KIVUKONI WATERFRONT Public Place Or Neglected Space? a Design Proposal for a Harbor Area in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
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KIVUKONI WATERFRONT Public Place or Neglected Space? A design proposal for a harbor area in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Louise Candefjord & Linn Nilsson Master’s thesis • 30 HEC • Advanced level A2E Landscape Architect programme • Uppsala 2015 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences Department of Urban and Rural Development, Division of Landscape Architecture Master’s thesis for the Landscape Architect programme EX0504 Degree Project in Landscape Architecture, 30 HEC Level: Advanced A2E © 2015 Louise Candefjord, e-post: [email protected], Linn Nilsson, e-post: [email protected] Title in English: Kivukoni Waterfront: Public Place or Neglected Space? A design proposal for a harbor area in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Title in Swedish: Kivukoni Waterfront: Offentligt stadsrum eller försummat område? Ett gestaltningsförslag för ett hamnområde i Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Swedish supervisors: Rolf Johansson, Department of Urban and Rural Development, Uppsala, Sweden. Camilo Calderon, Department of Urban and Rural Development, Uppsala, Sweden. Tanzanian supervisor: Dr Liberatus Mrema, Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Examiner: Maria Ignatieva, Department of Urban and Rural Development, Uppsala, Sweden. Assistant examiner: Ulla Myhr, Department of Urban and Rural Development, Uppsala, Sweden. Cover image: Perspective of The Mama Lishe Café created by © Louise Candefjord and Linn Nilsson. Original format: A3 Keywords: Kivukoni, waterfront, public space, green space, public green space, restricted green space, harbor, port, Dar es Salaam. All featured texts, photographs and illustrations are property of the authors unless otherwise stated. Other materials are used with permission of the owner. Detailed information about each figure are displayed in the List of illustrations. Online publication of this work: http://epsilon.slu.se PREFACE We have developed a design proposal for Kivukoni Waterfront, a We would like to send a large thanks to everyone who supported waterfront situated in the center of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for us in Dar es Salaam, where we performed our fieldwork. This our master thesis in landscape architecture. The project started includes visitors at Kivukoni, local authorities, non-governmental off by sending an e-mail to an architect working at Epitome organizations and private companies; their contribution has been Architects in Dar es Salaam, asking if she knew a specific area crucial to the project. We would also like to send special thanks or project in the city that needed the professional knowledge to the students Emmanuel, Elvis and David at Ardhi University of landscape architects. The thesis was performed as a Minor who assisted us as interpreters during interviews with people at Field Study sponsored by SIDA. We wanted to examine public the project site. Without them this thesis and design proposal spaces abroad, in urban environments unlike our own. Spending would not have been possible. A thank you also goes to Anna, nine weeks in Dar es Salaam, from the end of February to the Amanda and Jonna, who shared their experiences of the everyday end of April in 2014, we studied our project site as well as life in Dar es Salaam and introduced us to the new environment. experienced and gathered as much understanding as possible Last but not least, we send a large thanks to our families, friends of the culture and everyday life of the city. It has truly been a and each other, for support and encouragement. stimulating journey and learning experience. Not only have we made progress as landscape architects, but developed as persons. Figure 1. Linn Nilsson and Louise Candefjord, Arusha, We gained international experience within our profession and Asante sana! Tanzania 2014. learned how to keep an open mind and being flexible. We hope that the thesis will raise knowledge about the importance of public space development in Dar es Salaam, and Louise Candefjord & Linn Nilsson development of waterfronts in general. With this design proposal we hope to inspire and encourage the municipality and other Uppsala, August 2015 stakeholders that would like to develop Kivukoni Waterfront in the future. In our opinion, Kivukoni can be a large asset to Dar es Salaam serving the public for recreational purposes, if planned and well-designed. We would like to thank our Swedish supervisors, Rolf Johansson and Camilo Calderon, for their encouragement and careful feedback, as well as our Tanzanian supervisor Dr. Mrema, for interesting conversations. Also thanks to Mr. Ikumla and Dr. Mbisso, for introducing us to Ardhi University. We sincerely