JOURNAL OF URBAN DESIGN https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2021.1968295
Using suitability analysis, informed by Co-Design, to assess contextually appropriate urban growth models in Gulu, Uganda Julian Bolleter a, Richard Vokes b, Anthony Duckworth Tony McBurneyc and Paula Hooper a
a
, Grace Olivera,
a
Australian Urban Design Research Centre, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; bDiscipline of Anthropology and Sociology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; cIntegrated Design Group Pty Ltd, Bathurst, Australia ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS
Uganda has one of Africa’s fastest urban growth rates, compound ing urban challenges, including urban sprawl, the proliferation of informal settlements, decrepit housing, and the privatization of urban development without providing public open space and transport connectivity. In response, this paper tests generic models of urbanization that could be applied in Uganda. This evaluation is conducted through a suitability analysis, informed through CoDesign activities, of the city of Gulu in Northern Uganda. The paper concludes that a corridor model is most responsive to exist ing environmental, transportation and land-use conditions and residents’ aspirations.
African urbanization; Uganda; suitability analysis; co-design; Gulu
Introduction A legacy of approaches to ‘town planning’ established in many African states1 in the colonial era and continued throughout the Cold War saw European urbanization models imposed on African polities. This situation often resulted in pre-existing, traditional urban life models being frequently ignored and destroyed. Colonial-era planning laws continue to frame legislative environments in many contemporary African countries (Wekwete 1995). Moreover, since the end of the Cold War, which coincided with International Monetary Fund-led structural-adjustment programmes, has witnessed general deregulation and ‘opening up’ of many African economies, which has seen rapid economic growth across large parts of the continent. This growth has stimulated huge new demand – especially from Africa’s new entrepreneurs and from the continent’s rising ‘middle classes’ in general – for new kinds of urban commercial and residential property and expanded leisure facilities. Nevertheless, deregulation itself frequently hollowed out planning departments, and in other ways weakened the governance capacity of many African countries to manage, or even to oversee, these new demands. Even today, many African countries continue to CONTACT Julian Bolleter
julian.bolleter@uwa.edu.au
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