Kampala's Shitscape: Exploring Urbanity and Sanitation in Uganda
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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Kampala's Shitscape: Exploring Urbanity And Sanitation In Uganda by Stephanie Elizabeth Terreni Brown PhD in Geography University of Edinburgh 2013 Abstract In this thesis, I explore the collective excrement apparatus of Kampala, or the “shitscape”. I consider the diverse ways that the city’s inhabitants utilise different materials to manage their daily defecation, from flush toilets and latrines to plastic bags, septic tanks, and wastewater channels. In doing so, I unravel the historical and contemporary construction of toileting as a critical component of the modern city in the global south, and the everyday role of excrement in the inclusion and exclusion of Kampala’s inhabitants. The shitscape therefore invites a discussion of how the city’s sanitation infrastructures are thought about and implemented in a way that both reflects and reinforces the socio-economic disparities of its residents. The thesis begins with an historical analysis of how the city was shaped by colonialism and how this affects the contemporary shitscape in terms of ideas about urbanity, modernity, and hygiene, and then analyses how the material and symbolic groundwork of the colonial period is extended into the planning and living of today’s city. Tracing the city’s main wastewater channel through affluent areas and informal settlements of central Kampala, I use ethnographic and qualitative methods to understand the everyday toileting materialities and performances, and its role in the ways in which the city is read, perceived, and lived by its inhabitants. The study’s primary theoretical contribution is to contribute to Lefebvre’s theories about the production of urban space by bringing it into conversation with postcolonial and feminist literatures that knit together bodily function and material infrastructure. This everyday look at the how the city’s shitscape operates ultimately offers ways to challenge prevailing notions of urbanity, and prompts thinking about alternative possibilities for how city life is conceptualised. ii Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the help and participation of so many people, but first and foremost I must thank my supervisors Betsy Olson and Lynn Staeheli. They both deserve special mention, and huge hugs, because they have been so instrumental over the past four years. It has not been an easy road from initial thoughts to final stages, but they have been there throughout, often via email and Skype, providing a wealth of wisdom and encouragement. Thank you. The ESRC has provided funding for this research, via the 1+3 scheme. Thank you for this invaluable source of financial support, which enables aspiring academics like me to try their hand. Edinburgh University has proved to be chock-a-block with knowledgeable, lovely people. Eric Laurier is a gem, and a much appreciated Edinburgh presence. He has been instrumental in guiding me (thesis in hand) over the final hurdles. Heaps of gratitude to you, Eric. And the Geography department’s Benbecula office is a hovel but it seems to always contain wondrous and humorous people throughout its various line-ups of PhD students. Thanks to all of you for your insights and support and, more importantly, a lot of laughs. Thanks too to the people I have met in Kampala. It is a city that has made me feel so welcomed, and I have made friends for life there. The Mugishas have been especially wonderful, hosting and helping in equal measure. The participants in this research have often professed surprise at the topic, but it is iii me who has ultimately been taken aback by the open and frank conversations that have been had. These discussions have made this research possible. My family also deserve huge thanks. They really are brilliant. The Browns and the Terrenis are a fabulous concoction of support and love, with an ample sprinkling of off-the-wall. They must all be beyond happy that my time as a student is finally nearing its conclusion. Thanks for getting me through it all! And finally, to Keith, the biggest thank you of all. You have the dubious honour of inspiring this whole endeavour via your own personal shit journey. Your strength is incredible. Thank you for your love and support, and for your awesome patience. iv Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis has been composed by me, that the work is my own, and that the work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Stephanie Elizabeth Terreni Brown December 2013 v Table of Contents Kampala's Shitscape: .......................................................................................................... i Exploring Urbanity And Sanitation In Uganda .......................................................... i Abstract .................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iii Declaration ........................................................................................................................... v Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................... x 1 Introducing the shitscape ....................................................................................... 1 1.1 Ordinary Kampala? ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Why Kampala’s shitscape and not wastescape? ........................................................ 6 1.2 Toileting and the everyday ......................................................................................10 1.3 Research questions and thesis outline ................................................................13 2 Exploring the urban shitscape ........................................................................... 16 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................17 2.2 Imagining spaces, places, and people ..................................................................19 2.2.1 Othering of space ................................................................................................................. 21 2.2.2 Othering the urban ............................................................................................................. 24 2.3 Why urban sanitation infrastructure? .................................................................29 2.3.1 Abjection, dirt, and urbanity ........................................................................................... 30 2.3.2 “What will make Kampala a modern city that works…” ..................................... 38 2.4 Imagining Kampala .....................................................................................................41 2.4.1 Pre-colonial Kampala ......................................................................................................... 43 2.4.2 Colonial planning ................................................................................................................. 46 2.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................58 vi 3 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 61 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................62 3.2 Thoughts on discussing defecation .......................................................................65 3.2.1 Interpreting cityspace ....................................................................................................... 73 3.3 Dirty topics ....................................................................................................................78 3.4 Sanitary matters ..........................................................................................................82 3.5 Studying the shitscape ...............................................................................................85 3.5.1 Fieldwork sites: following a transect .......................................................................... 88 3.5.2 Searching through the archives ..................................................................................... 93 3.5.3 Walking and observing ..................................................................................................... 95 3.5.4 Interviews ..............................................................................................................................