Planning innovation for better urban communities in sub-Saharan Africa: The education challenge and potential responses

Cities in the sub-Saharan Africa region present challenges to the urban and regional planning profession, city managers, leaders, educationists and dwellers (Rakodi, 1997, 2001; McGill, 1988; Diaw, Nnkya & Watson, 2002). This is at a time when Africa is urbanising faster than any other region (UN-Habitat, 2008), calling for a rethinking of planning to respond to existing needs. Although the current urbanisation level is at 39.1% (UN-Habitat, 2008), it is projected to increase to over 50% by 2025. This outstanding demographic shift on the African continent and particularly in the sub-Saharan region presents current and future urban challenges. In addition to the future challenges, the unresolved question as to whether existing and much utilised models of urban development offer solutions to the planning needs in the region should be investigated, although it is important to recognise the failures of locally designed initiatives. The models have been critiqued widely (Brockerhoff, 2000; Arimah & Adeagbo, 2000) and this is not the focus of this article. However, it is necessary to recognise that the planning profession has relied on these models through the planning education system. Notwithstanding the challenges of resources, leadership, and political dispensations, planning education systems have played a role in influencing and shaping urban development in the region. Although planning models have been critiqued, planning education systems have received less attention in respect of their role in influencing the development pathways of cities in sub-Saharan Africa. Likewise, planning education systems have not adequately been viewed as points of entry in planning innovation for new urban Africa. Drawing from experiences of cities in the region, two urban development processes can be discerned: first, the explosion of some cities particularly former colonial administrative or economic hubs and, second, the fast growth of secondary cities. There are also many small rural trading centres and ‘hamlets’ with densities comparable to neighbourhoods of the large-cities. The latter, conceptualised in this article as urbanisation by implosion, is not properly accounted for in the national statistical reports. Several drivers are responsible for this urbanisation, including population dynamics, legislative designation, and increasing densities in rural trading centres. The challenges of social service provision, sustainable economic development, housing delivery, urban governance, spatial development guidance and urban environmental management are yet to be thoroughly analysed and rethought in planning education in the context of addressing the existing needs. This article examines the planning education system and how it has influenced the nature and shape of cities in sub-Saharan Africa, the outcome of which may not have substantively responded to existing needs. This article will also identify possible points of innovation in planning education that may create a difference in addressing the existing needs in sub-Saharan Africa.&nbsp

Solid Waste Management and Environmental Quality Provision in Unplanned Settlements of Kampala, Uganda

Popular modes of provisioning for solid waste management in urban areas are increasingly becoming a common feature in urban management as it replaces the formal modes of utility provision. This is in response to the inadequate provision of the basic utilities including waste collection and disposal. The poor environment created has compelled popular masses to cooperate with the intention of reducing the problems of poor environmental sanitation. The quality of the environment in a given place will influence the quality of life and reproduction processes for its residents, and in this respect, the built environment is important in ensuring a good living environment. Urban utilities are instrumental in influencing this built environment, however, in cities of the developing countries utilities including solid waste management in unplanned urban places are inadequate. The result of this type of provision is that the local popular groups emerge to fill the gap created by the public sector failures to create opportunities for an improved environment. This paper attests to the emerging modes of provisioning for solid waste management and how they impact on the environmental quality of the unplanned settlements in Kampala, Uganda

Participatory action research, strengthening institutional capacity and governance: Confronting the urban challenge in Kampala

Urban governance presents the most daunting and challenging task for sub-Saharan African countries in this century (Rakodi, 1997: 3; Rakodi, 2001; 5; McGill, 1988; 6). Africa is urbanizing faster than any other region. The level of urbanization stands at 39.1%, with annual rates of growth ranging between 8% and 13%. It is estimated that by 2025 half of the African population will be urban. This demographic shift, particularly in the sub-Saharan region, presents major problems for urban management. Although urban management programs of infrastructure development, financial management, economic development, environmental planning, spatial development mechanisms and social services provision continue to be enhanced, there is a mismatch between the program outcomes and need. Due to this shortfall, alternative strategies have been sought but with little documented evidence of successes, failures and lessons because of limited evaluation. The importance of research-informed policy is underscored by the apparent disconnect between actors in the urban field. These actors include city managers, researchers, political leaders and most important, communities. The latter are often disregarded yet they largely influence the development path and shape the fabric of urban space. Even where communities are engaged, they exert less influence than other actors on urban policies and programs. This paper examines how participatory action research is changing the relationships between researchers, communities and city authorities in a search for alternative approaches to address urban poverty and environmental challenges in Kampala – in particular service delivery, solid waste management and flood control. Based on an action-research and development project conducted in Kampala since 2006, there is evidence that communities can be galvanized not only to design solutions to their problems, but also to engage with city authorities through information sharing platforms about their needs and thus bolster outcomes of urban development programs through improved governance

