GLOSSARY OF URBAN PLANNING CONCEPTS IN MALAWI MTAFU ALMITON ZELEZA-MANDA ALMA CONSULTANCY PO Box 876, Mzuzu PO BOX 77 CHINTHECHE MALAWI Urban Planning Concepts Glossary of Urban Planning Concepts in Malawi Published by ALMA Consultancy, PO Box 876, Mzuzu, PO Box 77, Chintheche, Malawi Tel: International: + 265 1 357 358 / 265 8 867 752 / 265 9 307 750 Local: 01 357 358 / 08 867 752 / 09307750 E-mail: [email protected] /[email protected] First Published: September 2004 © Mtafu Almiton Zeleza Manda, 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, photography, scanning and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author. The book is covered by Malawi and World intellectual property copyright legislations. ISBN 9 9 9 0 8 – 920- 0- 8 Urban planning / town planning / physical planning / Malawi/ Africa By the Same Author: The State and the Labour Movement in Malawi, Dudu Nsomba, Glasgow, 2000 Forthcoming: (1) The Planner and the Politician (Planning and Politics) in Malawi; In Defence of the Planner (2) Trade Unionists, Opportunists and Confusionists: Malawi Trade Unionism -May 1992- May 2004 Front Cover Photo: Mzuzu City New Commercial Area, December 2003. Land developed under Secondary Centres Development Programme to contribute to fiscal devolution and local economic development through planning, plot surveying and infrastructure development. Photo: Friedemann Schrenk Back Cover: Landslide at Kuwilwe Headland near Tukombo in Nkhata Bay. The headland is slowly moving towards the lake that is only some 20 m as a result of undercutting to create space for the Lakeshore Road. The earth is nearly covering the road (bottom photo). Over the years authorities have to remove soil and deposit it on the eastern side of the road to keep the road clear of the soil (top photo) Photo: Golo Stadelmaier Printed by: City Printing and Publishing, Lilongwe, Malawi Mtafu Almiton Zeleza Manda 2 Urban Planning Concepts PREFACE The Glossary of Planning Concepts in Malawi is about urban / physical planning but also includes concepts in related fields of surveying, architecture, engineering, valuation, estate management, environment and geography in general. One cannot adequately discuss physical planning without reference to these fields not just because of their close relationship but also because planning is a young profession having emerged only in the 1900s. Prior to that surveyors, architects and engineers did ‘town’ planning and indeed at one-point health officers in developing countries like Malawi took centre stage in town planning to promote public health, rather than to also promote, as we now do, equity, environment, order and beauty. These concepts are explained to reduce the conceptual confusions both in the planning field but also other fields where attempts are made to use these concepts. For example, a commentary in one government document meant to review the Ministry of Lands, Physical Planning and Surveys, noted that ‘the review team failed to understand the difference between an urban centre and a planning area.’ In a consultancy report on urban environmental management for Salima Town, a statement is made to the effect that ‘medium density areas include traditional housing areas.’ One daily newspaper once quoted Mayor for Blantyre City as complaining of the magnitude of slums and a picture of Mbayani squatter area was displayed on top of the story. Such confusions are more serious among members of the general public who see a bus station as synonymous to a bus depot. Some concepts in this Glossary may not be applicable in Malawi. However, since our country is donor dependent, concepts widely used in major donor countries are included to avoid conceptual confusions and ensure a uniform definition when dealing with those countries. For example, what constitutes good governance to the President of Malawi such as distribution of cash at public rallies might mean corruption in Europe. I hope this Glossary of Planning Concepts in Malawi will be useful to students and teachers of geography and planning in schools, colleges and universities, and to planners in diverse fields and to journalists. Devolution of planning to district (rural and urban) means that different meanings can be attached to otherwise the same concept. It is my hope that local authorities or assemblies will also find the glossary useful in the management of their areas. In short the Glossary has the following: • Concepts used in Malawi • Concepts used in other countries which should be known to planners in Malawi • Concepts used in fields allied to planning such as land administration, estate management, surveying, architecture • Concepts used in the teaching of geography and demography, the basic subjects of future planners in Malawi • Concepts used in development planning and economic development which planners use to explain spatial differentiation In trying to make the necessary professional definitions, I attempted to