Reinterpreting Sub-Saharan Cities through the Concept of Adaptive Capacity: An Analysis of Autonomous Adaptation in Response to Environmental Changes in Peri-Urban Areas

220 Pages·2016·3.38 MB·English

by  Liana Ricci (auth.)

SPRINGER BRIEFS IN ENVIRONMENT,
SECURITY, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE 26
Liana Ricci
Reinterpreting
Sub-Saharan Cities
through the Concept of
Adaptive Capacity
An Analysis of Autonomous
Adaptation in Response to
Environmental Changes in
Peri-Urban Areas
123
SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security,
Development and Peace
Volume 26
Series editor
Hans Günter Brauch, Mosbach, Germany
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10357
http://www.afes-press-books.de/html/SpringerBriefs_ESDP.htm
http://www.afes-press-books.de/html/SpringerBriefs_ESDP_26.htm
Liana Ricci
Reinterpreting Sub-Saharan
Cities through the Concept
of Adaptive Capacity
An Analysis of Autonomous Adaptation
in Response to Environmental Changes
in Peri-Urban Areas
Sustainable
Development Brown/
Green
Agenda
Climate
Change:
Afro-pessimism/ Mitigation/
Afro-optimism Adaptation
Environmental
‘People as Management AdPaplatnasti on
‘Asymmetrical Infrastructure’
Ignorance’
Urban
Environmental
Security
“Peri-
Urban”
Informality
Autonomous
Vulnerability and Institutional
& Resilience Adaptation
Adaptive PU Features and
Livelihood
Capacity
Resource Access
and Management
123
LianaRicci
Department ofCivil, Building
andEnvironmental Engineering
SAPIENZAUniversity ofRome
Rome
Italy
Translation from Italian intoEnglish: AshleighRose, Berlin (Germany)
Coveris basedonthe author’s researchmodel for whichshe owns thecopyright
More on this book is at: <http://www.afes-press-books.de/html/SpringerBriefs_ESDP_26.
htm>
ISSN 2193-3162 ISSN 2193-3170 (electronic)
SpringerBriefs inEnvironment, Security, Development andPeace
ISBN978-3-319-27124-8 ISBN978-3-319-27126-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-27126-2
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015955856
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
©TheAuthor(s)2016
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Acknowledgements
ThisworkwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthesupportofProf.SilviaMacchi,
Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Sapienza University of
Rome(Italy),whogreatlyinspiredandmotivatedmeasthesupervisorofmyPh.D.
thesis on which this book is based. I am also deeply grateful to Prof. Paolo
Colarossi for the essential input and support he provided throughout my Ph.D.
programme, to the members of the supervisory committee, and to Prof. Gabriel
Kassenga, Dr. Stephen Mbuligwe and engineer Nyamboge Chacha from Ardhi
University (ARU), all of whom provided invaluable assistance and relevant input
during the fieldwork conducted in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). I also thank my
colleaguesinthePh.D.programmefortheirgeneroussharinganddiscussions,and
Carlo and Laura for their support in the final stage of the revision process.
IthankLoredanaCerbaraandMarcellaProsperiattheInstituteforResearchon
Population and Social Policies of the Italian National Research Council for their
supportduringthedataanalysis.ManythanksarealsoduetoAshleighRoseforthe
English translation.
In addition, I would like to thank Prof. Willard Kombe, Prof. John Lupala and
Dr. Rubera A. Mato from Ardhi University, and Prof. Pius Zebhe Yanda,
Dr.A.Majule,Dr.A.MwakajeandProf.CamillusJ.SawiofromtheIRAInstitute
of Dar es Salaam University (Tanzania) for their kind availability and input.
I am grateful also to Prof. David Simon of the Department of Geography at the
Royal Holloway University of London, Dr. David Dodman at the International
Institute for Environment and Development, and Dr. Julio D. Dávila of the
Development Planning Unit at the University College of London.
IthanktheofficersfromseveralTanzanianInstitutions:Mrs.SarahKyessiofthe
Tanzanian Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Human Settlements Development,
Mr.FredrickMulindaoftheNationalEnvironmentManagementCouncil(NEMC),
Mrs. Ester Kibona from Environmental Protection Management Services (EPMS),
and Mr. Praygod Mawalla of the Belgian Technical Cooperation for providing
information beneficial to the research.
v
vi Acknowledgements
For theirkind supportduringthe fieldwork, thanks arealso duetothe technical
officers of Kinondoni Municipality in Dar es Salaam, Mrs. Lucy B. Kimoi, Mrs.
MaryKombaandEng.E.Mwampashi,andtotheDaresSalaamwardleadersand
community leaders, Mr. Said Kikwi from Bunju A subward, Mr. Ndagile from
Makongo subward, Mr. Kambi from Kawe ward, Mrs. Idda Temba from Kawe
ward,Mr.PendoFridyfromKaweward,andMr.SeifandMr.RycesonKajirifrom
Msasani ward.
Special thanks go to editors Hans Günter Branch and Johanna Schwarz and to
theanonymousreviewersfor theirinsightful assistance andveryuseful comments,
which led to the publication of this revised Ph.D. thesis.
Rome, Italy Liana Ricci
June 2015
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Context and Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 The Research Question. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Specific Objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Approach and Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 Structure of the Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.6 Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Cities of Sub-Saharan Africa: Failed or Ordinary Cities? . . . . . . . . 9
2.1 Urban Development and Planning:
An Overwhelming Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.1 Cultural Bias: From Post-colonial Studies
to ‘Asymmetrical Ignorance’. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.2 Urban Bias: Legacy and Continuity in the
Conceptualization of Development and the Rural–Urban
Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.1.3 The Rural–Urban Relationship and Politics
of Development: Approaches to Environmental
Planning and Management of the Peri-urban Interface . . . . 20
