MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, DESIGN, ART AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT

DEPARTMENT ARCHITECTURE AND PHYSICAL PLANNING

Course work: explain the impact of urban sprawl on grater Kampala metropolitan and suggest practical mitigation measures in relation to urban and regional planning

Submitted by Sseruma Bruce

Student no 212019315

Registration no 12/u/14502eve

Submitted to; tutor Amanda ngabirano azidah

Urban and regional planning also known as physical planning or town and country planning refers to the establishment of an efficient ,equitable and sustainable use of land so as to archive the social ,economic , environmental and livability valves. It has it objectives summarized in 5 words and these are efficiency, equity, acceptability, health and sustainability

Urban sprawl can be depicted as the un guided or “un controlled” developments that occurs in the out word direction from urban areas to county side or rural areas. Urban sprawl is characterized by leapfrog development pattern, isolation or segregation of various land uses such as residential, commercial, open spaces and also heavy dependence on auto mobiles just mention but not limited to the above.

In reference to greater metropolitan Kampala that includes areas within the range of 40 kilometers away from Kampala such as gayaza ,kaajnsi, lubowa seguku ,kankungu ,Entebbe, munyonyo, gaba ,bunga, nalya, bweyogerer, natete, ndeba ,najananku ,mukono ,nansana among others were created as a result of urban sprawl but it’s important to note that it has got both positive and negative impacts on such areas as explained below

Negatively urban sprawl has led to pollution of these areas, pollution which can take on two ways, one being air pollution and the other water pollution, to start with air pollution since there is heavy dependence on auto mobiles in sprawling areas these cars produce a lot of smoke which is coupled with various toxic gases such as carbon no oxide, sulpher and others which all lead to various respiratory diseases to people who are moving along the road whom planning majorly focus on. The air pollution does not only occur along the roads but also to the entire regional scale since there is the tendency of driving longer distances for example people driving from Entebbe kitoro to Kampala city there place of work

On the other side of water pollution, urban sprawl affects it in such a way that since in sub urban areas with high density and have got economic growth there is attendance of poor solid waste management where most of the garbage and dead animals are left along the road and generally the sanitation in such areas is poor so when rain water comes it washes away all that staff up to downstream thus affecting the quality of water in such streams and various water aquifers yet at the end there are some people who use such water for domestic purposes there by putting the health of such people at a risk and at the same time making it expensive for authorizes to treat such water to make it safe for the people to consume. These areas include najanankubi, nakiwgo, and ndeba among others

Urban sprawl has also led to encroachment on special planning areas such as wet land, swamps, and forests among others. this is in a form where by people build in such wet lands for residential, commercial and industrial purposes there by leading to the loss of the ecological integrity in such places yet they are important for natural purification of water and tapping of excess water during rainy season which would have caused flooding of adjoining land uses for example busega swamp and some parts of ndeba

In addition, urban sprawl has led to lose farm /agricultural lands and open spaces. This is in a way that most people who are moving away from the inner city of Kampala go and buy areas in the country side most of whom from local farmers and construct residential or commercial building there by putting food security of the local people in such areas at stake thus prone to famine since they have sold their farmlands away and also the entire region in a long run, this has been evidenced by Zion estates which has bought most of and along Entebbe road but which was previously used for farm land use

Urban sprawl has greatly contributed to traffic congestion in metropolitan Kampala, since there is heavy dependence on automobiles by both people who stay in low density areas and even those who stay in high density areas as they have to drive longer distances from there places of residence to places of work so in the process every family must have a car for those who stay in low density areas such as kakungulu ,lubowa, gaba and for those who don’t have to find a means of either boarding a tax or a bodaboda which of which became very many in the city of which all there currying capacity is very small just congesting the city at end of it all.

In addition urban sprawl has something to do with increase in the transport costs or fares since people stay far away from where they work or live so it becomes very expensive for fueling their cars for those who have private car s or pay much money in the taxes resulting from longer distances for example people who stay in gayaza, mukono among others

It has contributed to decay in the social capital and cohesion among most sprawling areas specifically low density areas. Most people never meet there neighbors as they by pass them in their cars and the concept of neighborhoods cannot work at all since families are isolated from one another and those living alone are like in hostile environment with their private garden ,swimming pools, castles for their children all in their compounds well Faced and nothing that will bind them together with others so the benefits of such places people will get out of a sense of togetherness will be nowhere to be seen even in times of hardships like robbery for example people who stay in munyonyo, bunga and others

