The Informal City

2007 was the year the world’s population shifted from mainly rural to predominantly urban. By 2050, the global population will reach 10 billion, and seven in ten people worldwide will inhabit cities, while it is estimated a third of humanity will live in informal settlements. In Haiti, 80% of city dwellers live in informal neighbourhoods. As products of a self-financed and self-built process, these settlements lack basic services and are often extremely poor and vulnerable to natural disasters. With our artwork, we intend to reflect on the tricky relationship between the formal and the informal urban fabrics in Port-au-Prince. We also aim to demonstrate how small-scale architectural projects could have a big and positive impact on the wider community with the ultimate goal to build community resilience.