The City as an Experimental Space: The Interface between Public Satisfaction and Effects on Urban Planning Resulting from Kampala City’s Sprawl

This paper analyses the interface between public satisfaction and effects on urban planning in the context of Kampala City, Uganda. The interface is significant because it provides an understanding of the effects of urban sprawl service delivery in relation to planning. It further discusses the underlying forces responsible for the city’s urbanisation process. The objective of the study is to establish what defines Kampala’s public satisfaction with urban changes resulting from the city’s sprawl. The study involves focus group discussion interviews, which were used to collect the qualitative data from a group of respondents simultaneously. Moreover, purposive sampling was used to select the respondents interviewed. The analysis indicates that public dissatisfaction with poor urban environment has resulted in urban changes, which are officially sanctioned to take place in their residential areas, and the desire to access services easily that explains urban dwellers’ decisions

Formal Urban Dynamics, Policy and Implications on Urban Planning: Perspectives on Kampala, Uganda

Formal urban dynamics is a holistic approach that contributes towards the delivery of relevant planning solutions for cities and towns. This chapter discusses Kampala’s shifting urban dynamics and their implications on planning. It argues that the current legal, political, technical, financial and administrative dynamics are problematic in nature and generally have dynamic effects on the city’s planning trajectory. Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) indicates that Kampala’s population has grown from 1,189,142 in 2014 to 1,583,000 in 2017, growing at 1.74% per annum. Like other cities in Africa, Kampala presents enormous challenges to urban planners, city government, local leaders and city dwellers. Watson elucidates that rapid urbanisation experienced in Africa today and Kampala in particular requires radical planning approaches in order to address the much-needed services such as water, health, waste management and sanitation. This is an empirical study with a quantitative sample of 720 households proportionally distributed according Kampala’s five divisions. Qualitative data were analysed using narrative and thematic techniques, complemented by the descriptive method. The objective of this study is to investigate formal dynamics responsible for Kampala’s urbanisation from 1990 to 2013 and their policy implications on planning. The findings explain Kampala’s planning challenges, government modernisation agenda, legal framework, urban policy dynamics and government interventions

The effects of poor implementation of housing policy in the Western Cape: a study case of Khayelitsha Site C

Masters in Public Administration - MPAThe ANC government came to power in 1994 and has had to come to grips with many economic, social and political challenges it inherited from the apartheid regime. A majority of the people were marginalized and subjected to poor standards of living in areas that were inadequately provided for in terms of basic services. One of the biggest challenges the new government is facing is the delivery of services especially housing. Poor policy implementation continues to complicate the existing problems. The study critically examined the extent to which poor policy implementation has affected the provision of housing in Khayelitsha with focus on the respective stakeholders.South Afric

South Africa perspective

The capabilities" approach has overtime offers instructive insights into the improvement of human capabilities in various fields such as behavioural change, social inequalities, poverty, unemployment, and education. To this end, the capability approach may influence the achievement of social cohesion in the family. The family is an important unit that may be used to inform social policies and aid social cohesion. This article evaluates the use family as an instrument of policy in drawing out human capabilities. First, it defines and unpacks a family in South Africa"s context. Secondly the value addition that a family adds as an instrument for policy is done. Thirdly, the concept of human capabilities with the aid of the capabilities approach is done. The final step is a qualification of the capabilities approach in South Africa"s context. A conclusion and recommendations follow. The article utilised secondary data to evaluate how policies on family impact human capabilities in South Africa by aid of capability approach

The responsibility of government and society towards social cohesion: A family perspective

Social cohesion, the foundation that keeps society together, is influenced by various inter-related factors such as education social, cultural, religious, and business, among others. Current debates indicates that unless social cohesion in its various dimensions is addressed, be it through reconciliation, tackling inequality, crafting a national identity, or bridging rural-urban divides, the implementation of any Southern African Development Plan will be challenging. In this paper, social cohesion is viewed as an intervention for coexistence; as an invitation to find common ground and allowing the sharing of social spaces; and to forge a common identity whilst recognising societal diversity. This paper postulates that although social cohesion is intended to contribute towards nation-building and national unity, government policies are fundamental to the advancement thereof

