The viability of re-inventing Kalingalinga township into an environmentally-friendly space.
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Date
2024
Authors
Chakulanda, Chisha
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
Cities worldwide are increasingly becoming vulnerable to hazards such as floods due to climate change. This study therefore sought to investigate the viability of re-inventing Kalingalinga into an environmentally-friendly township in relation to the identified climate variables of Sustainable Waste Management, green spaces and road transportation / infrastructure. The study adopted a mixed method sequential embedded design approach and conducted a cross sectional survey among eight key informants, 100 household owners and 50 commercial premise owners. Data collected through semi structured interviews was
analyzed using thematic analysis while quantitative data from the Checklist were analyzed using a one sample T-Test. The study found that there are some low level sustainable waste management practices within the township, such as; 1) The existence of a recycling system though not formally structured as and this was evident through the presence of informal waste pickers.2) The households and commercial premises were engaged in some recycling and re-use practices, through the use of containers for storage purposes and the re-use of bottles for various forms of containment. However it was established that there were also
some barriers to waste reduction by both the households and commercial premise owners, expressed as lack of knowledge on waste reduction practices. The viability of establishing green spaces was also apparent and this was expressed through the recognized benefits of green spaces as well as the willingness of the households and business premises to create green spaces, through apportioning some space for tree planting and maintaining some vegetation within their respective premises thus culminating into a large expanse of space covered by greening within the Township. The study also established that Kalingalinga
Township ranked very low as an environmentally friendly space with regards to the investigated variables, however the viability of re-inventing it to be climate friendly is apparent through the inclusion and enforcement of climate friendly features in various development plans and programs by the planning authorities. The study was limited to a township within the city which provides an opportunity for further research at citywide level and also to investigate other components of climate factors such as energy and building infrastructure as this study only investigated three variables pertaining to waste management, green spaces and road transportation and infrastructure.
Description
Master of Science in Environmental and Natural Resource Management.