Community Awareness on Locating Building Construction Proximity to Highways: Evidence from Bonga and Kibaigwa Wards | Chapter 13 | New Horizons of Science, Technology and Culture Vol. 3

 

Although construction of houses in developing countries depends solely on a self-help approach, little has been done to understand the extent to which community members are aware of the construction standards and factors pushing them to construct houses in proximity to highways. This study sought to examine the community members’ awareness of the conditions required for housing construction and factors pushing community members to construct houses close to highways.

 

Both qualitative and quantitative data were analysed, focusing on access to land for housing construction, community awareness of the conditions to be adhered to before constructing a building, distance of the existing buildings from the centre of the highway and reasons for building houses in proximity to highways in Bonga and Kibaigwa wards. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26, while qualitative data were subjected to content analysis.

 

The study revealed that 37.2% of the respondents accessed land through purchasing, and a few were given by their friends and relatives. About 88.4% and 85.7% in Bonga and Kibaigwa, respectively, were found within 50m distance from the centre of the highway. The study demonstrated that the majority of the respondents, 81.4% and 91.8% in Bonga and Kibaigwa wards, respectively, were not aware of the conditions to be adhered to before constructing a building. However, only a small fraction, that is, 7 % and 6.1 % in Bonga and Kibaigwa, respectively, showed to have knowledge of the conditions required for house construction. Several reasons were noted for constructing houses in proximity to highways. These included eviction during road construction, social networking, allocated by the district council, easy access to services and land market forces. The study concludes that conditions necessary for housing construction are not explicit to the majority of community members, thus the study underscores the need for the local government authority to create awareness and enforce conditions necessary for building construction.

 

 

 

Author(s) Details Helene Stephene Francis

Department of Environmental Planning, Institute of Rural Development Planning, Dodoma, Tanzania.

 

Gerald Sebastian Temu
Department of Environmental Planning, Institute of Rural Development Planning, Dodoma, Tanzania.

 

Israel B. Katega
Department of Environmental Planning, Institute of Rural Development Planning, Dodoma, Tanzania.

 

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nhstc/v3/5873