Changing the Lens on Informality: Insights from Inclusive Cities Conference

Across the Global South, millions of people living in informal settlements are developing innovative solutions to climate challenges that formal planning often overlooks. A vibrant panel at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Inclusive Cities Conference, hosted by SARChI Inclusive Cities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, from 9 to 12 September 2025, revealed how these communities represent not just vulnerability, but untapped resilience and adaptation expertise.

Dr. Mamokete Modiba and Dr. Samkelisiwe Khanyile from the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) led a panel session, entitled “Resilience from the Margins: Rethinking Informality in Climate Adaptation,” to challenge a fundamental assumption: that informal settlements are simply problems to be solved rather than sources of knowledge for climate adaptation. The panel, held on the third day of the conference, set the stage for a lively and critical dialogue. The session spoke directly to the conference theme: Resilient Cities and Communities: Adapting to Climate Change and Beyond.

The panel began from a stark reality: across the Global South, informal settlements and economies accommodate a growing share of the urban population. These communities are among the most exposed to climate hazards yet often remain underserved by formal adaptation policies. As climate change intensifies, informality, long cast as a sign of urban dysfunction, is being reimagined as a space of both vulnerability and resilience, as well as a hub of innovation, mutual aid, and environmental knowledge.

Through a multidisciplinary lens, panellists examined the complex intersections between informality and climate resilience and adaptation, questioning dominant narratives that marginalise informal actors while neglecting their adaptive capacities. The discussion explored how informality not only shapes risk exposure but also enables flexible, bottom-up responses to climate challenges.

Moderated by Dr. Modiba, the panel brought together a diverse range of voices: Dr. Khanyile (GCRO), Bahle Mazeka (Msunduzi Local Municipality), Richard Dobson (Asiye eTafuleni), Caroline Skinner (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing), and Bongumusa Ndwandwe (Acting Registrar/CEO of South African Council for Planners). Together, they offered thought-provoking insights that challenged decision-makers to rethink the role and place of informality in African cities. Rather than framing informality solely as vulnerability, panellists called for a paradigm shift towards recognising it as a site of agency, resilience, and innovation. They also highlighted the need for the state and other stakeholders to ensure informality is properly integrated into adaptation policies and interventions.