Available via license: CC BY-NC 4.0
Content may be subject to copyright.
The Journal of Public Space
ISSN 2206-9658
2022 | Vol. 7 n. 1
https://www.journalpublicspace.org
ISSN 2206-9658 | 343
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
The State of Public Space in Lusaka.
Garden Cities, Urban Development, Greenfield Sites
Heba Elhanafy
Charter Cities Institute, United States of America / Zambia
heba@cci.city
Abstract
Lusaka, a city of around 3 million people, faces massive urban growth challenges.
Designed on the Garden City planning paradigm principles, the city currently lacks open
public recreational spaces. The lack of public space is often linked to the high land value
alongside the high demand for housing, the lack of national government prioritization of
public space provision policies, and a general lack of financial resources available to
Lusaka's local council.
This article explores the state of formal public spaces in Lusaka, its urban history,
development patterns, and the effects of these factors on everyday life and social
interactions. It also outlines different private sector attempts to make up for the lack of
public spaces through the provision of private green spaces (e.g., green private
entertainment centres, private play parks, private back yards, and front yards) and the
commercial units and malls that cover some public space functions. It asks questions on
where kids play (e.g., private play parks, mall play parks, etc.) and highlights the design
elements preventing streets from becoming lively public spaces (e.g., walls and roads).
The article also examines Lusaka's plans for creating green and open spaces networks
inside the city and their applicability. It studies public space provision plans in Lusaka's
Development Plan 2030 and older public space provision attempts. It highlights the
urgency and the importance of taking serious steps towards public space provision in
the city now. The article used field research, mapping, desktop research, and interviews.
Keywords: Lusaka, public space, garden cities, urban development, greenfield sites
THE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC SPACE
To cite this article:
Elhanafy, H. (2022) “The State of Public Space in Lusaka: Garden Cities, Urban Development,
Greenfield Sites”, The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), pp. 343-354. doi: 10.32891/jps.v7i1.1537.
This article has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication in The Journal of Public Space.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial 4.0
International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
The State of Public Space in Lusaka
344 | The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
1. History of Lusaka
In 1934 the capital of Northern Rhodesia was moved from Livingstone to a more
central location in present-day Lusaka (Mfune, 2015). An English professor, SD Adshead,
designed an urban plan for Lusaka, a greenfield site, based on the principles of Garden
Cities to create a "generous, gracious city" where every step of the development is
regulated (Mukuka, 2001). The city materialized following the guidelines and thinking of
Adshead: spacious roads, lots of trees, massive private lawns, and backyards with a
complete separation of functions1 (Bradley, 1935). The Adshead plan outlined
everything from the placement of the different functions to the streets' width to the
placement of the main buildings (Bradley, 1935).
Figure 1 Adshead Original Plan. Source: Bradley, 1935.
It is essential to mention that the city was planned for Europeans (Mukuka, 2001). The
natives were only allowed in the city for work, and registration papers controlled their
existence and freedom of movement inside urban centres. African housewives and
children were not allowed to accompany their husbands who worked in the city until
the 1948 African Housing Ordinance passed, which allowed all Africans to reside in the
city (Mulenga, 2003). The European residential area was segregated from the natives'
housing, with European housing in more central locations and natives housing on the
city periphery (Bradley, 1935). The governmental buildings and offices were designed in
the modern imperial style of such architects as Herber Baker (Bradley, 1935).
2. Lusaka, today
Thirty eight percent of Zambian citizens live in cities. The UN projects that this number
will increase up to 58% by 2050 (United Nations, 2018). Lusaka is growing every day,
1 Trading areas, garages, sports ground, natives’ housing, Europeans housing—each had a section in town
completely separate from the other. With the natives’ housing completely segregated from the residential
area containing European housing.
