Informing the Informal: Examining the Morphological Production of Informal Built Landscape Types

Informal and formalized settlements present unique forms of informality that are significant for research on the urban development of cities in the Global South. This study adds to the body of research on informal settlements by adding methodological tools to analyze the implicit rules of informal urban areas from a typo-morphological perspective. To ground this research, this article examines the urban morphology of informal built landscapes in two large urban agglomerations: São Paulo and Manila. Ten cases have been identified, mapped, and analyzed to show their morphology in terms of street configuration patterns, service delivery, location in city structure, terrain, public space, access to plots, building typology, negotiation and organization of inhabitants, order of construction of buildings and streets, as well as control over buildings and plots. This paper focuses on a morphological discussion of informal urban patterns, providing a means for urban practice to encourage the creation of more just cities for the many urban settlers arriving in cities globally.