ACcelerating Transition in Peri-Urban areaS in East Africa

Project Information

ACTUS

Grant agreement ID: 657784

DOI

10.3030/657784

Project closed

EC signature date 2 March 2015

Start date 1 January 2016

End date 31 December 2018

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 219 693,60

EU contribution

€ 219 693,60

Coordinated by

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT DARMSTADT
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ACTUS (ACcelerating Transition in Peri-Urban areaS in East Africa)

Reporting period: 2018-01-01 to 2018-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The research project ACTUS aimed at investigating everyday experiences of solid waste and sanitation in peri-urban areas in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The overall goal of ACTUS is to discern the relationship between urban infrastructure systems, pro-poor growth and climate hazards. The specific scientific objectives were to contextualize solid waste management and sanitation in Dar es Salaam, to understand and document locally embedded practices and to provide a platform for exchange between different institutions and stakeholders

ACTUS has another central objective. The outgoing phase aimed at gaining more maturity in research through advance training in the region, to be truly embedded at my host institution (Ardhi University) and to shape a new generation of Tanzanian scholars through knowledge transfer.

The research context is Dar es Salaam, one of the fastest growing coastal cities of East Africa. Dar es Salaam. It is a bustling, growing city with a population estimated at 5.4 million inhabitants in 2016 and projected to become a megacity of over 10 million inhabitants in 2030. ACTUS then operates in a context of rapid transformation wwith increasing urbanization, diminishing natural resources and damaging flooding events.

There has been little attention accorded to the human experience and local strategies amidst urban transformation. ACTUS seeks to shed light on everyday experiences of solid waste and wastewater to expand our understanding of incremental, off-grid and complementary infrastructure in East Africa.

A crucial aspect of ACTUS was to influence positively the practice of research. This was done by truly integrating myself in the Tanzanian academic life and by experiencing the barriers and the opportunities associated with conducting research in conditions very different than the ones experienced in Europe.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The work carried out towards Objective 1 consisted of gathering the existing baseline knowledge on solid waste and wastewater management in Dar es Salaam. Additionally, further activities aimed at understanding the dependencies between the current infrastructure and recurrent flooding events.
The main results are:

- An International Expert Workshop organized on the 4th August 2016. Titled 'Rethinking Infrastructure Systems in East Africa' Participants addressed the main obstacles on the road to a resilient urban development in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.
- High level panel at the IPCC cities conference in Edmonton knowledge needs and gaps in the context of realizing global commitments
- The development of working papers aimed at scientific journals
- Participation in the Tanzanian Urbanization Laboratory to support national efforts on urban policymaking. This includes contribution and article published in local newspapers and radio stations
- A photographic documentation to expose the state of the infrastructure. An online catalog is being set up
- Summer School course on Urban Sustainability, Global Environmental Change, and Cities
- Elected Board Member of the long-standing International Association People Environment Studies
- Short film footages showcasing alternative solutions, ideals and opinions. These footages are currently being selected and edited.
- Visiting Lectureship at the University of Witwatersrand
- Establishment of a CityLaboratory, a plateform for re-imagining the co-production of Space in Dar es Salaam and to disseminate and continue the work done in ACTUS
- A Stakeholder Workshop organized to bring forward current institutional capacities to enable transformation towards a more resilient future. The workshop titled ‘Transformation to Sustainability’ took an innovative approach to promote sustainability through policy interventions that promote individual and collective behavioral changes across multiple levels of governance
- Contribution to the National Housing Policy and National Human Settlements Development Policy of Tanzania

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

ACTUS is not a ‘stand alone’ project. On one side, ACTUS was embedded in a larger framework of urban debates on African cities in Germany. On the other side, the knowledge gained from those debates were tested, scrutinized and re-appropriated in Tanzania.

The major activities beyond the State of Art were:

The organization of an International Symposium (IAPS 2017) on ‘Knowledge for Climate-Proof Urban Development in Rapidly Changing Environments’: I organized an International Symposium that was the first of its kind at Ardhi University. It took a pioneering look at urban development, people and environmental behavior in Africa. IAPS 2017 had repercussions across the region the Symposium included over 80 participants from 4 continents, 15 countries, 27 cities and close to 30 different academic institutions.
My participation in the International Lecture Series ‘The making of urban resilience: Critical infrastructures in Africa’: I focused on the premises of understanding solid waste management and sanitation through everyday experiences. The lecture was titled Everyday Experiences and Infrastructure Vulnerabilities in Peri-urban Areas of Dar es Salaam.
Exposure to my work in the East African Community: I participated in Symposia and Workshops with leading experts in Malawi (UrbanArk conference) in Uganda (Design Thinking Workshop), in South Africa (New African Urban Management expert workshop)

My contribution to a Book Workshop ‘Translating the Networked City: Urban infrastructures in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam’: My chapter addresses alternative options to address the lack of solid waste and wastewater management and the role of various private actors in filling the gap and co-providing infrastructure services.

My contribution to the University Curriculum Review: This University-wide exercise included the delivery of new modalities of courses and participation in the development of a new Master programme
My participation in drafting the new National Human Settlement Policy of Tanzania: I was part of the consultant team who was commissioned to develop policy statements and recommendations for the National Human Settlement Policy and Housing Policy of Tanzania
The set up of an Urban Reading Group: I established new modalities of research activities by creating a multidisciplinary reading group consisting of urban scholars and anthropologists from different universities in Tanzania

Extensive support and mentoring of Ph.D. candidates: I also conducted substantial training of young researchers including regular consultation to 3 Ph.D. candidates, I supported several Ph.D. colloquiums and prepared 3 Ph.D. candidates for their defense.

Extending the network and setting up multilateral collaboration at Ardhi University with 1) Intr-University Sustainable development Research Programme (IUSDRP)

Strengthening the capacity of Ardhi University staff and increasing the exposure of young scholar through a stronger presence and collaboration within the African Urban Research Network AURI

Inside view of pit Latrine used and maintained by several families

Different transportation modes in Dar es Salaam

Dr. Nathalie Jean-Baptiste drawing path during transect walk

Girl walking on narrow pathways with drainage challenges

Dr. Nathalie Jean-Baptiste lecturing at Ardhi University

Workshop agenda on Infrastructure in East Africa