01 | INFORMAL URBANISM
Towards Cities Shaped and Sustained by Everyone
— Inclusive Urban Planning Inspired by Informal Urbanism —
Research Vision
Cities are shaped not only by plans developed by governments and professionals but also by the everyday activities of the people who live in them. In cities across Africa and Asia, residents have played active roles in developing their cities by creating, maintaining, and managing their homes, workplaces, and shared spaces. What can we learn from these resident-led processes of urban development? Focusing on informal urbanism, we seek to understand the mechanisms through which cities are shaped and transformed by people's everyday practices and initiatives.
We investigate land use, spatial formation, resident-led management, and community activities in informal settlements, examining their social and spatial characteristics. By exploring the creativity and flexibility embedded in residents' practices and reconsidering their relationships with formal urban planning and institutions, we seek new approaches to urban planning that respect people's agency. Our goal is to contribute to inclusive and sustainable cities where diverse people can actively shape, sustain, and transform their urban environments.
Research Fields & Activities
Kigali, Rwanda
Community-led settlement upgrading, Resettlement, Land tenure
Nairobi, Kenya
Urban formation, Land tenure, Public space, Social diversity
Mumbai, India
Land use, Housing and livelihoods, Coexistence and segregation
Lusaka, Zambia
Land tenure, Land use, Housing investment, Commoning
High Atlas, Morocco
Disaster recovery, Pre-disaster recovery
Research Projects
Selected Projects
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2026-2031｜The Project for AI-driven Seismic Risk Reduction for Low-rise Residential Buildings Integrating Local Materials and Diverse Social Approaches — JST & JICA / SATREPS
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2025-2027｜インフォーマル市街地に根ざしたインクルーシブ都市計画の学術基盤の構築：アフリカ都市の実践から — 旭硝子財団
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2022-2027｜アジアメガシティの社会的レジリエンス強化に向けたコモンズ型都市空間管理の体系化 — JSPS 科研費 基盤研究(B)
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2024-2026｜新興アジア諸国におけるスマートシティ政策の都市マネジメントへ の展開可能性に関する研究 — 鹿島学術振興財団
Research Outputs
Books
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2026｜アフリカ 地図にない都市 まちを手づくりしながら生きる — 学芸出版社
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2015｜アジア・アフリカの都市コミュニティ：「手づくりのまち」の形成論理とエンパワメントの実践 — 学芸出版社
Selected Journal Articles
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2026｜インフォーマル市街地における住宅投資と賃貸化が居住環境と居住主体に与える影響：ザンビア・ルサカを事例に — 松下航太郎, 小野悠, 日本建築学会計画系論文集, 91(846), 1935–1942
- 2025｜Public Space and Social Diversity in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements — Haruka Ono, Japan Architectural Review, 8(1), e70062
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2024｜Community-driven informal settlement upgrading as an everyday practice: The role of urban and governance policies — Haruka Ono, Uwamahoro Adrien, Land Use Policy, 146, 107318
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2024｜居住と生業の場としてのインフォーマル市街地にみる共生と棲み分けの原理 ―インド・ムンバイのダラーヴィを事例に — 小野悠ほか, 住総研 研究論文集・実践研究報告集, 50, 221–231
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2024｜Relationship between land tenure and land use in unplanned settlements in Lusaka, Zambia — Haruka Ono, Mundia Muya, Habitat International, 143, 102985
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2021｜Process and Mechanism of Land Acquisition and Land Tenure Security in Informal Settlements in Nairobi — Haruka Ono, Tetsuo Kidokoro, Japan Architectural Review, 4(1), 168–175
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2020｜Understanding the Development Patterns of Informal Settlements in Nairobi — Haruka Ono, Tetsuo Kidokoro, Japan Architectural Review, 3(3), 384–393