Heba Elhanafy
The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658 | 345
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
with almost 3 million inhabitants today, the city is expected to double in size in 20
years. In the last few years, the city of Lusaka has been experiencing a massive boom
with a rising middle class, which has coincided with the construction of urban amenities
to cater to this middle class, including many more hotels, malls, and restaurants (Sladoje,
2016). Many residential units have been turned into coffee shops and restaurants in the
CBD and different emerging middle-class neighbourhoods. Demand for the land has
been increasing with rental prices soaring, and the city is expanding outwards but not
upwards.
The colonial legacies of city-making have left the city with weak representative local
governments, frail planning for urban growth, and insufficient infrastructure. While not
enjoying financial independence, the Lusaka council serves as the planning authority for
the city (Mulenga, 2003). Restrictive Garden City principles2 are infamous for not
planning adequately for urban growth (Dragica Gatarić, 2019). The historical segregation
of Europeans and natives means that today the native townships have been left with
insufficient infrastructure that's been unable to accommodate such a rapidly growing
city. The initial design of the city did not account for growth or sufficient access to
urban services for all citizens.
Most of the urban research on Lusaka focuses on managing urban expansion, congestion,
transportation, and informal settlements and townships in the city (Tembo, 2014).
However, as middle and upper-class neighbourhoods increase, the decisions made today
on the provision of public spaces will shape the future of public spaces in the city.
In Lusaka, public open recreational spaces are scarce, which is ironic for a city initially
designed on Garden City planning principles. This article explores the state of formal
public spaces in Lusaka, highlights all the other urban design elements found instead and
examines the need for more public spaces in the city. It outlines the paradox of a
Garden City with no public gardens or spaces. This article's data collection methods
include desktop research, field research (mapping and observations), and semi-
structured interviews with locals and experts in Lusaka.
3. In search of public spaces
According to UN-Habitat (2018) Public spaces are areas established by urban planning
to entice social and cultural interaction and facilitate economic exchange. Informal areas
mark only 38% of the total land in Lusaka (Chiwele, 2022). This article will focus on
particular on the public space’s provisions in formally planned Lusaka, as formal land
constitutes most of the land in Lusaka, and the distinction between public and private is
less evident, without formal private property rights. However, further research needs
to be done on the ways informal areas use spaces for recreational activities
The state of public spaces varies from one city to another, even from one
neighbourhood to another. Some cities have a great abundance of open spaces like
Tshwane in South Africa (Landman, 2015). Others have dilapidated and underused
public spaces like Sarajevo (Hatice, 2020). Still others have public spaces that are in the
2 Garden city ideas aimed to combine the city’s culture and economic advantages with rural ecological
aspects. Garden City ideas emerged as a response the over crowdness of industrial cities in Britain.
Garden City principles centred around low urban density and controllable population sizes—both
principles are destructive for city growth, especially so in rapidly growing cities like Lusaka (Dragica
Gatarić, 2019).
The State of Public Space in Lusaka
346 | The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
process of being commodified, like Alexandria, Egypt (Elhanafy, 2019). However, very
few cities have no recreational public spaces; Lusaka is one of them.
3.1 Green Spaces on the Sides of the Streets
The city does not lack greenery like other African cities (e.g., Cairo); one can see trees
and grass on both sides of roads almost everywhere (see Figure 2). This greenery has
substantial environmental benefits in keeping the air clean and temperatures down,
among others. However, they do not serve any recreational function. The recreational
function is eliminated as a result of two main reasons. The first is the spatial distribution
of greenery—the grass often occupies less than 2 meters of the sidewalks, and these
green spaces are not central or spacious enough to be used as a small park. The second
is the nature of the grass—the grass is almost never being cut, and the soil, especially in
the rainy season, makes it impossible to sit on.
Figure 2 (left). Greens on the sides of the road. Source: Author, 2022.
Figure 3 (right). Greens on the outskirts. Source: TripAdvisor, 2022.
