An analysis of urban structural and demographic characteristics in East Africa : a comparative study of Kenya and Uganda

Abstract

The primary objectives of this thesis are twofold. First, it is an attempt at international comparative study, using two neighbouring developing countries, Kenya and Uganda. These are countries with similar historical and cultural backgrounds, and are more or less at similar stages of economic development. Comparison is intended to provide for a critical assessment of the impact of the different urbanization policies on the urbanization process and patterns. This leads to the second objective, which specifically is an examination of the demographic characteristics of the urban areas in each of the countries, and their implications for short-term and long-term urbanization policies in the context of national development planning. A fairly long introduction has been given to this thesis in Chapters I and II. This has been necessary for the understanding of the analyses which follow. Chapter I is a general introduction, covering, among others, definitions, the present nature of urbanization in developing countries generally, and a brief examination of the urbanization policies in Kenya and Uganda. Chapter II gives a historical account of urbanization in East Africa in general. Chapter III covers the structural aspects of urbanization, while Chapter IV is concerned with the demographic aspects. It may be pointed out that Chapters III and IV individually are preceeded by brief definitions, reviews and evaluations of the data used, as well as discussions of problems associated with them. Such observations indicate the limitations faced by the analyses, particularly with regard to available published information. Chapter V is a summary and discussion of the findings of the study.