Urban planning history of Malawi: case study of the capital Lilongwe

Abstract

ABSTRACT Like in other cities in the global South, rapid urbanization in Malawi continues to pose challenges for local authorities as manifested in un-ending struggles and contestation for urban space such as squatting and invasions of urban space. The research asks the question: how do the evolving and changing conceptions and perceptions of urban space shape or are shaped by planning and its associated spatial practices and representations of space? Specifically, the article addresses this question in two ways: first, by examining the evolving conceptions and perceptions of space in Malawi; second, by analysing the link between the changing conceptions and perceptions with urban planning and its associated representations and spatial practices. Using archival and secondary data, the article documents the underexplored history of urban planning policy in Malawi in three historical moments namely: the pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial eras; before delving into the shifting conceptions of planning from the colonial to post-colonial Malawi using Lilongwe city as a case study.