Abstract
This paper discusses house transformation by owners in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, examining the reasons for the phenomenon and highlighting its nature, opportunities it offers and what be done to formalise it and take advantage of some of these opportunities for the benefit of the community. The main objective of the study was to investigate the factors and processes leading to house transformation in Kampala’s owner-occupied houses. The study revealed that the processes of house development and transformation in Kampala are largely informal, excluding professionals and local authorities. House transformations were a means of expression of the changing needs of the owners, in terms of sizes, income, class and status. House transformations are characterised by phased alterations/modifications, which result in more space for the household needs, income generation and house improvement and status uplift. The process being widespread, almost inevitable and addressing the largely genuine concern. The research recommends formalisation of guided house transformation and phased construction by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) under the consultation of house-owners and professionals.
Highlights
Studies of house transformation have been carried out largely on public housing that is assumed to be developed with minimal involvement of the occupants or owners as this tends to affect the latter’s satisfaction of the houses they occupy (Nguluma, 2003)
At the same time, planning authorities in Kampala tend not to embrace house transformations as they see them as processes that increase the growth of slums
Homeowners develop home-based enterprises and rental housing thereby improving their incomes while contributing to an increased supply of housing
Summary
Studies of house transformation have been carried out largely on public housing that is assumed to be developed with minimal involvement of the occupants or owners as this tends to affect the latter’s satisfaction of the houses they occupy (Nguluma, 2003). In Uganda, households are largely responsible for the construction of their houses They do so using the limited resources to meet their housing needs. Nguluma (2003) observed similar situations in the slum of Hanna Nassif in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, where the socio-economic environment is not very different from that found in other sub-Saharan African cities, Kampala inclusive. Both tenants and property owners carry out extensions and alterations when occupying the dwelling unit, indicating that the transformations are part of the settlement’s growth
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