Boundary work: becoming middle class in suburban Dar es Salaam

Suburban space provides a useful window onto contemporary class practices in Africa, where it is difficult to identify social classes on the basis of income or occupation. In this article I argue that the middle classes and the suburbs are mutually constitutive in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam. Using interviews with residents and local government officials in the city's northern suburbs, I discuss the material and representational practices of middle-class boundary work in relation to land and landscape. If the middle classes do not presently constitute a coherent political-economic force, they are nevertheless transforming the city's former northern peri-urban zones into desirable suburban residential neighbourhoods

Sustainable urbanization and spatial growth of cities in least industrialised countries : the case of Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania

One of the most disturbing outcomes of rapid urbanisation in least industrialised countries is the inability to manage spatial growth in rapidly growing towns and cities. Most worrying has not been only the declining capability of urban local authorities to provide basic infrastructure, but the rapid urbanisation that is driven by widespread poverty and stagnating poor economies. The consequences of this type of urbanisation have been directly related to un-sustainable spatial growth of cities. The characteristics of this kind of growth are evidenced by the booming informal economic sector and proliferation of settlements in these cities. This pattern of growth has crippled effective urban management. As density increases in the old informal settlements, new developments tend to overspill into peri-urban zones where buildable land is available at affordable price especially for the poor. The fact that low-rise and low-density housing development dominate spatial forms in these new areas, the impacts of city sprawl and associated negative externality effects are increasingly becoming imminent. These are manifested in terms of air and water pollution, traffic jams, increased household expenditure on transport costs, diseases, diminishment of open spaces and conservation areas, and more generally poor functioning of the cities. This paper presents the spatial dimension of urbanisation of Dar es Salaam City and analyses its growth within the context of sustainable urbanisation variables. It employs existing spatial data from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development combining with census data sources. Aerial and oblique photos were also used to complement spatial data. In order to address sustainable urbanisation goals, it recommends for solicitation of new city spatial and house forms and revision of the city structure.Keywords: Sustainable urbanisation, spatial growth, city sprawl, Dar es Salaa

Building redevelopment and its implications on spatial qualities in Kariakoo area, Dar es Salaam city, Tanzania

This paper analyses building redevelopment and its effects on spatial qualities in Kariakoo, an inner city settlement in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania. Kariakoo is rapidly transforming from typically single storey Swahili type of buildings to multi-storey buildings. As a consequence of this transformation, a number of spatial quality problems have emerged such as blocked ventilation, poor day lighting, blocked site views and limited spaces between building resulting into dark and unused alleyways. Even though several plans have been made to guide redevelopment processes in this area, their realisation on the ground is uncoordinated. Development control is largely lacking and the ''market led‟ redevelopment dynamics as depicted by plot-by-plot redevelopment of houses seem to overshadow spatial qualities design requirements. In order to address these shortfalls, the establishment of special authorities and adoption of land pooling have been suggested as possible avenues for facilitating flexible design and effective management of the on-going redevelopment processes.Keywords: Building redevelopment, Spatial qualities, Kariakoo and Dar es Salaa

Climate change and its effects on livelihood strategies of peri-urban coastal communities in Tanzania

This study was conducted to analyze the effects of climate change on livelihoods of the peri-urban coastal communities of Tanzania. Peri-urban coastal communities constituted the focus of the study because they are rapidly transforming albeit with limited attention in terms of planning and management. Four settlements were purposefully selected, two each from Dar es Salaam region and Kisarawe district. The methods for data collection included; interviews, observations, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, mapping and official interviews. Livelihood strategies were reflected upon using the sustainable livelihood framework. Results show that while a thirty year trend data for rainfall is decreasing, the temperature is on the increase. These trends have negatively affected agriculture, which is the main livelihood activity of the local communities. Climate change has contributed to food shortages, stress on water resources and households’ diminishing propensity for savings. A half of the respondents (50 percent) were aware of these changes have been coping by shifting from water dependent to drought resistant crops such as cassava, engaging in petty trading and casual labor and migrating to other regions with adequate rainfall. As a way forward, it has been recommended that the government in collaboration with key stakeholders should engage in developing practical interventions for alternative livelihood strategies that will assist local communities to effectively adapt to the threats of climate change.Also available online -http://www.pyrexjournals.org/pjgr

The role of women groups in waste management in the Lake Victoria Basin: the case of street cleaning and recycling of fish remains in Mwanza City, Tanzania

The unguided rapid urbanisation and increased human activities contribute towards pollution load in the lake waters and overall environmental degradation in the Lake Victoria basin. The diminishing capacity of urban local authorities to effectively manage waste prompted the emergence of Non-Governmental and Community Based Organisation to bridge this gap. This paper examines the role of women groups in waste management in Mwanza City. Specific focus is paid to two groups; one dealing with street cleaning and the second on recycling of fish remains. On methodological fronts; literature review, interviews with women group leaders and focus group discussions formed the key methods of data collection. Findings show that the decentralisation of street cleaning to women groups resulted into improved waste management practice in Mwanza City to the extent that it emerged the cleanest city Tanzania in the year 2006. Similarly, it has been revealed that while the main objective of recycling fish remains by one of the women group was purely on livelihood issue, it has been also contributing towards reducing pollution load to the Lake. In view of the role played by these groups, it has been recommended that both the central and local governments should take a serious concern to support these groups as a strategy towards sustainable waste management that ultimately reduces pollution load in Lake Victoria. Empirical evidence used in this paper comes from a research project supported by VicRes.Keywords: Lake Victoria, women groups, waste management, street cleaning and recyclin

Does size matter? Displacement processes applied in urban development projects in Dar es Salaam City

This paper aims at comparing processes and challenges faced by few displaced property owners from regularization projects and mass population displacement of property owners from airport expansion project. The paper describes procedures used by the government and project implementers in displacing mass population from airport expansion project; in comparison with that used in few individual property owners from the regularisation projects. It analyses the urgency on responding to the needs and demands of individually few and collectively mass population of the affected population in the resettlement areas within Dar es Salaam city. The paper applied a case study strategy on which two projects were compared and contrasted. The data used in this paper were collected from two different researches with two different case studies. In both cases, in depth interviews were applied to affected property owners who were displaced from regularization projects in Manzese and Buguruni Wards; and those who were displaced from the airport expansion project in Kipawa Ward. Through their narrations; process, procedures, and risks/harms faced by both groups were described, analysed and compared through eventualization method. The paper aims to find out if size of the displaced people did matter in influencing government involvement in speeding up the displacement process. It compares few cases of three property owners who were affected from the regularisation projects; with more than two thousand property owners who were displaced from two settlements which were completely demolished to give land for airport expansion. It was found that displacement processes took 15 years with 14 procedures that is, many and longer in one project compared to the other one which took less than two years with about six procedures followed. The paper also describes common displacement risks faced by both projects.Keywords: regularization, mass population, property owners, resettlement, compensatio