Liveable Cities: Zanzibar Ng'ambo Neighbourhood, providing infrastructure for liveable cities

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the practical expertise and context driven design decisions required in creating liveable cities in developing countries. In determining the relative position of a city’s rank on most liveability indexes, the following criteria are used: safety, education, hygiene, healthcare, culture, environment and recreation. However, most of these dynamics are usually not present in developing cities. In order to form a base for future development, it is argued that the provisions of basic infrastructure [i.e.: clean water supply, electricity and sanitation] as well as the development of functional social spaces are vital. This project combines these two factors by developing a hierarchy of linked social spaces as generated by the existing nodes in the form of communal water points.

By means of the lessons learnt during a recently completed project framework for the buffer zone surrounding the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Zanzibar’s Stone Town, the basic requirements for upgrading human settlements to liveable neighbourhoods are illustrated.