User perspective on post-occupancy residential spatial transformation: The case of Mlalakuwa, Dar es Salaam

Abstract

Post-occupancy residential transformation is a defining feature of incremental urban housing across many African cities, yet the drivers and spatial logics of change remain insufficiently integrated into housing design and policy. This paper examines post-occupancy residential spatial transformations in Mlalakuwa, Dar es Salaam, focusing on how household dynamics, socio-cultural practices, and livelihood needs shape changes in domestic space over time. Empirical evidence is drawn from two respondent groups: 30 house owners/users across low-, middle-, and high-income categories and 30 building professionals, including architects and interior designers. Findings show that housing is continuously adapted as an adaptive socio-economic infrastructure, strongly shaped by livelihood strategies, notably rental rooms and home-based activities, the need for additional bedrooms and privacy, the cultural centrality of outdoor domestic space, and a widely expressed demand for flexible layouts. Extensions and additions—especially for rental rooms—are the dominant adaptation pathway, while living rooms and outdoor spaces emerge as key “adaptive hotspots.” Professionals largely endorse flexibility and user participation, yet also identify these as commonly overlooked in formal design, partly due to the persistent influence of Western zoning logic. The study argues for context-responsive housing frameworks that treat dwellings as hybrid domestic–productive environments, anticipate incremental growth, and embed outdoor and flexible spatial provisions as core design determinants.