Wednesday November 20, 2024
A city of contrasts: Mogadishu’s rapidly changing skyline symbolizes progress but reveals growing inequality. The Op-Ed explores the economic forces and societal impacts of the housing crisis transforming Somalia’s capital. / Credit Redit/ r/Somalia
Mogadishu, once a renowned city in Somalia celebrated for its rich culture and historical charm, is now grappling with a crisis that jeopardizes the very foundation of its socioeconomic structure. The divide between the affluent and the less fortunate is widening due to Mogadishu's soaring house rentals, which are a result of the city's fast urbanization, the return of the diaspora, foreign aid, and a number of other interrelated causes. This alarming shift starkly contrasts with Somalia's past, when a more egalitarian middle-class culture thrived. In those days, wealth was shared, and the average Somali enjoyed a reasonable standard of living.
Today, however, Mogadishu has transformed into a city of stark contrasts, where luxurious skyscrapers and multimillionaires coexist with a majority who struggle to survive. How did we get here, and what can be done to bridge this growing divide?
The Price of Progress Mogadishu’s Housing Crisis
With every new skyscraper transforming Mogadishu’s skyline, the rental market reaches new, unaffordable heights. Gleaming symbols of progress, meant to speak of growth and prosperity, these have instead grown costs and rent by unprecedented levels. For the poor families of Mogadishu, this situation is not merely an inconvenience; it represents a crisis that threatens their very survival. Take Ali Abdulle, who has lived in the Hodan district for decades. It used to be the heart of Mogadishu, and to him, the neighborhood is growing into an inaccessible dream. The skyrocketing rent has forced him to relocate to the outskirts of the city, where he watches from a distance as the life he once knew slips away. Similar to many, his story rings of alienation from
progress facing them. Inflation forces the prices ever higher and causes the family to lose so much more than the affordability of housing. It is a tearing apart of the social fabric in which education, health, and dignity are at stake.
Ironically, the construction of more buildings does not lead to lower rents; high-rise complexes often drive prices up even more than single-family homes. This is against the usual economic logic, and many wonder why an increase in housing supply does not bring relief to the residents.
A Fragmented Community: The Cost of Division
As the affluent move into gated communities, they develop a Western-style way of life, neighbors become strangers, and social relations are kept to a minimum. The very active communal areas that once defined Mogadishu have been replaced by isolation, where children play behindsafe walls away from those who are not of the same economic standing. Such a stark change erodes the notion of unity that once characterized the city and replaces it with one defined by division and exclusion.
Historically, Mogadishu was a beacon of unity. Each family would enjoy a typical Somali breakfast of canjeero, followed by rice for lunch. The wealthy and poor alike shared similar meals, fostering a sense of community and shared experience. Peers would frequent the same cafés, enjoying coffee together regardless of economic standing, weaving a rich social tapestry. Unfortunately, the city’s rapid urbanization, driven by the influx of the diaspora and foreign aid, has shattered this harmony.
Today, poorer families shop in local markets, while the affluent turn to supermarkets and high end retailers, underscoring a growing divide that now feels like a distant memory.
A Paradox of Value: Real Estate as Speculation
In the Mogadishu housing market, speculative value has quickly overtaken actual worth. Even considering the security challenges that have always faced the country, land prices seem to rival those of even more advanced cities of the world. Here, real estate is less about finding a home or building a business but an investment game in which prices spiral upward on the assumption they will continue to rise. It's a speculation that distorts property values and compounds inequality, making the dream of home ownership - and even renting - absolutely impossible. In this speculative environment, property prices become disconnected from economic reality, driving up rents and making it impossible for the average Somali to keep up. This isn’t due to a lack of space; Somalia’s population density remains low, with only about 29.34 people per square kilometer as of 2024. The scarcity here is not land but access—an access increasingly reserved for those who can afford speculative prices, while others struggle to secure basic shelter. That is not for want of space: in 2023, Somalia still maintains a low population density of about 28 people per square kilometer. This is not a problem of the shortage of land but the shortage of access to it-increasingly only available for those who can pay speculative prices, while other people have to scramble for basic shelter.
The Human Cost of Mogadishu’s Housing Crisis
Ali’s story is a stark illustration of the human toll Mogadishu’s housing crisis exacts. His vision of progress has turned from hopeful to bitter as he faces a future in which rents rise unchecked while his income remains stagnant. For him and many others, the endeavor to afford a house is not about statistics but about survival, security, and the right to live in dignity. His life, forced
onto the edges of city-life, reflects one silent scream from those who've watched homes, communities, and dreams slip right through their fingers.
This crisis requires more than just policy changes. it needs a value update in which housing is regarded as a right and not a luxury or speculative commodity. Indeed, without rooting out such deep-seated problems, Mogadishu can only dream about becoming a city where skyscrapers and citizens can thrive together
Mogadishu’s skyline may be rising, but the foundations on which it stands—the lives and dreams of its people—are falling behind. . Until gap is bridged, the true progress of this city will continue to be out of grasp.
(Abdiwahab Hussein Mohamed is an economist with a keen focus on macroeconomics and Somali monetary policy; he can be reached at [email protected])