Contemporary Rural and Urban Issues in Zimbabwe—Implications for Policy and Planning

Zimbabwean planning empiricists on the contemporary challenges facing Zimbabwe as a nation in the planning and ordinary life domain. Planning as a discipline is concerned about location of activities and how values of order, amenity and health, among other things must be enhanced. It takes on board the people to benefit from that planning. Yet, there are also issues of policy, governance, resource mobilisation and environmental sustainability that must be put into consideration. In these few chapters, an attempt is made to glean on the issues currently affecting Zimbabwe including the suppression of commercial farming and white-owned rural enterprises. They constitute what we can call the 'unfinished business' of an ailing economy. Zimbabwe's rural and urban areas have, in the past decade or so, faced unprecedented socio-economic challenges among them housing, transport, water, electricity and unemployment. Despite these challenges rural dwellers continue to flock into urban areas in search better living conditions. As such a myriad of urban challenges continues to increase day by day coupled by poor governance from the responsible authorities hence the title of this book: Contemporary rural and urban issues in Zimbabwe: Implications for policy and planning. This book is a compilation of hitherto current unpublished research various scholars in Southern Africa. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS EDITORS.CONTRIBUTORS Chapter 1 - Technocracy, Rationality and Post-Coloniality in Zimbabwe: A survey of selected planning issues by Innocent Chirisa, Nyasha Takawira Mutsindikwa, Nelson Chanza, Smart Dumba, Marilyn Chaonwa-Gaza and and John Bowora Chapter 2 - Housing the Urban Poor in Zimbabwe: A Policy Review by Innocent Chirisa Chapter 3 - Urban Housing Land and Speculation: Could someone be fooling someone? By Innocent Chirisa Chapter 4 - Planning and Peri-urban Zimbabwe: Lessons from Bulawayo's Rangemore Subdivisions by Buhle Ndlovu and Innocent Chirisa Chapter 5 - The Story of Joshua Mquabuko Expressway in Harare: A Clash of Residents, Planning and Policy Concerns? by Bothwell Matambo, Innocent Chirisa and Shingai Kawadza Chapter 6 - The Role of Residents Trusts in Human Rights Education and Advocacy by Innocent Chirisa and Trymore Muderere Chapter 7 - Time Use and the Daily Behaviour of Street Vendors in Harare by Innocent Chirisa Chapter 8 - Risks and Uncertainties in Land Peasantisation: Study on Selected Farms in Wedza by Dominic Masamba and Innocent Chirisa Chapter 9 - Community Mobilisation in Polarised Environments: Focus on Mazowe by Trymore Muderere Chapter 10 - The Crisis of local government in Zimbabwe: Crucible for reformation by Davison Muchadenyika

Innocent Chirisa is the chief editor as well as a contributor to this work. He is senior lecturer in Environmental Planning and Management,Department of Urban and Rural Planning, University of Zimbabwe