Informal settlements are an eyesore but are inevitable products of urbanization. In the process of urbanization, so many informal settlements have sprung up in city precincts, suburbs, and peri-urban areas. At least 83 informal settlements have sprung...
Informal settlements are an eyesore but are inevitable products of urbanization. In the process of urbanization, so many informal settlements have sprung up in city precincts, suburbs, and peri-urban areas. At least 83 informal settlements have sprung up in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Given that Port Moresby receives the most migrants, this study discusses informal settlements in the city as it undergoes urbanization using the typical cases of Garden Hills and ATS Samarai Block. The study aims to investigate the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of dwellers of Garden Hills and ATS Samarai Block, examine the rate of population changes in Port Moresby and determine why settlers choose to live in informal settlements, look into the affordability of housing and land, assess the state of informal settlements and the direction of city growth, and identify challenges for governments brought on by informal urbanization for policy interventions. The study also aims to take a closer look at the issues pertaining to land (both State and Customary) and law and order issues. Residents of informal settlements are interviewed to gain insight into their motivations for moving to Port Moresby. In-migration, population change, urbanization and city-directional growth, the status of informal settlements, housing affordability, and land issues at the study sites are the main subjects of the study.
The study employed a sample biased technique for both convenience sample and purpose response sample. The 40 household respondents were selected from the total population of the area using random sampling to grasp the different socio - economic characteristics because both settlements were comprised of people from all over PNG living in Port Moresby city.
The result indicates that younger people are coming to Port Moresby for school and enjoying city bright lights and employment. Majority of the residents of both communities, 43% and 35%, respectively, are from the Milne Bay and Eastern Highlands Provinces. Public sector salary pay structure the least paid worker (PS01) gets 633 PGK per month; 30% is 190 PGK, worker at median (PS10) gets 1, 660 PGK; 30% is 498 PGK and a highly paid worker (PS20) gets 6087.93 PGK; 30% is 1826.37 PGK.
There is a need for Policy or Regulatory Framework to regulate housing, real estate, land prices and the upgrading of informal settlements into city suburbs. The Vagrancy Act must be reviewed, and proper control mechanisms must be put in place to control city movements and orderly settings of the city areas. The Papua New Guinea National Housing Policy 2021-2030 must be reviewed and put into place an effective implementation mechanism to deal with city’s housing issues. To ensure that the city's design and expansion are managed and administered in an orderly and planned manner, the Port Moresby Towards 2030 Plan must be resourced and efficiently implemented.