The challenges facing urbanisation processes in Kampala
Abstract
This paper analyses the dynamics responsible for changing Kampala city and
the implications of these dynamics for an alternative urban policy framework. The
paper is motivated by the paucity of information on the social–economic and political
dynamics that contribute to Kampala’s urbanisation and the resultant lack of an
appropriate policy framework to guide the development trajectory in the Ugandan
capital. It argues that the conditions that have allowed the situation to exist have serious
policy implications, which require the need for an integrated policy framework that can
be used to effectively prevent Kampala’s unplanned urbanisation while promoting
planned urbanisation. This paper, therefore, focuses on the informal dynamics
explaining Kampala’s urbanisation from 1990 to 2013 and their policy implications.
The sample consisted of 24 purposively selected key informants and 720 city residents
selected using multistage sampling. Data was collected using interviews, focus group
discussions and questionnaires. Qualitative data was analysed using narrative and
thematic techniques, complemented by the descriptive method. Factor analysis was
used to analyse quantitative data.