Transporte de sedimentos 5 Conclusiones

The deeply problematic use of the ‘garden city’ as a model, or at least as a name, has run in the background to this thesis ever since that image at the end of chapter two. At the very least, putting aside the colonial connotations, it doesn’t seem on the face of it to connect particularly well with a message of ‘newness’ and an envisioning of the future in the way that much of the rest of the plans narrative and indeed the demeanour of the JICA consultants, seems to suggest. I now, however, want to look more explicitly at its utilisation and, as was done with Sacramento, try and understand more about how it emerged (this time around). Use of the ‘garden city’ planning model in the UK, where it was first conceived by Ebenezer Howard, has seen a resurgence in practice (BBC 2014; Biddulph 2016; Cabannes and Ross 2014; TCAP 2014). Likewise, there is also, of course, extensive reflection on the way in which Ebenezer Howard’s model - originally conceived in theory and not with any particular application in mind - was explicitly enacted as a colonial city making model and subsequently deployed throughout the British empire from Australia and Malaysia to Nigeria, South Africa

145

and, of course, Zambia (Home 1990; Howard and Osborn 2013). As Hoffman (2011) suggests in her article looking at the concepts’ re-embrace in China, ‘overt citation’ of the name as indicative of a modelling approach is less important than striking up a dialogue with its historical trajectory in certain locales (ibid. 56). The following are all statements from members of the Lusaka city council engineering department who, as we saw in chapter five, ended up working particularly closely with some of the JICA consultants on the development of the new plans:

“I think when you look at the current master plan it wants to take Lusaka back to the garden city and I think it was designed as such from the very beginning”

“Before there was order to the developments because the plan was laid down clearly

and organisation of the city was something that had control over it, unlike today. I think garden city is a good term to aspire towards because that is what we are, that is

Lusaka’s identity”

“An approach was required to achieve environmental protection that will allow the city to suit its old name. I think we have lost this idea of the garden city too much”

From JICA’s perspective, as one of the quotes also suggests, it seems as though the garden city concept offered something to hold onto throughout the process of developing the plans and a way of ensuring that they were not just imposing a new model but that they were using what was already in place to build upon in an ideological sense. For them, the garden city is “a society with abundant greenery and biodiversity, ultralow pollution and low carbon”:

“The thought of a well-planned garden city stands up particularly well given the current situation of uncontrolled sprawl, beyond planned areas and poorly organised

administrative functions in the city government” (JICA 2009)

It seems, almost too clinical, too simple a correlation to have had any real impact upon the message imbrued by the plans, and yet it would certainly seem as if the connotations the term ‘garden’ has for depicting a green, environmentally sustainable and harmonious urban space is vital to its recycling in the new plan. What this also does however, is connect well with other elements that the plan incorporates, such as the use of satellite settlements (a

146

core aspect of Howard’s original model) and offers a means of rationalising engagement with the land outside of the central areas in ways that are presented as the anti-thesis of ‘sprawl’.

“They wanted to have some options for how to achieve the city goals and to look at what would happen if nothing was done but it was just left to grow. This was the reason for having this process, it was about choosing what was best for the city not just making something else [and imposing it]” (interview, lead city planner)

JICA had worked to ‘identify’ three possible frameworks and ‘tactical approaches’ to act as the vehicles for this city-wide approach before settling on the eventual plan which involves transitioning away from a message of uncontrolled sprawl and into a paradigm of controlled expansion (JICA 2009):

- New Urban Expansion: Through satellite town formulation in urban fringe areas, embracing the linkage development along the existing urban area.

- Upgrading Existing City: Through strong urban growth management for compact city formulation with intensive development in the interior area

- New Capital Development: Through decentralization of the capital such as the development of twin city or new capital city in remote area

The combination of the ring roads as a means of containing developments within and establishing a boundary, and then the use of satellite towns as radial connections to the centre, allows the garden city message to rationalise the model that was eventually adopted. Much like in Sacramento, however, while the majority of the urban space which is encompassed by the boundaries of the future city vision fails to meet any of the ideological aspects of what constitutes a well-planned garden city, certain parts of the city do fit the description well. In Sacramento we saw this connection drawn in the opening pages of the general plan, while, in Lusaka, they opt for something a little grander…

147

Figure 6.3 - Depiction of the city’s original colonial plan alongside Great East Road, Lusaka. Source: Author

Figure 6.4 below contains a clearer outline of the same image portrayed on the large billboard above, and which maps neatly onto what is described in the plans as the ‘central area’ (where the Dual-Core CBD is being constructed). Likewise all government ministries, foreign embassies and the majority of Lusaka’s primary commercial activities are contained within the space defined on this map. With the exception of the Great East Road corridor which is lined with increasing levels of development projects and infrastructure upgrading, more or less all of the white areas denoted by ‘farm number’ in this image, are today comprised of informal settlements. In the bottom left hand corner of the map where it is labelled ‘African compound’, the infamous ‘Chibolya’ compound now stretches a considerable distance outside of the city in the South West direction. Independence Avenue, on which the majority

148

of government buildings, including the Lusaka city council, are based, dissects the city from East to West between the old airport and ‘Mumbwa Road’.

Figure 6.4 - Original Lusaka Plan. Source: Collins (1969)

Two of the fundamental elements of Sir Ebenezer Howard’s original garden city model were to tackle the problem of slums in providing healthy living environments for the working class, and to harness the clear sense of community amongst the residents of each containerised part of the city (Howard and Osborn 2013). In other words, the very things required in addressing the most pressing concerns of Lusaka today. But there is no mention of this in the new master plan - the garden city rhetoric is usurped by a narrative of environmentalism and green space combined with new satellite cities conveniently aligned with the pre-existent project of MFEZ development. Of course, through the colonist agenda of segregation and uniformity, these original principles were lost and replaced with alternate, racialized ones. One’s whose legacy has ensured that not only are the urbanisation problems that exist in Lusaka rooted in its colonial garden city plan, but it seems the sustainable solutions are too. Any ability that Ebenezer Howard’s visionary theory might actually have as a means of imagining a better Lusaka for tomorrow were taken away not by this new master plan’s use

149

of the concept, but by the decision of the colonial powers to keep the name of the ‘garden city’ but shift the models purpose to one that fit the narratives of the imperial mission.