Publication:

THE ROLE OF URBAN PLANNING IN CHINESE LARGE-SCALE URBAN DEVELOPMENTS IN MALAWI

Developing countries, especially in Africa are undergoing dramatic urban growth through Large-scale-urban Developments (LUDs) with different global actors contributing to African urban development. The Chinese in particular have played an active role in financing and construction of LUDs. To understand how LUD projects are implemented in African cities, the study investigated the role of urban planning in Chinese LUDs in Lilongwe City using the Bingu National Stadium (BNS) as a case study. A comparison was made between the formal legislated role of planning and urban development processes as they relate to LUDs with how Chinese LUDs are planned and executed in urban. Investigation was further done on the impact of decisions made in the implementation of Chinese LUDs on the urban landscape and residents’ lives. The BNS as an example of a government-to-government (sovereign) development, funded and constructed by the Chinese Government was studied using qualitative research methods. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, observations, documents, and newspaper reviews and was analysed using thematic analysis. From the analysis, it has shown that the role or urban planning was severely constrained because several elements of the development permission application process were by-passed and disregarded. This is largely attributed to the presence of multiple actors with their varying interests. This means that although urban planning is integral to Lilongwe's urban development, there are other factors worth considering when thinking of urban planning in relation to Chinese LUDs. The planning of Chinese LUDs is, therefore, a negotiated process amongst various actors with various interests and not entirely modernist as it has initially been viewed.