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Inner-city transportation looms large in big cities in the so-called Global South due to rapid population and urban growth. To tackle this challenge, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system was implemented in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) in 2016. This paper reports on the results of a pilot study on the impacts of the BRT on city development and livelihoods in Dar. Our pilot study, which is part of the collaborative research project LIPSINDAR (Linking Partners for a Sustainable and Inclusive Dar es Salaam), was not designed to provide a comprehensive insight into the problems of urban planning, infrastructure modification and their impact on urban livelihoods. Rather, using the example of Dar es Salaam, the study served as an entry point to highlight challenges and future research demands in the context of urban insecurities and risks in large cities of the Global South. In particular, our study investigated the BRT as an element of critical infrastructure in Dar es Salaam and probed into its impact on residents’ livelihoods, focusing on the influence of service disruptions on everyday routines, and on different stakeholders’ views on the functionality of the BRT. Elaborating on this topic, interviews, street vendor surveys and mappings were used as methods to describe the processes. To examine the results more closely, the outcome was divided into groups of different fields of activity, namely Traffic Management, Local Residents, City Administration, Basic Provision Services and Street Vendors. In summary, the pilot study confirms that the implementation of the BRT system has, in general, served to improve urban livelihoods. Reducing commuting times and enhancing access to basic services found positive results. There is, however, still potential for improvement: the bus network, in particular, needs to be expanded and the vulnerability to natural extreme events, especially flooding, needs to be addressed.
Fred Krüger; Alexandra Titz; Raphael Arndt; Franziska Groß; Franziska Mehrbach; Vanessa Pajung; Lorenz Suda; Martina Wadenstorfer; Laura Wimmer. The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Dar es Salaam: A Pilot Study on Critical Infrastructure, Sustainable Urban Development and Livelihoods. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1058 .
AMA StyleFred Krüger, Alexandra Titz, Raphael Arndt, Franziska Groß, Franziska Mehrbach, Vanessa Pajung, Lorenz Suda, Martina Wadenstorfer, Laura Wimmer. The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Dar es Salaam: A Pilot Study on Critical Infrastructure, Sustainable Urban Development and Livelihoods. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (3):1058.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFred Krüger; Alexandra Titz; Raphael Arndt; Franziska Groß; Franziska Mehrbach; Vanessa Pajung; Lorenz Suda; Martina Wadenstorfer; Laura Wimmer. 2021. "The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Dar es Salaam: A Pilot Study on Critical Infrastructure, Sustainable Urban Development and Livelihoods." Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1058.
In all areas of academic or practical work related to disaster risk, climate change and development more generally, community and its adjunct community-based have become the default terminology when referring to the local level or working ‘with the people’. The terms are applied extensively to highlight what is believed to be a people-centred, participatory, or grassroot-level approach. Today, despite, or because of, its inherent ambiguity, ‘community’ tends to be used almost inflationarily. This paper aims to analyse the way the concept of ‘community’ has come into fashion, and to critically reflect on the problems that come with it. We are raising significant doubts about the usefulness of ‘community’ in development- and disaster-related work. Our approach is to first consider how ‘community’ has become popular in research and with humanitarian agencies and other organisations based on what can be considered a ‘moral licence’ that supposedly guarantees that the actions being taken are genuinely people-centred and ethically justified. We then explore several theoretical approaches to ‘community’, highlight the vast scope of different (and contested) views on what ‘community’ entails, and explain how ‘community’ is framing practical attempts to mitigate vulnerability and inequity. We demonstrate how these attempts are usually futile, and sometimes harmful, due to the blurriness of ‘community’ concepts and their inherent failure to address the root causes of vulnerability. From two antagonistic positions, we finally advocate more meaningful ways to acknowledge vulnerable people’s views and needs appropriately.
Alexandra Titz; Terry Cannon; Fred Krüger. Uncovering ‘Community’: Challenging an Elusive Concept in Development and Disaster Related Work. Societies 2018, 8, 71 .
AMA StyleAlexandra Titz, Terry Cannon, Fred Krüger. Uncovering ‘Community’: Challenging an Elusive Concept in Development and Disaster Related Work. Societies. 2018; 8 (3):71.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlexandra Titz; Terry Cannon; Fred Krüger. 2018. "Uncovering ‘Community’: Challenging an Elusive Concept in Development and Disaster Related Work." Societies 8, no. 3: 71.