Reflection on Rhetorics, Appropriate Building Materials, and Domestic Utilities Towards Reduction of Housing Costs in Africa: A Case of Tanzania

Abstract

Africa is facing housing deficit in terms of social infrastructure and number of dwelling units, basically because of overdependence on industrial building materials, technology and commercial energy. Provision of ideal housing includes adequate shelter, safety, sanitation, sewerage, security, privacy and utilities. This chapter gives a reflection on Tanzania’s housing national strategies and approaches in solving housing deficiencies. Tanzania is one of the countries in Africa. It is in the eastern part of the continent endowed with vast savannah plains with lakes, rivers, valleys and mountains including Mount Kilimanjaro and Serengeti national parks. Its current population in 2018 is estimated to be 59 million people with a density of 67 people per square kilometre in a tropical climate. The chapter highlights on the use of appropriate building materials such as soil-cement interlocking blocks and sisal concrete roofing tiles and alternative domestic utilities including solar energy and rainwater harvest as an attempt to reduce urban housing cost. The concept of reduce, reuse and recycle of housing resources is emphasized. Reducing is to achieve housing needs by decreasing housing amounts without compromising living standard, reusing is to repeat consuming housing resources instead of throwing, and recycling creates and uses new housing resources from old ones instead of trashing. Architects, engineers, spatial planners and others have a great and important role to play in reducing urban housing cost as the result of critical thinking and innovative professional services deserved to be provided to housing stakeholders especially in the Global South.