Understanding urban land, politics, and planning: A critical appraisal of Kampala's urban sprawl

This paper seeks to make a contribution to contemporary urban land insights and political debates in relation to planning in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. It also evaluates how the city authorities engage with communities on land and related urban issues. Scholars have generally ignored the important aspect of community engagement regarding planning in Kampala. Moreover, political power relations seem to influence if not determine social conditions at the grassroots level. In this paper urban land is defined from competing perspectives vis-à-vis lived experiences at the grassroots level. This paper seeks to understand the urban land question through the lens of Henri Lefebvre's writings on the production of space and the right to the city. Questions this study seeks to answer include: Why is politics at the centre of land in Kampala? How is community engagement on land and planning understood by city government? After exploratory research and a review of extant literature, this study utilised an interview guide to collect primary empirical data

Insights and current debates on community engagement in higher education institutions: Perspectives on the University of the Western Cape

This study investigated the insights and current debates on community engagement in higher education institutions with specific reference to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa. The article argues that although community engagement seems to present some challenges, it has become an integral part of higher education in South Africa and beyond. The article examines community engagement in higher education institutions and evaluates its contributions based on the research question. The article evaluates community engagement from the perspective of the UWC, community, and students. Data were collected through semi-structured with key informants. In total, 12 participants participated in the interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The results of the study show that community engagement is dependent on institutions’ relationships built between particular communities, which are easily lost if the people involved change. The results also show that community engagement has become a requisite for promotion and policy development. However, it reveals that issues of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) often take time affecting students and researchers. Moreover, the findings indicate that there is no standard procedure for community engagement as departments, individual lecturers, and students have unique and different interests

Understanding refugee durable solutions by international players: Does dialogue form a missing link?

This study evaluates durable solutions in relation to refugees from East Africa. It particularly focuses on the Great Lakes countries of Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The study is based on the conviction that these four countries have never had peaceful transfer of power which in essence has been a major contributing factor to political violence that has caused forced mass migration in the region to this day. The use of force or military suppression has been a norm since independence of these countries in the early 1960s. This suppression has continuously forced many people to flee their homes facing abuse of their human rights, dictatorship, persecution, indiscriminate arrests, ethnic wars and political violence. Based on a survey used to collect data and in-depth interviews with selected refugees from the Great Lakes region living in Cape Town, South Africa, this paper seeks to understand durable solutions through analysing the current refugee situation. It demonstrates that durable solutions can present both challenges and solutions. It also revisits the concept of durable solutions and seeks to re-evaluate whether these various solutions offer a chance for dialogue. With the aid of a legal perspective on the refugee situation in the region, the paper qualifies the concepts of dialogue as a mechanism for peace building as well as driver for voluntary repatriation.IBS

The terrain of urbanisation process and policy frameworks: A critical analysis of the Kampala experience

Kampala is urbanising in an unplanned manner, but without a clear picture of the underlying dynamics. The city is characterised by lack of proper zoning of economic activities and construction of physical infrastructure without regard to subsequent spatial quality and environmental conservation. Consequently, there are sharp differences in residential standards where expensive housing and luxury flats co-exist with shanty towns and informal settlements, with about 60% of the city’s population living in unplanned informal settlements and often faced with challenges of unemployment. The unprecedented increase in the urban population in Kampala and the prospects for further increases in the near future have economic and social implications concerning employment, housing, education and health, among others. Understanding the nature of the dynamics of the growth or decline of cities like Kampala helps planners to support the processes that lead to harmonious urban development and to deal with the negative consequences of urban growth. This paper reflects the urbanisation dynamics explaining Kampala’s urbanisation process with the view to analysing the implications for an alternative urban policy framework. It argues that the conditions that have allowed the situation to exist have serious policy implications which require the need for an integrated policy framework that can be used to effectively prevent or halt Kampala’s unplanned urbanisation while promoting planned urbanisation. Induced by the migration and lack of information, understanding urban dynamics is crucial to the development of urban policies that can effectively ensure that further urban changes occur in a systematic and satisfactory manner. The current urban process in developing countries like Uganda is associated with poverty, environmental degradation and population demands that outstrip service capacity