3.2 Greenery on the Outskirts
Inner-city neighbourhoods lack central recreational gardens, with greenery limited to
trees and grass on sidewalks. However, there are various green, open spaces on the
outskirts of the city. Monkey Pools—a gated community with a vast park—attracts
Heba Elhanafy
The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658 | 347
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
families to enjoy green spaces and water activities over weekends (see Figure 3). It also
offers open green spaces for Braai (southern African barbeque) and picnics (see Figure
3). Both spaces lie on the city's outskirts and charge a user fee to usually middle- and
upper-class residents to use their facilities, making it difficult and expensive for average
Zambians to use (other examples similar to Monkey Pools include Tiffany Canyon and
Sandys Creation).
Figure 4 (left). Public Green Spaces. Source: Author, 2022; Google Maps, 2022.
Figure 5 (right). Private Green Open Spaces. Source: Tripadvisor.com, 2022; Mushiba, 2019.
3.3 Public Green Spaces
Except for a central green area next to the airport (which can be traced back to
Adshead's initial plan), there are almost no open, green public spaces that can be utilized
for recreational public uses. The initial Adshead design contained many traffic circles,
most of which remain green to this day but again with no recreational use.
3.4 Private Green Open Spaces (Collective Goods)
Places like the golf club and the Mulungushi International Conference Centre contain
open green spaces but are not used for public recreational functions. The Mulungushi
centre is often rented out for events and conferences, and its vast open spaces are used
to host those events. Several football pitches can be found (some owned by the council,
The State of Public Space in Lusaka
348 | The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
some by private companies) that can be rented by the hour. Several play parks in the
city like Havillah Park and Joy Park are operational but are privately managed and
owned, providing restricted access to green spaces within a few neighborhoods. The
showgrounds -designed for the annual agriculture shows- have multiple green spaces
that are used for horse riding, the open football field is rented per hour. The University
of Zambia (UNZA) open green spaces are often used by students between classes but
not used by the outside public UNZA for any recreational activities.
Figure 6 (left). Private Green Open Spaces. Source: Tripadvisor.com, 2022; Mushiba, 2019.
Figure 7 (right). Private Green Spaces. Source: Author, 2022.
3.5 Private Green Spaces
Most middle- and upper-class residential units enjoy generous front and back yards, the
size of which depends on the unit's price (see Figure 6). These yards are often used to
invite friends over, for Braai gatherings, and for kids to play. High walls surround almost
all the houses, so those activities in the yards are often entirely private with no spillover
to streets. Some residential units have a shared yard with one or two neighbours.
3.6 Kids Playgrounds
The lack of recreational public spaces, of course, adversely impacts children most—as
they have no open spaces to play in their neighbourhoods. Finding kids playing in the
Heba Elhanafy
The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658 | 349
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
denser areas of the city is a somewhat familiar sight on a good-weathered day, especially
in the informal townships of Lusaka. However, in Lusaka's upper and middle-class
neighbourhoods, kids do not utilize the streets for play and often stick to their front or
backyards, providing safe spaces for physical play but often lacking interaction with
other kids. The lack of open playgrounds for kids has enticed the malls to utilize some
of their spaces to build indoor and outdoor playgrounds for kids to play, charging
parents by the hour. Kids' areas can be found in private play parks like those mentioned
above.
Figure 8 (left). Kids Playgrounds. Source: Author, 2022.
Figure 9 (right). Examples of walls in Lusaka. Source: Author, 2022.
3.7 The Streets and the Walls
Streets in themselves can be great public spaces and can induce lots of social
interactions and activities. Streets are the main public spaces for more dense cities like
Delhi and Cairo. In Cairo, streets are used by coffee shops, informal sellers, and even
formal commercial units to showcase their goods, facilitating social interactions and
creating lively streets. One feature in the streets of Lusaka is that they do precisely the
opposite of facilitating human interaction. Walls surround most streets in the residential
areas. Walls, cars, and roads are the most prominent feature of most formal
neighbourhoods in Lusaka. Walls of all colours, sizes, and shapes are built around
The State of Public Space in Lusaka
350 | The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
Zambian residential units, offices, and even restaurants and coffee shops. Even the newly
founded restaurants are also behind closed walls. Commercial units on ground floors
often create good safe public life and “eyes on the streets” (Jacobs, 1964), but Lusaka's
restaurants behind the walls do not contribute to public life.