thank Tomas Eriksson and Tuula Eriksson, who supported us with tutoring since they have insight in the issues of Kivukoni Waterfront and the culture of the city. Finally we would like to thank Maria Ignatieva, who supported us with plant knowledge. III ABSTRACT Urbanization is occurring faster in Sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world (Africa Research Institute 2012, p. 1). The World Bank (2012b, pp. 181-182) states that Dar es Salaam is one of the fastest growing cities in Sub-Saharan Africa with an annual population growth rate of about 8 percent. Due to strained resources and incoherent governance the Dar es Salaam City Council is not able to provide basic urban services for the residents (UN-HABITAT 2009, p. 9). As a result, the urban environment is degraded and urban poverty increases (The World Bank 2002, p. 6). Buildings, roads and other services are prioritized in the planning process in many cities in developing countries, which exterminates green spaces (Mng’ong’o 2005, p. 6). This is also the case in Dar es Salaam, where green spaces are disappearing rapidly. The city center, referred to as the Central Business District, is characterized by a stressful city pulse of congestions, traffic jams and business people being an overrepresented target group. There is a lack of formal public spaces in the city center where people can elude the stressful city pulse, relax and recharge their batteries. What is interesting is that right in the Central Business District, in the exact area where Dar es Salaam was once founded, is an unplanned beach area known as Kivukoni Waterfront. The waterfront stretch is about one kilometer and is situated in a bay between two ferry terminals which act as major nodes. There are also several major landmarks adjacent, which mean a large amount of people are moving in this area. Kivukoni Waterfront is earmarked and mentioned as a site that should be developed as a public space for recreational purposes in the strategic document Dar es Salaam Central Area Redevelopment Plan and in the current master plan Dar es Salaam Master Plan 2012-2032. However, most parts of the waterfront are inaccessible today due to steep slopes and dense vegetation. Further, the area is littered and polluted, there are restaurant facilities of poor standard and homeless people are moving in the area, making it unhealthy and insecure. This thesis contains a design proposal of how the waterfront can be transformed into a public space, with the objectives of optimizing accessibility for everyone and increasing safety. The design is based on three main keys: connect, concentrate and commit, which help to enhance the existing strengths of the waterfront and address its weaknesses. We suggested five main destinations of different characters and activities, and a continuous beach promenade that acts as a spine by connecting the destinations and the waterfront with existing walkways and roads. The design language is a mix of organic shapes inspired by the ocean waves and strict shapes inspired by the urban landscape of the city center. If well-designed and well- functioning, the waterfront can have several positive impacts on the Central Business District and Dar es Salaam in general, which in turn can improve the well-being of many people. IV SAMMANFATTNING Detta examensarbete har genomförts som en Minor Field AVGRÄNSNINGAR Study i Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Projektet finansierades Undersökningen av vattennära områden avgränsades tematiskt genom stipendium från SIDA, styrelsen för internationellt till att enbart undersöka offentliga rum i urbana miljöer och utvecklingsarbete. geografiskt till vattennära områden med liknande förutsättningar som Kivukoni, till exempel klimat, markanvändning (innan INLEDNING områdena omvandlades till offentliga rum) storlek och läge i Det är vedertaget att urbaniseringen sker snabbare i Subsahariska staden. Undersökningen av offentliga rum och grönområden Afrika än någon annanstans i världen (Afrika Research i Dar es Salaam och Central Business District avgränsades Institute 2012, s. 1). Allteftersom befolkningen i tätorterna tematiskt till att enbart undersöka den nuvarande situationen växer snabbt ökar urbaniseringsnivåerna långsamt eller inte med offentliga rum och grönområden, det vill säga vilka typer alls. Dessa grundläggande förändringar i urbaniseringstrender som finns och hur människor använder staden generellt. Vi måste uppmärksammas av afrikanska regeringar, beslutsfattare tittade även till viss del på stadsplaneringsprocessen och framtida och internationella givare för att förbättra situationen med planer för utvecklingen av offentliga rum och grönområden. arbetstillfällen, inkomst och ekonomisk utveckling i städerna. Geografiskt avgränsades detta ämne till att undersöka platser Många landsbygdsinvånare migrerar till Tanzanias största stad, i Central Business District