Walkability and colonialism: The divergent impact of colonial planning practices on spatial segregation in East Africa

Abstract

Colonialism's lasting impact on contemporary African cities has been firmly established – yet the ways in which colonial planning practices affected walkability, in particular urban permeability in contemporary morphologies, have been largely unexplored. High urban permeability supports livelihoods, particularly for the urban poor, and is needed for a transition towards more walkable cities. Through the mapping of three cities in East Africa, this paper demonstrates that cities in which indigenous planning practices were able to resist colonial planning practices, the emergent urban form has smaller urban blocks and higher urban permeability. As existing policy measures on walkability largely avert improvement of urban permeability, this study suggest a reassessment of those policies.