3.8 The Commercial and the Green
The newly opened restaurants, coffee shops, and malls play a role close to those public
spaces in enticing social interactions. Through a very curated and spatially restricted
experience, Lusaka's residents get to meet and interact with each other in these spaces.
Most restaurants in residential zones come with green spaces, and some even have
playgrounds. These coffee shops and restaurants are not accessible financially to a
considerable portion of the city population. Because of the high demand, coffee shops
and restaurants proliferate, replacing one-story residential units.
Figure 10 (left). Commerical Units' Green Spaces. Source: Author, 2022.
Figure 11 (right). Luska's Markets. Source: Tripadvisor, 2021.
3.9 The Markets
Another public space that is often overlooked is outdoor markets. Arcades Market—a
traditional crafts market held on Sundays in the Arcades Mall parking lot—is one
example. The market is mainly used by tourists looking for traditional souvenirs. This
Heba Elhanafy
The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658 | 351
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
market is relatively controlled and limited in hours, and although it entices some social
interactions between the buyers and sellers, it does not have any public recreational
function. Another example is the Soweto Market, which is less controlled mostly used
for canned goods, vegetables, and fruits. Soweto Market is one of the few places in
Lusaka with less controlled and curated public life experience but, again, no recreational
function.
4. The Effects
Comprehensively studying the effects of the lack of public space in Lusaka requires
detailed social and economic studies across the city's different socioeconomic
demographics. However, it is evident that the less financially able groups end up
possessing very little access to any recreational spaces, as they cannot access coffee
shops or restaurants, and there are no green or open spaces outside of these private,
high-priced options that they can use. The interviews conducted with several workers
indicated that they do not use any spaces for recreational use. On Sundays, they mostly
spend their time in church or with family at home or a combination of both.
Another group affected by this is the emerging middle class, who often complain about
how expensive it is to take kids outside or how much money it requires to spend time
with friends in emerging coffee shops or restaurants. However, this group often lives in
homes with back and front yards and is generally less affected by the problem as they
still have the ability to access recreational spaces, even if on a lesser scale than more
affluent classes.
Another issue noticed from the interviews is the complete unawareness of how the
other class spends their weekend. "I am sure they have places they go to," one interviewee
answered when asked if she knew how the lower classes spend their free time or
weekends. The lack of knowledge is, of course, a direct result of the lack of interaction
that happens between different demographics in Lusaka
5. Luska Development Plan 2030
The Lusaka Development Plan of 2030 focuses on five main things: i) Industrial
development ii) spatial development and land use, iii) urban centre development, iv)
urban transportation, v) living environment and social services, vi) natural environment
and green network development, and vii) infrastructure development (MLGH, 2009).
In the Development Plan 2030, Lusaka's CBD is reimagined as a business core
connected through public transportation system and a pedestrian network with mixed-
use development to create lively, open, and green spaces. The plan also outlines links of
public and green spaces connecting the CBD to other neighbourhoods in the city
(MLGH, 2009). While the new green and open spaces are prominent in Lusaka's
Development Plan 2030, almost none of these plans have taken place in reality so far.
The State of Public Space in Lusaka
352 | The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
Figure 12. Lusaka Development plan 2030. Source: MLGH, 2009.
Heba Elhanafy
The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658 | 353
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
5.1 Barriers to Implementation
Several challenges impede the implementation of provisions for public and open spaces
highlighted in the Lusaka Development Plan 2030. The first is the national government’s
long-standing record of not prioritizing public space compared to other infrastructure
provision issues (Mushiba, 2019). The second issue is the lack of financial resources
available to Lusaka's local council. The council is the main stakeholder responsible for
implementing public spaces and mainly depends on national government grants, which
delay many plans and often hinder their implementation (Mulenga, 2003). The third
reason is the rising land values, housing demand with soaring rent prices, and
complicated land ownership and acquisition processes that further raise the costs of
urban development (Mfune, 2015).
