanplanning, that’s why you don’t mind

Urban planning happens via a housing authority or an overarching state. These are all built by private individuals building on a plot of land they bought and they renovated the land as well .

But compare the difference here:

This is how Borama looked like in the 1980s

This is how it looks in 2020:

Somali settlements never progress into slums.

 

[𐒁𐒚𐒒𐒂𐒘𐒂𐒗 𐒎𐒚𐒗𐒗𐒒]

Not yet, sadly

Garowe is better than most cities in Somalia and it doesn’t necessarily look like indian slums but it feels like one *to me* I think it’s because of how congested and disorganized the city feels

You can't 'feel' something when you haven't been there. You think Garowe and even Borama look congested, but that's from the pictures and videos from above; this will not give you the true scale of the place.

I've been to Garowe, it's very clean and safe. There are sidewalks and they keep building more and more. There are also nice hotels and restaurants to eat at.

In addition, Amal Real Estate are building an entirely new village that will exceed any of your expectations, with 1000 Villas.

Modern Neighbourhood Development 'New Garowe' by Amal Real Estate

Two decades?:kodaksmiley: Don’t disrespect Amal:camby: What’s with the negativity? :cosbyhmm: I’d doubt it’s gonna look like anything in the video but don’t think it’s gonna take long. Pretty sure they have a neighborhood like this in Bosaso now. Just facts no negativity that looks like a huge...

www.somalispot.com

 

[NidarNidar]

Urban planning happens via a housing authority or an overarching state. These are all built by private individuals building on a plot of land they bought and they renovated the land as well .

But compare the difference here:

This is how Borama looked like in the 1980s
View attachment 345415


This is how it looks in 2020:

Somali settlements never progress into slums.

Even the recent pictures are old, that whole area is filled with houses, I just bought land towards the the road from Borama to Djibouti, land prices have sky rocketed in the area, my uncle bought land and built a house just outside the city near the mountains and people are building nearby.

 

[Cartan Boos]

I wonder why Somalis has never had big slums like our neighbours even tho we barely had government, must be cultural thing

 

[Sa_Male]

I wonder why Somalis has never had big slums like our neighbours even tho we barely had government, must be cultural thing

The houses are tiny as well
Ten people in one tiny house.

 

[Idilinaa]

I wonder why Somalis has never had big slums like our neighbours even tho we barely had government, must be cultural thing

It's a combination of cultural, economic and geographical factors.

I was planning on posting a geography thread explaining the number of historical geographical advantages we have before i exit. For example , unlike other African countries Somalia has a geological landscape in many areas that allowed for available stone quarries that can be used for construction like limestone, granite and sandstone for building purposes and cement production.

Whereas other African countries in many areas are characterized by laterite soils and sedimentary rock formations rather than extensive granite or limestone deposits and opted historically to use mud , adobe and timber are mostly available to them as building materials. Similar with Ethiopia their quarrying industry is not as developed as in Somalia, especially in rural areas.

So our homes are just generally better built as a result and with durable materials:


There is also an economic and cultural element to this as well, but for the sake of keeping it short i'll leave you with this tidbit.

The houses are tiny as well
Ten people in one tiny house.

Most of them are large multi-room estates .

For contrast look how tiny she looks next to the houses.

 

[Bazed]

the first part of this video is what majority of this city looks like

As cities grow and develop you are bound to find areas in which cheap and crowded homes are made. The process isn't something that happens overnight, however there should be regulations in place to dictate how to build safe public housing.

 

[_Yusuf_]

I've actually been to Garowe, and it has sidewalks, and it's very clean. The pictures you provided are of residential streets and they are normal houses, not corrugated shacks or anything resembling a slum residency.

The only 'issue' I see from your complaint, is that there are residential homes that need to have their rooftops repainted, that's just normal wear and tear. Nobody even really notices wear and tear or chipped paint on a rooftops unless they are a drone operator.

But indian slum?? What?


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wTRC04TEzn0

There is a huge water bottle issue. Those blue hubaal bottles are everywhere.