Urban Development Transitions and their Implications for Poverty Reduction and Policy Planning in Uganda

Urbanization is one of the critical global trends shaping the future of humanity. At the same time, it has been argued that full development requires an urbanized environment. This paper attempts to examine and characterize the major phases of urbanizatiotransitions, urbanization, planning, poverty, Uganda

Climate change, equity and sustainable development goals : an urban perspective

Climate change is acknowledged as the largest threat to our societies in the coming decades, affecting large and diverse groups of residents in urban areas in this century of urbanization. The focus of climate change impact discussions conceivably shifts to who in cities will be affected how by climate change, bringing the urban equity question to the forefront and co-aligning with a set of key Sustainable Development Goals. Here we assess how climate change events may amplify urban inequity. We find that heat waves, but also flooding, landslides, and even mitigation and adaptation measures affect specific population groups more than others. As underlying sensitivity factors we consistently identify ocioeconomic status and gender. We synthesize the findings with regard to equity types, meaning outcome, procedural and context-related equity, and suggest solutions for avoiding increased equity and justice concerns as a result of climate change impacts, adaptation and itigation

Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasitaemia among indigenous Batwa and non‑indigenous communities of Kanungu district, Uganda

The indigenous Batwa of southwestern Uganda are among the most highly impoverished populations in Uganda, yet there is negligible research on the prevalence of malaria in this population. Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasitaemia prevalence was estimated in an indigenous Batwa and a non-indigenous neighbouring population, and an exploration of modifiable risk factors was carried out to identify potential entry points for intervention. Additionally, evidence of zooprophylaxis was assessed, hypothesizing that livestock ownership may play a role in malaria risk

Vulnerability of indigenous health to climate change : a case study of Uganda's Batwa Pygmies

Link to published version provided.Findings stress the importance of human drivers of vulnerability and adaptive capacity and the need to address social determinants of health to reduce the potential disease burden of climate change. This study formed the basis of pilot research to inform development of a 5-year health research and intervention project. It provides summaries of climate-sensitive health outcomes identified as priority concerns, including malaria, malnutrition, respiratory disease, and stomach disorders, followed by characterization of the pathways of biophysical exposure to climate-sensitive health outcomes: water, food security, infectious disease vectors, and weather events

Is the effect of precipitation on acute gastrointestinal illness in southwestern Uganda different between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities?

Acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) is a global public health priority that often disproportionately effects Indigenous populations. While previous research examines the association between meteorological conditions and AGI, little is known about how socio-cultural factors may modify this relationship. This present study seeks to address this research gap by comparing AGI prevalence and determinants between an Indigenous and non-Indigenous population in Uganda. We estimate the 14-day self-reported prevalence of AGI among adults in an Indigenous Batwa population and their non-Indigenous neighbours using cross-sectional panel data collected over four periods spanning typically rainy and dry seasons (January 2013 to April 2014). The independent associations between Indigenous status, precipitation, and AGI are examined with multivariable multi-level logistic regression models, controlling for relative wealth status and clustering at the community level. Estimated prevalence of AGI among the Indigenous Batwa was greater than among the non-Indigenous Bakiga. Our models indicate that both Indigenous identity and decreased levels of precipitation in the weeks preceding the survey period were significantly associated with increased AGI, after adjusting for confounders. Multivariable models stratified by Indigenous identity suggest that Indigenous identity may not modify the association between precipitation and AGI in this context. Our results suggest that short-term changes in precipitation affect both Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations similarly, though from different baseline AGI prevalences, maintaining rather than exacerbating this socially patterned health disparity. In the context of climate change, these results may challenge the assumption that changing weather patterns will necessarily exacerbate existing socially patterned health disparities