6. Conclusion
Public spaces are not a luxury but essential infrastructure to develop healthy and
sustainable cities and communities (Kim, 2015). In times of transformation and growth,
public spaces are essential for the exchange of ideas, stimulating political and community
discussions, holding authorities to their promises, and integrating different social groups,
and fostering a sense of cohesion (Project for Public Spaces, 2018). Besides the social
importance of public spaces, markets, and green spaces also tend to increase the land
values of their surroundings, thus helping cities and communities economically (KIM,
2015). They are also essential for the physical health of lower-income groups within the
community—most importantly marginalized children—who are often confined to small
residential units without proper ventilation or sun.
Lusaka is a growing city facing many challenges as it attempts to manage its rapid
growth. The urban policies adopted today around public spaces will affect the city's
urban form for decades to come. Lusaka needs to take concrete steps away from the
Garden City planning paradigm that initially shaped the city. It needs to put people and
their social needs at the centre of future planning decisions by planning for public spaces
that are accessible to all. If Lusaka does not take the necessary steps to integrate public
spaces in its development plans and ensure their accessibility and safety now, it will only
get more complicated and costly for the city to retroactively find land and develop it for
public space in the future. The time to act is now.
Acknowledgement
The research author is grateful for all the comments from the UN-Habitat team and
The Journal of Public Space team, which enriched the paper and highlighted issues that
needed to be addressed.
The State of Public Space in Lusaka
354 | The Journal of Public Space, 7(1), 2022 | ISSN 2206-9658
City Space Architecture / UN-Habitat
References
Bradley, K. (1935) Lusaka, The New Capital of Northen Rhodesia, Routledge.
Chiwele, D., Lamson-Hall, P., Wani, S. (2022) Informal settlements in Lusaka. Policy Brief available
at: https://www.theigc.org/sites/default/files/2022/02/Informal-settlements-in-Lusaka-web.pdf
Gatarić, D. Et al. (2019) The origin and development of Garden cities: An overview, University of
Belgrade. Available at: https://gery.gef.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/1007
Elhanafy, H. (2019) Transforming a Waterfront, Technical University of Berlin.
Hatice, T. e. (2020) A Characterization of Public Space: The Conceptual Transformation in
Sarajevo. Volume 6, pp. 233-257.
Kim, S. (2015) Public spaces - not a “nice to have” but a basic need for cities. [Online]
Available at: https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/public-spaces-not-nice-have-
basic-need-cities [Accessed 2022].
Landman, K. (2015) The nature and use of public open space in the city of Tshwane, University of
Pretoria. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.up.ac.za/media/shared/404/Articles/innovate_10_2015_the-nature-and-use-of-
public-open-space-in-the-city-of-tshwane.zp73371.pdf
Mfune, C. e. (2015) The urban land question in Africa. Habitat International, 28(0197-3975), pp.
209-218.
MLGH (2009) Development Plan of Lusaka, Lusaka: Ministry of Local Government and Housing
(MLGH).
Mukuka, P. (2001) Land Development, Control and Use in Zambia, Lusaka: University of Zambia.
Mulenga, C. (2003) The case of Lusaka, Zambia, London: University College London.
Mushiba, N. (2019) Use of Play Parks in Lusaka City, Lusaka: University of Zambia.
Project for Public Spaces (2008) Great Public Spaces: What Makes a Place Great? Available at:
https://www.pps.org/article/public-space-benefits [Accessed 2023].
Senate Department for the Environment (2021) Public Parks (Green and Recreation Spaces).
[Online] Available at: https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/en/nature-and-green/urban-green-
space/data-and-facts/public-parks/
Sladoje, M. (2016) Zambia urbanising, International Growth Center.
Tembo, Y. (2014) Rapid urbanization in Zambia. The challenges facing our cities and towns. [Online]
Available at: https://www.grin.com/document/284524 [Accessed 2022].
United Nations (2018) The World’s Cities in 2018. Available at: https://www.un-
ilibrary.org/content/books/9789210476102 [Accessed 2023].
