Community involvement in public services delivery is widely acknowledged in the literature and practice as being pivotal to local development initiatives especially in cities of the global south. However, the nature and role of social composition of communities is rarely explored. This presentation applies a case study research approach to retrospectively analyse how the social make-up of local communities and their organizations influenced coproduction of public services in a low income informal settlement in Dar es Salaam city. It is argued that unpacking community level contextual factors including local resources, socio-cultural and institutional structures, partnerships and networks is key to addressing the challenges that produce and sustain poverty, inequalities and exclusion in low income settlements. The paper also calls for search for more knowledge on how partnerships and community engagement can be sustained in low income settlements.

Wilbard Kombe is a Professor at Ardhi University, the Institute of Human Settlements Studies, Tanzania. He received his PhD from the Technical University of Dortmund, (TUD). His research works have focused on governance of informal urbanization, land management and administration; disasters management and livelihoods of the poor; urban inequality and coproduction of basic infrastructure services; and climate change and urban vulnerability. He has also been extensively involved in research activities in several countries in the Sub-Sahara Africa.

Kombe has also implemented several real-life projects undertaken in Tanzania covering a wide range of subjects. This includes large projects on coproduction of basic infrastructure services and livelihoods in low income settlements funded by UNDP, Ford Foundation and local government authorities LGAs in Tanzania.