Suchergebnisse

Robert Gabriel Mugabe resigned as the President of Zimbabwe in 2017 after being in office since 1980 when Zimbabwe gained independence from British colonial rule. Mugabe implemented various policies that impacted on the urbanscape of Zimbabwe. Using a desktop approach that is based on bibliography research, the study examines Mugabe's urban legacy through the lenses of postcolonial theory and the concept of Mugabeism. The results show that power was a dominant feature in Mugabe's legacy, as he used it to influence the socio-spatial configuration of the urban scape whenever he saw it befitting. His power was rooted in corruption, clientism, patronage, state capture and sanctioning of opponents. Essentially, Mugabe perpetuated the colonial city, in that the postcolonial city was a replication of the socio-spatial segregation which existed during the colonial era, yet this time round it was based on class and not race.

Chinhoyi in Zimbabwe is used as a case study to explore the potential of secondary cities in addressing urban challenges. This study is significant considering that while African cities are rapidly urbanizing, narratives in African urbanism focus more on large cities and metros. Adopting a qualitative research approach, data for this study were collected from interviews with 15 key informants and a review of policies and development plans. The study reveals that, albeit challenges bedeviling Chinhoyi, there is potential for sustained growth through maximizing local opportunities, including industrial capability, supporting the informal sector, promoting mixed-use development, and empowering the local authority.