« From precarious housing to the city: the example of Koungou »

By Vanille Guichard, Urban Architect, Director of Urban Planning and Renewal, and Clarisse Kinuthia, Project Manager for Urban Planning and Development, City of Koungou.

The youngest department in France, Mayotte is an island, a territory limited and constrained by its geography. Overlapping social, environmental, security, and health issues complicate the action that is nevertheless necessary in view of the successive crises affecting the territory. Among these issues, the question of housing affects all strata of the population, with both a shortage of housing and difficulties in accessing it, thus reinforcing the spread of slums. In practice, access to social housing is almost impossible for foreigners with legal status. Yet many of these households have been living in Mayotte for several decades. For these families, slums are often the only housing solution.

But these problems must not hinder the action that is essential to building a social and sustainable city in Mayotte. In December 2024, the passage of Cyclone Chido revealed the inconsistency that has plagued the territory for several decades. However, Mayotte has many tools adapted to its specific characteristics, as well as the advantages of the French framework for urban development and the fight against substandard housing.

The second largest city in Mayotte, with more than 50,000 inhabitants in 2024, Koungou is often held up as an example of the urban decay that characterizes Mayotte. Plagued by social and urban difficulties, it is the focus of the New National Urban Renewal Program (NPNRU) in the village (a name that reflects the island's recent rural past) of Majicavo-Koropa, the most populous of the six villages that make up the municipality.

Contrary to this image of decline, and thanks to partnerships established at the national level, the urban projects deployed since 2019 in Koungou are an example of concrete actions being taken to promote the development of the city of Mayotte. The operations carried out have made it possible to test responses and gradually build a methodology dedicated to the territory.

The Majicavo Talus 1 operation, launched in 2019, is a comprehensive slum clearance operation that has made it possible to create, for the first time, housing accessible to all legitimate residents. After a landslide that claimed the lives of a family in 2018, the mayor of Koungou took concrete action alongside the state to combat precarious housing. The Majicavo embankment was the ideal site for a demonstration project, enabling the first operation in Mayotte to demolish a slum and build housing on the site.

Based on the observation that many legitimate but precarious households did not have access to social housing, and in the absence of a dedicated framework, the city chose to experiment with the construction of 30 homes at a controlled production cost. This arrangement resulted in a monthly rent capped at between €50 and €100, depending on household income. Thirty households were temporarily rehoused on a 1-hectare site after demolition, and will return to live in the place of the pre-existing slum in new housing delivered between 2021 and 2023, with a dedicated management operator. This initial operation demonstrated that solutions were possible and that they would emerge from local experiences led by elected officials. It also proved the need to establish a regulatory and financial framework to fill the legal vacuum on the issue of the right to housing for regular but economically and administratively precarious populations, which are overrepresented in Mayotte.

In 2021, continuing this project, the decree on Highly Adapted Social Rental Housing (LLTSA)[1], specific to Mayotte and French Guiana, laid the foundations for the construction and operation of this housing.

The scarcity of housing is a characteristic of the territory that makes the issue of sustainable production imperative, but also raises the question of temporary housing. Indeed, while Operation Talus 1 demonstrated the ability to bring households back to their neighborhoods of origin, it also highlighted the complexity of adequately supporting these households during the reconstruction work.

While solutions can be found in the existing housing stock, some households do not have access to social housing and cannot afford private housing.

Through Operation Hamachaka, the city of Koungou wanted to go further by offering a rehousing solution dedicated to households affected by the demolitions, which could be implemented quickly, was accessible to the most vulnerable, and was close to the residents' original place of residence. 

To this end, in 2022 it began working on a model of “drawer” housing adapted to urban renewal operations in Mayotte. The construction of 10 modular homes in three months will enable a response to urgent operations (in this case, the demolition of phase 2 of the Majicavo embankment, a site that is extremely exposed to risks, in 2023). The city is responsible for land management and authorizations, then delegates the servicing, construction, rental management, and social support to a consortium composed of a builder and a specialized social operator through a framework agreement. The LLTSA is being mobilized again to finance the construction, with additional common law funding for the development and support of households.

