Urban Growth in Tanzania: Exploring Challenges, Opportunities and Management

Abstract

Tanzania cities and towns are rapidly urbanizing. This urbanization is manifest of rural-to-urban migration as well as natural population increase. The perceived lack of opportunities in rural areas has been identified as the main push factors for Tanzanians to move from rural areas to urban cities and towns. Urban management practice will increasingly need to account for direct and indirect impacts of urban growth in Tanzania cities and towns. The objective of this paper is to pinpoint the challenges and opportunities of the urban growth in cities and towns in Tanzania.

The discussion of this paper is mainly based on critical review of the literature and original data derived from Baruti settlement in Dar es Salaam City. The review of the documents whether published or not published depended on its status to provide a critical analysis of urban growth challenges and opportunities in Tanzania. The Primary data were gathered using 79 using semi-structured interviews with both open and closed ended questions. The questionnaires were administered by the researcher through face-to-face sessions with the respondents. A purposive sampling technique was adopted in this study. The reason for selecting the purposive sampling technique was based on the respondents’ involvement in urban development project. The quantitative data collected through the use of questionnaire to supplement qualitative data were summarized and organized by using spread sheet template for detailed analysis. The critical qualitative analysis was built on both the secondary and primary data sources to addresses the research questions. A descriptive technique for data analysis was adopted where findings were represented in tables, graphs and texts.

While unperfected urbanization surpass the way inhabitants interact and live in cities and towns, urban management addresses the social, economical and environmental challenges that emerge with the continued urbanization in Tanzania cities and towns such that human activities could be more socially liable, economically sound and environmentally friendly over a long period of time in the future.