Assessing the effects of rail transport on land use in Kampala and Wakiso.

Abstract

The existence of railway lines is a very beneficial to the public in the country (KampalaWakiso, Uganda). They were constructed in a way that do connect different cities to the main city (small towns to big towns) of from one country to another. The KampalaWakiso railway line connects most of the small towns alongside the railway making transportation easy for the people to move The main objective was to investigate the effects of rail transport on the land use patterns in Kampala and Wakiso basing on the following specific objectives, to find out people`s opinions on land use alongside railway lines, to examine the property value trends along the railway lines, to assess the contribution of railway transport in boosting and encouraging urban economic development and to determine the challenges facing railway transport in urban Uganda. The research used mixed approach were both qualitative and quantitative research approach with a help of a number of methods. The sample size consisted of local residents of which 70 were selected using the simple sampling. Data was collected by questionnaire. The data was analyzed using excel tables and graphs were drawn using excel. Findings revealed that railway transport has an effect on the land use. The areas that are near the railway lines of the Kampala- Namanve railway are of many land uses which include commercial land use, residential land use, agriculture land use and industrial land use like Nakawa Industrial Park and among others. In addition, trading centers and markets have been set up along the railway lines because of the increased number of people, the railway its self being busy as it connects to different towns to the Kampala city as it is the major in Uganda. It was recommended that more attention should be devoted to predicting, planning, monitoring and assessing the effects of railway. It is recommended that peopled leaving along the railway lines should construct their properties far away from the railway lines and the railway reserve should be kept clear.