TITLE:
Building Cities of Semi Sovereigns: Boundaries of Citizens Co-Creation in Emerging Cities in Uganda
AUTHORS:
Stella B. Kyohairwe, Gerald K. Karyeija, Edgar K. Mwesigye
KEYWORDS:
Cities, Semi Sovereigns, Citizens, Co-Creation, Urbanization, Sustainable Development, Uganda
JOURNAL NAME:
Current Urban Studies,
Vol.12 No.1,
March
19,
2024
ABSTRACT: There is a growing enthusiasm for several emerging cities
in Uganda. This urbanization impetus is both an auto-response to on-going
economic growth and development but also a move toward realization of the
National Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goal eleven (SDG11).
This theoretical paper, which draws from secondary sources, reviews the aims
and approaches to rapid cities’ creation in Uganda. There is a recognition that
the present nature of cities has increasingly become assemblages of the sites,
actors, relationships, and networks within the fast-emerging technologies and
changing environment, which dictate the departure from traditional ways of city
planning and governance to incorporate methods of increased citizen engagement.
Citizens should not only be limited in the running city structure as political
leaders or service beneficiaries (passive actors) but also be actively involved
in the co-creation and administration of the new cities. There is also a need
for proper legislation to guide the development and management of the new
cities and to minimize infrastructure and resource constraints resulting from
inadequate city top-down planning processes.