Prefigurative urbanization: housing cooperatives, social movements, and the urban transformation question in Harare (Zimbabwe)

Abstract

Housing cooperatives and social movements have become significant actors in the housing delivery in Harare, Zimbabwe. This paper examines how these social movements contribute to the transformation of urban territories. We argue that through strategies, such as collective defiance and demonstration of alternative; housing cooperatives and social movements have challenged urban authorities to concede to new forms of urban development. These urban collectives have created ‘new infrastructure geographies. At the same time, planning institutions respond by reforming policies to embrace grassroots housing initiatives. Our findings contribute to scholarly debates on how the urban poor produce and transform urban spaces.