consult widely among colleagues on particular topics and in specific disciplines. Detailed footnotes are provided for most of the concepts for those who wish to read further. The responsibility for any error or confusion, in a bid to make the concepts as clear as necessary for the Malawi user, remains my own. Mtafu Almiton Zeleza-Manda - Chintheche - MALAWI - 27th September 2004 Mtafu Almiton Zeleza Manda 3 Urban Planning Concepts ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank all who helped in the production of this Glossary especially in the definition of the concepts for the guidance they offered. The following however deserve special mention: My colleagues at SCDP for their encouragement on the project and for making several suggestions on how best to have the final print. I also thank DED-Malawi Office for their sponsorship that covered 90% of the printing costs. This assistance was made possible by the instrumental role played by the DED Resident Representative in Malawi, Mrs Friederike Pommerehne and the Planning Advisor at Decentralisation Secretariat, Mr Claus Kruse. I am very grateful for their interest in this work because without it the Glossary should have taken yet more months in manuscript form. I also thank Mrs Lucy Chipeta of Chancellor College and my brother Levy for taking their time to read through the Glossary and suggesting several changes to improve it. Mtafu Almiton Zeleza Manda 4 Urban Planning Concepts DEDICATION I dedicate this book to my late father Singleton Chinguwa Zeleza Manda, whose wisdom and belief in education for personal and societal advancement, I strongly cherish. He passed away in the early hours of Saturday, 17th January 2004 and was laid to rest on 18th January 2004 at Nkhata Bay. He was only 72. Mtafu Almiton Zeleza Manda 5 Urban Planning Concepts ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mr Manda studied at the University of Malawi ‘s Chancellor College where he graduated with a BSoc Sc majoring in Geography and Demography. He did post graduate diplomas in Population and Sustainable Development at the Botswana University and, in Housing and Urban Development at the Netherlands Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies. He also has a Master of Science Degree in Urban Development Planning from the University of London. His involvement in the Malawi labour movement in the early 1990’s helped him publish the first ever book on labour relations by a unionist in the country: The State and the Labour Movement in Malawi (2000). With Ngeyi Kanyongolo and Prof. Clement Ng'ong’ola, he published the “Malawi’ chapter in Public Sector Labour Relations in Southern Africa edited by Evance Kalula and Lovemore Madhuku (1997). He is also contributor of the ‘Malawi’ chapter in The International Manual of Planning Practice (2001) published by Isocarp. He has worked as a planner in Physical Planning Department where he served as principal planner before leaving to join the SCDP as Programme Planner responsible for planning and estate management in town assemblies benefiting from the programme. He was the first physical planner in Malawi to register a planning consultancy firm, Alma Consultants. In 2002 he served as adjunct lecturer in Human Geography at the Mzuzu University. He is presently finalising two other works, Politics and Planning in Malawi, and Trade Unionists, Opportunists and Confusionists: Malawi Trade Unionism, 1992-2004. He is presently, 2004 to 2005, the Honorary Secretary of Malawi Institute of Physical Planners (MIPP) Mtafu Almiton Zeleza Manda 6 Urban Planning Concepts A Abortion Rate: in demography, the frequency of abortion in a population during a given period usually, one year.1 Abortion ratio: frequency of abortions in relation to the number of live births during a specified period (See ratio) Absolute humidity: the amount or weight of water vapour in a mass (volume) of air expressed as grams of water per kilogram of air, or per cubic meter of air 2 (see relative humidity) Absolute cost advantage: when one region (A) can produce products (X and Y) at real absolute lower costs than another (B), it is said that region A has absolute cost advantage over B. However since prices for X may be higher than for Y, region A may be better off specialising in Y, even though A can produce both X and Y more cheaply than B. (see comparative advantage)3 Absolute poverty: an imaginary international poverty line that has no regard to national boundaries and is independent of national per capita income used to describe the proportion of a country’s population and actual number living below a specified minimum level of income. The World Bank first introduced the poverty datum line in 1985 for cross country comparisons and aggregation. A household with income below $370 was classified as ‘poor,’ while one below $275 was classified as ‘extremely poor.’ Both were ‘absolutely poor’ in terms of purchasing power parity 4 (see also poverty).