Kecia Rust: From Informality to Inclusion in Africa's Housing Revolution
The Century of Cities · Professor Greg Clark & Jennifer Dolynchuk
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Show Notes
In this episode of The Century of Cities, we are joined by Kecia Rust, Executive Director at Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa. As the leader of a network spanning 70 organizations across 23 countries, Kecia has spent decades studying how affordability, finance, and policy intersect to determine who gets to call the city home.
She traces the evolution of African housing from the constraints of apartheid-era exclusion to today's rapid urbanization, revealing how outdated financial systems, rigid policies, and colonial legacies still shape access to land, credit, and ownership. Kecia calls for a radical rethinking of informality, not as a failure, but as a force. She argues that embracing the ingenuity of informal builders, young entrepreneurs, and local communities is key to unlocking sustainable, inclusive cities across the continent.