This gives households access to low-cost housing and support to improve their situation, help them transition to common law, and prepare for their move into sustainable housing. The residential journey is continuous and ascending from slum to housing.

While these initial operations illustrate the possibility of offering solutions to the problem of rehousing, they must be integrated into comprehensive urban projects with more ambitious programming. Because a city cannot be built by accumulating small housing developments, it seemed essential to change scale by undertaking the transformation of slum neighborhoods. The mobilization of developers dedicated to public initiative projects is crucial to ensuring the creation of inclusive and sustainable neighborhoods. To achieve this, the city of Koungou had to develop a hybrid operating model and, alongside the state, take on a complex aspect of urban redevelopment projects: social support for families, from demolition to permanent rehousing, including temporary rehousing.

The oldest slum in Koungou, located in the heart of the village, the transformation of the Carobolé neighborhood was the first urban project of its kind in the area. The subject of numerous studies over the past 20 years, the transformation of this site had been planned but never materialized, despite partial exposure to significant hazards and marked insalubrity throughout the neighborhood (grey water spills, precarious foundations, little or no access to drinking water, etc.). Around 200 households lived in this neighborhood in the heart of the city, on land belonging to the municipality. In 2021, the city therefore launched social surveys to identify each occupant precisely. Contrary to popular belief, half of them are French and more than 9 out of 10 families are legally resident.

The need for action was clear, and government services were called upon to assist the municipality with the demolition and rehousing of the households, to provide the necessary resources, and to enable the urban renewal of the neighborhood.

Aerial views of the Carobole neighborhood: from slum to city (source: Lieux Fauves, project manager for the SIM/Colas development consortium)

Many people did not believe in the demolition, the reconstruction, or the possibility of being rehoused in the future neighborhood. However, for the first time in Mayotte:

· the State mobilized all of its available rehousing stock. The scarcity of housing and the large number of refusals due to the resulting distance made it all the more important to recreate a diverse range of housing with controlled density;

· rehousing agreements were signed between the municipality and the slum dwellers, giving them priority access to the housing once it was delivered;

· The 5-hectare slum was completely demolished to make way for urban renewal of the neighborhood.

· A development concession was signed with a local developer for the construction of approximately 420 housing units (ranging from social to private, and from rental to ownership), public facilities, shops, services, and a park covering more than 1.5 hectares.

· The implementation of “Letchimy” compensation payments is underway for households that have lived continuously and peacefully in the demolished neighborhood for at least 10 years. Dedicated to their long-term rehousing, these compensation payments reinforce the households' plans to facilitate their return to the site.

Signing of rehousing agreements for the 200 families of Carobolé in Koungou in 2021

Following Cyclone Chido, work is underway on this pilot project for Mayotte. Its objectives are all the more political in a context where the consequences of inaction have been revealed.

The implementation of these operations has enabled the town of Koungou to overcome the obstacles that often stand in the way of projects and therefore of regional development, including:

“But we don't have any land to develop and build on!”

It must be noted that “available” land is a rare commodity in Mayotte. Nevertheless, it is essential to remember that the Departmental Council is the largest landowner on the island, having been entrusted with land regularization powers at the time of departmentalization in 2011. This “scarcity” is reinforced by characteristics inherent to the island's geography and history: a rugged topography and natural hazards that affect 90% of the territory, numerous undivided estates that make it difficult to identify land, and rapidly increasing informal and precarious occupation.

However, these difficulties are typical of complex development operations aimed at combating substandard housing, and the French framework for action has a wide range of tools at its disposal. The challenge is therefore to control land (ownership, occupation, and use) and to develop a strategy at the territorial level.

French expertise in development makes it possible to manage risk in projects, with dedicated tools, particularly for eliminating substandard housing. For example, expropriation under the Vivien law was used in a 5-hectare slum area as part of the Mavadzani-Mouinajou development project and has proven to be an appropriate procedure for carrying out projects in slum contexts. This method of “land recovery” has enabled the public authorities to control land acquisition costs by passing on the cost of work to eliminate substandard housing (rehousing of households, demolition, etc.) to the landowner. This dual-purpose approach also allows for early possession of the property, as soon as the Declaration of Public Utility is issued, and gives the local authority the necessary latitude to act effectively and legitimately in favor of decent housing.

