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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Residential Morphology of Kampala
Author:Calas, B.ISNI
Year:1992
Periodical:Eastern and Southern Africa Geographical Journal
Volume:3
Issue:1
Period:January
Pages:65-74
Language:English
Notes:biblio. refs., ills.
Geographic terms:Uganda
East Africa
Subjects:urban planning
capitals
Urbanization and Migration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Development and Technology
Military, Defense and Arms
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
geography
Kampala (Uganda)
urbanization
land use
urban environment
Abstract:This article focuses on the morphology of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It examines the factors which account for Kampala's morphology and its specific characteristics. The dominant characteristic of the urban weft is the morphological opposition which exists between the east and the centre of the city, which display a rational development plan, on the one hand, and the rest of the built-up areas, whose organization is difficult to define, on the other. The dichotomy between private and public land underlies the constitution of two opposing plans symptomatic of the two logics informing the city's growth: public in the east and private in the west. This dichotomy derives from the history of Buganda's colonization by the British. Furthermore, a distinction based on social factors exists between the comfortable areas of the south and the common areas of the north. The site of Kampala, which is made up of oblong hills separated by large and badly drained valleys, has also influenced the urbanization process. Although twenty years of civil war have left their marks on the city, the destruction of buildings seems to have been fairly limited in number. However, the collective dwellings of old Kampala are in an incredibly dilapidated state due to lack of maintenance resulting from the political and economic turmoil of the past twenty years. Notes, ref., sum.
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