2.2 Agency and Environmental Management Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2.1 Vulnerability Is not Inherent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.2.2 The Role of Agency in Informal Settlements . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.2.3 Human Agency and Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.2.4 Building the City: ‘People as Infrastructure’. . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.3 Introduction to the Case Study: Peri-urban Dar es Salaam. . . . . . . 37
2.3.1 Household Questionnaires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
vii
viii Contents
3 Interpreting the Sub-Saharan City: Approaches for Urban
Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.1 The Politics of ‘Modernization’ and Urban Development
in Sub-Saharan Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.1.1 From Colonialism to the Politics of Development Aid:
Urbanization and Planning Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.2 Urbanization Process in the Cities of Sub-Saharan Africa . . . . . . . 56
3.2.1 Evolution of Peri-urban Spaces and Hybrid Forms. . . . . . . 57
3.2.2 Rapid Growth and Informal, Unplanned ‘Modes
of Urbanization’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.2.3 Urban Development, Environmental Deterioration
and Environmental Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.3 Dar es Salaam: Formation and Development
of Peri-urban Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.3.1 The Evolution of Peri-urban Space in the Colonial
and Post-independence Era. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.3.2 From Structural Adjustments to the New Face
of the ‘City’. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.4 An Interpretation of Dar es Salaam’s Peri-urban Areas. . . . . . . . . 73
3.4.1 From ‘A Zone of Survival’ to ‘A Zone for Investment’:
Peri-urban Agriculture and the Urban Market . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.4.2 Rural–Urban Interdependence and the Relationship
with Natural Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.5 Reconsidering ‘Modern’ Approaches to Urban Development:
From ‘Neo-Colonialism’ to Sustainability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.5.1 New and Old Challenges in Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.6 Which Environmental Transformations: Global Changes
and Local Effects in Sub-Saharan Cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
3.6.1 Environmental Transformations and Climate Change
in Dar es Salaam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
3.6.2 Planned Adaptation and the Role of Local Institutions
in Dar es Salaam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.7 A New Environmental Question for an Old Planning Problem. . . . 87
4 Environmental Management and Urbanization: Dar es Salaam
as an Illustrative Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.1 Approaches to Urban Environmental Planning
and Management in Sub-Saharan Africa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.1.1 From the Emergence of the Environmental Debate
to Sustainable Cities: ‘Brown’ and ‘Green’ Agendas . . . . . 91
Contents ix
4.2 Global Climate Change as a Driver in the Debate
on Environmental Transformations and Settlement Processes. . . . . 94
4.2.1 Climate Change: From Geneva to Lima, Toward Paris. . . . 96
4.2.2 Causes and Effects of Environmental Change: Two
Strategies for the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
4.2.3 Approaches and Strategies for Adaptation in Urban
Areas: Oxymorons and Opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
4.3 Planning Practices in Dar es Salaam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
4.3.1 Master Plans in the Dar es Salaam Region. . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.3.2 Action Planning and Participatory Planning . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.4 Which Environmental Transformations: Global Changes
and Local Effects in Sub-Saharan Cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.4.1 Environmental Transformations and Climate Change
in Dar es Salaam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.4.2 Planned Adaptation and the Role of Local Institutions
in Dar es Salaam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.5 A New Environmental Question for an Old Planning Problem. . . . 125
5 Adaptive Capacity as a Strategic Element for Reducing
Vulnerability to Environmental Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
5.1 Vulnerability, Resilience, and Adaptive Capacity. . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
5.1.1 Vulnerability and Resilience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
5.1.2 Adaptive Capacity and Urban Vulnerability . . . . . . . . . . . 133
5.1.3 Linking Peri-urban Dynamics and Adaptive Capacity. . . . . 137
5.1.4 Assessing Adaptive Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
5.2 Investigating Adaptive Capacity in Dar es Salaam:
The Search for Key Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
5.2.1 Resource Access and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
5.2.2 Autonomous Adaptation Strategies and Practices. . . . . . . . 149
5.3 Adaptation and Environmental Management in Dar es Salaam. . . . 156
6 Conclusions: The Distance Between Critical Review
and Institutional Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
6.1 Reinterpreting Areas with Hybrid Rural–Urban Characteristics
in Cities of Sub-Saharan Africa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
6.1.1 Relationship with Natural Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
6.1.2 Socio-economic and Cultural Heterogeneity . . . . . . . . . . . 164
6.1.3 Environmental Management and Adaptive Capacity. . . . . . 165
6.1.4 ‘People as Infrastructure’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
6.1.5 The ‘Ideal of (Urban) Life’. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
6.1.6 Dynamism in the Use of and Access to Resources. . . . . . . 168
6.1.7 Rural–Urban Interdependence and Bidirectional
Migration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170