· “But in Mayotte there is very little space available for construction!”

Rebuilding the city on top of the slum not only supports the goal of eliminating substandard housing, but also the goal of sustainable development. Urban renewal allows the city to develop without further expansion and is a particularly suitable tool for the constrained territory of Mayotte. The potential for construction offered by the restructuring of slums is very significant. The Carobolé and Mavadzani-Mouinajou projects demonstrate that rebuilding on the site of former slums is possible, with sensible densification and plenty of space left for high-quality public areas. More than just possible, these projects are intended to be precursors and demonstrations of a virtuous model of urban development in Mayotte.

· “But why not support self-build projects in slums?”

Slums are a widespread phenomenon in Mayotte, particularly in Koungou, where they account for 40% of housing and are growing exponentially (INSEE, 2017). Characterizing and addressing the irremediable unsanitary conditions in these neighborhoods is the responsibility of the public authorities, as is guaranteeing access to decent housing. The lack of planning is a major factor in the vulnerability of populations to the crises that have long affected the island, such as the water crisis and Cyclone Chido. Adapting the response and management of resources to needs can hardly be left to the individual level. Development is essential to provide solutions to the greatest number of people in the public interest.

Aerial views of the village of Majicavo-Koropa showing the spread of informal and precarious urbanization over five years within the perimeter of the current Mavadzani-Mouinajou development project

· “But we can't rehouse everyone!”

The project methodology specific to urban renewal, the diversity of social housing types, and new tools specific to adapted housing (rental intermediation, boarding houses, etc.) offer several ways to create housing accessible to different households. However, the specificities of French law in Mayotte on the legality of residence make it difficult for all households to access housing. The completion of operations has enabled the city of Koungou to experiment with new housing models in order to offer alternatives and permanently eliminate substandard housing.

While the implementation of these initiatives, from slum clearance to rehousing, shows that this problem can be temporarily circumvented, their outcome reveals a final sticking point: households that are legally resident but economically and administratively precarious do not have access to social housing. This situation prevents urban development objectives from being achieved, as many of these households are forced to return to unsanitary and precarious neighborhoods.

Urban projects in Mayotte could provide a lasting solution to environmental, health, and security issues. The successful completion of slum clearance and housing projects allows us to deduce the conditions for their success:

· Prioritize the rehousing of regular households that have been involved and present in the territory for more than 10 years within urban projects;

· Align access to social benefits, particularly in terms of housing assistance, with the rules in force in the national territory. This social convergence is urgent, as it would enable households in a regular situation affected by demolitions to access the social housing intended for them and currently under construction, in order to truly achieve the urban renewal of the territory.

For example, opening up access to Personalized Housing Assistance (APL) would improve their solvency. This change in the law seems necessary to enable households rehoused in these parks to access “traditional” social housing in the medium term and live in the renewed neighborhoods.

The passage of Cyclone Chido was dramatic for the territory. It demonstrates the consequences of inaction in the face of growing problems, particularly in terms of unsanitary conditions. However, by favoring a field-based approach and the implementation of operations, the city of Koungou has shown that it is possible to overcome the lack of ready-made solutions and the importance of building a framework from the ground up, thanks to strong political commitment.

This disaster may also be an opportunity to learn from experience and use it to establish an ambitious, concrete, and rewarding action plan for Mayotte.

To this end, working on access to housing, and rights in general, for all households in a regular situation and involved in the projects is essential to truly eliminate the slum. This will undoubtedly be the main challenge for the public institution dedicated to the reconstruction of Mayotte.

[1] Decree of September 17, 2021 relating to the trial of the “highly social adapted rental housing” scheme in the departments of French Guiana and Mayotte.

This English translation was prepared with the assistance of DeepL, a language model developed by OpenAI, based on the original French article published in May 2025 on the AdP – Villes en Développement bulletin website.