Ambivalent realities, economic prospects and slum conditions: The case of the Mbare Matapi Flats in Harare, Zimbabwe,C.1980-2020

Abstract

This paper analyses the persistence of urban decay in the Mbare Matapi Flats in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. It pays close attention to the paradoxical relationship between the slum conditions of the flats and the economic vibrancy within the surrounding township. We argue that the prolonged economic and political crisis in the country has produced an ambivalent condition in most urban spaces where citizens often endure deteriorating living conditions in exchange for access to informal economic enclaves. Drawing on qualitative interviews and newspaper sources, the study also demonstrates how the vibrancy of the informal economy—encompassing vending, craft production, commercial sex work and drug markets, among many survivalist activities—has generated economic niches that paradoxically both sustain urban livelihoods while simultaneously creating political and economic conditions that inhibit infrastructural rehabilitation and development. Our findings demonstrate that, despite chronic overcrowding, health hazards, and structural dilapidation, many residents of the dilapidated Matapi Flats expressed a strong desire to remain lodged there because of their proximity to vital income-generating opportunities within the vibrant Mbare informal market. We argue that this seeming paradox illuminates the limits of materialism within a dysfunctional economy, where the pursuit of economic survival appears to outweigh concerns for health, sanitation, housing and the general quality of life. The findings further reveal that this situation is exacerbated by entrenched political interests and the legacies of uneven urban development, which have combined to perpetuate the slum conditions that shape this developmental paradox in which economic resilience coexists with infrastructural deterioration. Overall, the paper’s conclusions contribute to global debates on macroeconomic development, informality, and urban development.