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Master’s Thesis: Executive
Summary
Kampala is the capital
city of Uganda. The phenomenon of
informal settlements in Kampala is as old as the
city itself and is rooted in the duality that existed between Kampala Municipality and the native Buganda capital (the Kibuga).
Due to rural-urban migration and natural growth, the population of Kampala more than doubled
during the period between 1968 and 1991. Parallel to this rapid population
increase, urban infrastructure in the city deteriorated owing to social
strife and internal conflict. The result is that today there is a mismatch
between population size on one hand, and infrastructure and housing stock
on the other hand. This mismatch is reflected in the ever-expanding
informal settlements in the city. Currently, it is estimated that over 60
percent of Kampala’s population
lives in informal settlements.
Informal settlements are problematic because the living conditions in them
are usually so bad that they endanger the lives of the inhabitants. At the
same time, the settlements infringe on environmental areas and also inhibit
orderly city growth.
With population growth rate of 5.7 percent per year, the discrepancy
between demand and supply of decent housing, which is reflected in informal
settlements, is bound to increase unless remedial measures are undertaken.
The aim of this thesis is to study informal settlements in Kampala so as to
understand the settlements and propose counteractive courses of action. The
thesis gives a historical account of the development of informal
settlements in the city as well as their present day characteristics. The
present day characteristics are based on empirical research findings. In
studying the Kampala situation, the
experience of urbanisation and informal settlements in other countries is
examined for purposes of making comparisons and drawing useful lessons from
the international context. The thesis compares different approaches to
ameliorating the problems associated with informal settlements in order to
come up with some recommendations for Kampala. The
recommendations contained herein address the challenge of finding a
workable proposal that is tailored to the limited resources of the urban
management authorities. In the search for a solution, the applicability of
the tool of Multi-Attribute Utility Technique (MAUT) to the Kampala context is
demonstrated.
In conclusion, the thesis will study informal settlements in Kampala by examining their
local, national as well as international contexts. The ultimate aim of this
thesis is to make a contribution to a better understanding of informal
settlements with a view towards suggesting a viable way forward for Kampala City.
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