Urban sprawl has also contributed to difficulty in provision and extension of services and utilities to the people in such areas majorly in scattered homes where it very hard to construct for them a public sewer line for every family to connect. It could very hard for the government to extend for them electricity or pubic hospitals or even roads since they are far apart from each other so it makes the local authorizes in cure much costs in trying to provide such widely spread services and utilities which his very expensive and not economical at all for example in area of manyangwa in gayaza homes are so scattered

Urban sprawl has also le increase in the energy required by the places prone to places in terms of their ability since there is segregation of land uses such as offices, homes, markets among others require ore metal and concrete in such areas for example in nalya, l ubowa and others

Positively urban sprawl has created a sense of privacy and convince to places of low-density since people occupy vast land with no crowdness, noise and all the bad odor so they construct fences around their homes to have their privacy where they can organize parties without any in convenience from

others there by increasing the quality of life such people get .for example for the people who stay in seguku, munyonyo and even in kakungu arkriht satellite city along Entebbe road

Urban sprawl has also led to economic growth of such areas where by various commercial centers, residential are set up in the previously rural areas thus increasing their economic vibrancy as some services and utilizes are extended to such areas for example in matuga,kawanda, watuba along bombo road

Urban sprawl has also partly contributed to an increase in the tax base of the country, this is through the various local authorities taxing various people who transact business like selling goods hence at the end of all the money generated is used to do other things by local governments for example people in nansana and kila town council, beyogerere, natete are forced to pay for trade licenses

However much as urban sprawl has a malpulicity of negative effects on these areas mentioned above, these are some of the suggested practical mitigation measures to curb that threat in greater metropolitan Kampala region as explained below

Making of mixed land use where various land sues such as residential, commercial, open spaces , urban agriculture, schools ,hospitals and even light industries are put together as well as compact development but making sure that there is the issue of compatibility and complimetabilty of such land uses such that people don’t have to move longer distances to look for services, and other utilities in their car so at the end of all we shall have reduced on the component of over dependence on automobiles since all the needs are within neighborhoods and we shall have created complete streets which are more less sustainable in nature and promoting walk able distances for example in areas of munyonyo, gayaza among others

Besides that ,we can also do urban renewal and revitalization, this would include the strategies that are revitalizing the decaying sectors or areas within the urban centers ,it would also emphasize on improving the quality of life for the urbanites through provision of livable, conducive and sustainable environments conservation, local development infrastructure and develop the urban areas basing on their function, feature and beautification at the end of it all urban renewal could have improved on the decaying areas through development schemes for sustainability. Such areas may include ndeba, kajansi, nakiwogo, bugonga, nansana and others

The other measure we can use is doing a well-coordinated comprehensive planning, this where the whole metropolitan Kampala is looked at as one region and plan for it as a whole .this will promote the aspect of service and utility delivery to all the people in such areas as these services would be allocated in appropriate places and the plan would focus on all sectors such as economical ,social ,physical, environmental and health plans of the area there by reducing on the distances people will move in such for these services and utilities such as hospitals ,schools, markets, banking services and other. In addition it will also promote the component of standards of the road infrastructure that cuts across one urban area as roads would be constructed irrespective of boundaries of lower local governments within

Kampala metropolis thus promoting connectivity with in Kampala. For example the plan would involve areas such has matuga ,gaba ,lubowa, bunga ,ndeba and others with in the range of 40 kilometers from Kampala in order to reduce the negative impacts

Establishing and providing of alternative modes of transport that are fair and cost effective and to the people, this would entail providing public transport means like buses that will curry many people at once other than depending on private means, contraction of safe roads that provide the pedestrians and cyclists access to the road and at the end we would have reduced on the number of cars in the city since most of the people can will be using mega buses and even trains much as it may look expensive in a short run but it saves a lot in a long run there by reducing on the air pollution in the city

After looking at all those then we can bring in the aspect of implementing the strong acts ,polices and guidelines of physical planning in relation to guidance or control of development in metropolitan kamapala.at the moment all those polices are there but there implementation is lacking.so we can enforce the policy of seeking for building permission, protecting special environment al areas and other that will limit people from currying out un guided developments by relevant physical planning authorities

In conclusion therefore it is evident that urban sprawl and it negative impacts are against sustainable development of an area but have been left to go unchecked majorly due to the absence of strong physical planning interventions at a regional scale of metropolitan Kampala however with the mitigation measures explained above if well implemented such as smart growth, greater Kampala may get rid of urban sprawl but otherwise it but is still a major problem in metropolitan Kampala region