This research analyses the internal structure and neighbourhood disparities in the capital city of Dodoma, Tanzania.
Further, it provides a qualitative assessment of the balance of social, economic and environmental sustainability from the perspectives of residents within these neighbourhoods.
Key findings:
- Dodoma gained capital-city status in 1973 when the then government decided to transfer its seat from Dar es Salaam to a more central location. Consequently, Dodoma has experienced general urbanisation and intensified migration that has led to major changes in land use and spatial development. Built-up areas comprising residential, industrial, business and public spaces have increased across the city at the expense of farmland owned by Dodoma’s native citizens.
- In recent years Dodoma has seen rapid urbanisation and uneven population growth. The near-central business district, peri-urban and urban parts of the city have grown very fast as a result of intensified urban planning and surveying of land.
- Although the city is growing outwards, urban wards have become increasingly concentrated and dense over time following changes in development guidelines such as those on vertical development.
- There are wide disparities between rural and urban wards in access to, and provision and quality of services, with urban wards benefiting from better coverage. Consequently, residents from low-income and urban villages face risks around health and education deprivation and reduced life chances.