Assessing the impact of inadequate land use planning on upgrading Katanga slum

Abstract

Land is a significant factor that determines the quality of life of not only the rural communities but also that of the urban dwellers for housing, agriculture and space for government agencies. Unfortunately, not all people have direct access and legal ownership of land forcing housing for low- and moderate-income families to the peripheries of urban areas where they may incur substantial costs, both in time and money, in commuting to employment opportunities in the urban center and where infrastructure and urban services are often lacking or deficient. This results into creation of slum settlements whose living conditions can be improved by slum upgrading, a process which involves the improvement of both physical and social environments. Slum upgrading depends on factors such as the capacity of the urban government to finance infrastructure and deliver basic services which requires proper land use planning. Land use planning contributes greatly to the orderliness in a city by reason of spatial organization of the different uses. This study assesses the impact inadequate land use planning has on upgrading of Katanga slum. Questionnaires, direct observation and interviews were employed to collect data from the field and data was analyzed using SPSS software and presented in form of tables and charts. Study findings showed that inadequate land use planning has a great impact on upgrading of Katanga slum. This impact is in form of low infrastructure development, disorderly human settlement, poor waste management, limited access to water, education and medical services.