Om Kisumu

Så här står det i vårt kursprogram. Jag såg att det blev lite arkitektigt i slutet så för er som inte tilhör denna skara och känner att det blir lite mycket. Sluta läsa för det kommer inte ändras. Ledsen att det är på engelska för dem som inte kan det. Hoppas ni kan hitta någon som kan översätta åt er!

Kisumu is a name derived from a Luo word, “kisuma” – meaning a place where the hungry get sustenance; this could have been due to its role as a regional centre for barter trade. The Maragoli, Nandi and Luo people used to exchange tools, foodstuff and livestock there. This role continues to this day, with Kisumu acting as a commercial and transportation hub for the Lake Basin region. As the third largest urban centre in Kenya with an area of 417 sq. km (157 sq. km. of water and 260 sq. km. of land) and a population estimated at 500,000, Kisumu has grown from humble beginnings as a railway terminus in 1898. By 1971, Kisumu had a total area of 53 square kilometres following a boundary extension incorporating the densely populated peri-urban settlements of Manyatta, Nyalenda, together with a large portion of mostly rural land.

Topographically, the town divides into two, the hilly North and the southern plain. The southern plain is the floor of the geographically complex Nyanza Rift System. Originally, the town only covered the residual hill at the tip of Winam Gulf, which has better drains and therefore attracted earlier settlements. The hill rolls gently to form the central parts of the municipality, which includes the slum areas of Nyalenda and Manyatta “B”. Most of this land is liable to flooding, mainly because of the topography and soils. The land then rises gently through Kanyakwar and eventually merges with the steep escarpment of the Nyabondo or Nandi Hills, which forms the Northern boundary and a physical barrier to the town’s expansion. In 2001 Kisumu celebrated its 100 years anniversary as a city.

The central part of the town hosts government offices, the port, an industrial area and housing for the middle and high-income residents in a well-planned area. It is obvious from existing plans that before the boundary extension, the original municipal areas were characterised by high levels of planning, service delivery and infrastructure provision.

Being at the origins of Kisumu, railways naturally took up vast tracts of land in the new town, and substantial areas were reserved for a new commercial district and government functions, including staff residences.

Surrounding the central part is a belt of unplanned slum settlements that has developed as a complete semi-circle around the old city, opening up a huge gap in the rates of urbanisation between the two zones. It is evident that part of the slum formation process is attributable to selective urbanisation by the colonial administration and bequeathed to the newly independent government that has since perpetuated it. However, changes have occurred in the location of industries, with the development of tertiary industries accompanied by the fluidity of residential location in areas such as Otonglo, in Korando sub-location. Beyond the slum belt is rural land that was incorporated into the town boundary as part of the extension. The land adjoins slum areas and provides avenues for further expansion of housing structures, as landowners have changed use to more lucrative provision of cheap slum housing. Unfortunately, these areas too have developed without any proper accessibility.