EDUCATOR
Rugerero, Rwanda
Rwanda’s Model Villages: Co-Produced Policy Brief
EDUCATOR
Rugerero, Rwanda
Rwanda’s Model Villages: Co-Produced Policy Brief
Project Team
Dr Luca Brunelli
Dr Josephine Malonza
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This study examines how national housing programmes translate the SDGs into everyday life in rural Rugerero, exploring residents’ experiences of multi-storey living and shared facilities through a Capability Approach.
Overview
Building on collaborative research in Karama, this study extends the analysis of Rwanda’s Integrated Development Programme to a rural context, examining how national housing policies translate the SDGs into everyday life. Funded by the British Academy and Leverhulme, the research focuses on Rugerero Model Village in Western Rwanda and was carried out with support from architecture students from the University of Rwanda. Framed by the Capability Approach, the study understands housing not only as physical provision but as an enabling infrastructure shaping people’s real opportunities to live well. Using a post-occupancy perspective, it examines how spatial design, shared facilities, and settlement layout influence livelihoods, health, social relations, and residents’ capacity to adapt.
Institution
Glasgow School of Art
Mackintosh School of Architecture
Community Organization
Universtiy of Rwanda — Kigali, Rwanda
cst.ur.ac.rw/?-School-of-Architecture-and-Built-Environment-
Additional Team Members
Arch. Norbert Luc Akirakayonga, research assistant
Community Engagement
Community engagement was integral to the research. Through photovoice, participatory mapping, and focus groups, residents articulated everyday practices, constraints, and aspirations. A validation workshop enabled participants to review findings, refine interpretations, and prioritise recommendations.
Partners
Mackintosh School of Architecture, GSA Glasgow. School of Architecture and Built Environment (SABE), University of Rwanda and Rugerero Model Village residents, Rubavu.
