Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology

The Influence of Planning and Architectural Styles on the Sustainability of the City of Kumasi, Ghana

2024-12-06T11:40:55+00:00

The city of Kumasi that was once dubbed the ‘Garden City of West Africa’ was founded in the late 17th century and served as the seat of government for the medieval Greater Asante Union. It later served as a commercial hub for the British Colony after undergoing massive transformation in the first two decades of the 19th century. Post-independence, the city went through various urban planning projects that mostly targeted social development. The architecture of Kumasi has also been changing through different periods of its history. This article examines the relationship between the evolution of the city of Kumasi through urban planning and architecture and the general sustainability in construction. The results show that there is massive depletion of the green belt in Kumasi. Moreover, contemporary architecture uses fewer passive designs for indoor climate control and less local materials for construction. Use of technology for improvement of local materials compressive strength and integration of renewable energy sources in architecture are recommended as course of action.

Investigating the Relationship between History, Urbanization and Wealth Gap in Johannesburg, South Africa

2024-12-04T08:43:38+00:00

The city of Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa and named as one of the economic drivers of the country. However, the city has the widest wealth gap in the country. This article examines the relationship between historical occurrences, urbanization, and the resulted wealth disparity in Johannesburg and look at the mitigation measures. The findings point to the wealth disparity in the city as a multifaceted problem influenced by historical, urbanization, and political variables. Comprehensive and multifaceted policy initiatives are required to address the structural causes of inequality and the urgent needs of vulnerable populations to close the wealth gap. To solve this problem, there is a need for better coordinated and planned methods which are in accordance with the consequences of policy and practice. Future studies should concentrate on gaining a deeper comprehension of the interactions between historical, urbanization, and governance aspects in causing the wealth gap in Johannesburg and proposing efficient policy measures to deal with this problem.

The Use of Locally Available Materials Towards Urban Planning for Sustainable Construction: The Case of Gondar-Ethiopia

2024-12-04T09:10:58+00:00

The city of Gondar in northern Ethiopia has a rich history that is connected to urban planning and construction. From the era of the Fasiledes that built masonry castles, Italian colonialism that zoned the city on racial boundaries and the post-colonial planning that wanted a more global standard, Gondar has been subjected to different planning and construction methods. This evolution however, has brought about challenges related to the sustainability of the construction industry and the communities within the city. This paper analyses the relationship between urban planning and use of local construction materials to attain sustainable development of the city. The results show that the current urban planning policies as well as the rules and regulations governing the construction industry in Gondar do not support the use of locally available construction materials but instead focus on the use of cementitious materials for construction. Apart from marginalizing the lower-income communities, these policies are also against the tenets of Sustainable Development Goals. As a solution, systemically integration of locally available materials into urban planning policies and strategies as well as developing construction standards and guidelines for their use is recommend.

Relationship Between Historic Evolution, Urbanization and Mobility in Ibadan, Nigeria

2024-12-04T09:23:21+00:00

Ibadan is said to be the biggest indigenous city in Nigeria with a population of about 4.04 million, making it the third largest city in the country after Lagos and Kano. Since its founding in 1829, Ibadan has experienced urban evolution that is mostly unguided. With its high fertility rate, population growth and rural-to-urban migration, Ibadan has experienced significant urban sprawl that has resulted in challenges in urban mobility especially to the lower-income earners. This study looks at the relationship between urban planning, urbanization and mobility in the city of Ibadan. The study found that lack of integrated land use planning that includes transport networks including a masterplan is one of the major issues facing mobility in the city. Moreover, unregulated sprawl mostly made of slums and informal settlements has ecological, economic and social effects. Upgrading of slums coupled with integrated urban planning and enforcement is proposed as part of the solution for an effective urban mobility in the city. Policies that encourage compact urban development, mixed land use, and the provision of efficient public transportation systems to reduce the dependence on private transportation and create more walkable, bikeable, and transit- friendly communities are recommended.

Urbanization and Urban Sprawl in the Post-Colonial Era Douala City, Cameroon

2024-12-04T09:35:43+00:00

The history of the port city of Douala spans pre-colonial period, colonial period of the Germans and French occupation, the post- colonial era and the contemporary situation with continuous occupancy of the coastal environment. This article looks at the relationship between the history of the city of Douala to the resulting urban situation focusing on governance structure as well as rapid urbanization. The findings show that governance structure allowing for a duality of modern political system and traditional cultural system of kingships and chiefdoms has an effect to the resulting urban sprawl. Moreover, rapid urbanization under this condition has an overall impact to the challenges resulting from urban sprawl including development of settlements that do not have basic services. Developing comprehensive urban planning policies that prioritize sustainable and green building practices and transport systems, promoting the use of locally sourced building materials, use of technology to encourage generation of renewable energy, encouraging a broader participation of local communities in the planning and development of the city are some possible interventions recommended to ensure a more sustainable and resilient city of Douala.

Transport Mobility Analysis for Informal Settlements in Dar es salaam, Tanzania

2024-12-04T09:53:05+00:00

Dar es Salaam is one of the world’s fastest growing cities and is expected to be the third largest by 2100 with a population of 76 million. Dar es Salaam city is made of multiple neighbourhoods that are very diverse in terms of socio-economic status, gender, age and prevalent activities. One of the biggest challenges facing the city of Dar es Salaam is urban sprawl due to informal settlements that in turn leads to very long travel time and hinders equal mobility and accessibility of labour and goods. This study found that the current mobility vision for Dar es Salaam city that bases on transit-oriented development can help to alleviate transit pressure to the current mono-centric city, although integration of the vision to informal settlements that are the current majority of the land use is still lacking. The study also found that the current regularisation strategies of informal settlements provide an opportunity for urban mobility. However, the resulting mobility networks are not sufficient to meet the demand of the government mobility vision. To capture the future rapid population growth in the city, this study recommends a back casting strategy that looks on the future needs of the population including residency vis-à-vis mobility to establish current new transit corridors passing though redeveloped informal settlements.