Kibanga Ampiga Mkoloni
JF-Expert Member
- Aug 9, 2007
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Wakuu hii ni Master's thesis iliyofanywa na mabinti wawili kutoka Sweden MINA KARLSSON & EMELIE MANIETTE, Inaonekana imeandikwa 21/1/2015 na imehusha almost all stake holders, pia wameonyesha wasiwasi na proposal ya KMC and TIB, kuwa haijakaa vizuri na kuna hatari ya beach kuwa Private badala ya Public.
Hapa nawaletea chapter ya mwisho ya "CHAPTER 8 : DISCUSSION" Tafadhali tusome na tuielewe na kama mtaitaji chapter zingine nitawawekea pia ili tusome na tujifunze sote.
Karibuni!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to send a large thank you to everyone that hashelped us during our stay in Dar es Salaam. The willingnessfrom beach visitors, local authorities and NGO?s to interactin our project has been incredibly important.A large thanks to our supervisors; Prof. Rolf Johansson andDr. Mrema. Also thanks to Mr. Ikumla and Dr. Mbisso fortaking care of us and introducing us to Ardhi University(ARU) and Mr. Mufada for driving us along the coast. Alsothanks to Tuula Eriksson and Tomas Eriksson for supportiveproject discussions.We also wish to thank Benson and Fadina for your willingnessto brainstorm research questions and introduce us to thesituation on Coco Beach. Without your kindness we wouldhave never been aware of Coco Beach and this project wouldhave never been done.
Also for sharing good advice beforeand during our field study in Dar es Salaam.Many thanks to the students from ARU; Emmanuel, David,Elvis and Alphonce for accompanying us to Coco Beach andinterpreting interviews on site.Thanks to Anna, Amanda and Jonna for sharing your experiencesof the everyday life in Dar es Salaam and for quicklyintroduce us to the community when we arrived.Finally we want to thank ourselves for keeping up a goodmood and encouraging each other through tough times.
Asante sana!
Mina & EmelieUppsala 2015-01-21.
ABSTRACT
Sub Saharan Africa has during the last decade become theworld?s fastest urbanizing region. This change is concentratedto a few metropolitan areas one of them being Dares Salaam, the largest city of Tanzania. Since the 1960s Dares Salaam has grown from being a relatively small coastalcity of approximately 300 000 people to become a bustlingurban centre of four million inhabitants. This developmenthas had a major impact on the city structure, which in turnhas affected people?s welfare and the surrounding environment.One such consequence is the detrimental loss of urbanvegetation and open areas in the city. The coastline of Dar esSalaam is today part of the larger green spaces in the city stillleft largely untouched and available for recreational purposes.However the coast is also a large economic asset, this in combinationwith the existing pressure of urban expansion is rapidlychanging the coastal appearance. Economic enterprisessuch as hotels, shopping centres and privatized beaches arespreading and contributing to an increasingly fragmentedcoast limiting the public accessibility.
The coastline of theMsasani Peninsula is one of the more exploited stretchesin the city. Intriguingly though it is also there that Dar esSalaams most popular public beach ?Coco Beach? is located.It is visited by several hundreds of people each week and thearea functions similar to a city park. However Coco Beach isnot being maintained appropriately. No design interventionshave been implemented; there is a high level of pollution anda lack of necessary facilities. In the fall of 2014 the KinondoniMunicipality Council published a new redevelopmentproposal for the entire east coast of the Msasani Peninsulaincluding Coco Beach. However included in this proposalare various semi-private establishments which may in factfurther limit the public accessibility of the beach area. Thisthesis proposes an alternative design for Coco Beach, withthe objective to keep the area completely public. It argues forthe benefits that this will provide the city and why we believeit is important for the entire area to be free of charge andopen to all city inhabitants independent of economic status.The design strengthens and improves the present qualities ofCoco Beach and targets its weaknesses. This is accomplishedby focusing on four main keys; Health, Nature, Educationand Culture, anchoring the design socially, environmentallyand locally.
The Coco Beach Park stretches over a length of2 kilometres. The area is lined by palm trees, emphasizingthe name and giving a strong sense of local identity. Thepark further consists of four areas with different characters,focusing on various activities. These are connected througha design language inspired by the ocean waves. This projectcould act as a guideline for further public developmentsalong the Tanzanian coast.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
PrefaceProject
Background
Aim & Research Question
Limitations
Target Group
CHAPTER 2: METHODS
Project Overview
Discussion of Methods
CHAPTER 3: CONTEXTUALBACKGROUND
The United Republic of Tanzania
Contemporary Dar es Salaam
CHAPTER 4: THE COAST
Land Laws & Regulations
Costal Developments
Site Visits toNon-Public Beaches
CHAPTER 5: GETTING TOKNOW COCO BEACH
The Peoples BeachLocation of Project SiteDeveloping Coco BeachVisions & Future Plans
CHAPTER 6: ANALYSIS
Gehl Analyses
Lynch Analyses
Three City Levels
SWOT Analyses
CHAPTER 7: THE DESIGN
Designing a Sustainable
BeachDesign Keys
Design Language
The Design
The Market
The Beach Park
The Event Area
The Forest
CHAPTER 8: DISCUSSION
Discussion of Thesis
Coco Beach as Partof a Larger Context
Discussion of Results
Reliable References
Personal Reflections
Future Research
CHAPTER 8 : DISCUSSION
Chapter eight is a reflection over our entire project and discussion of our results.It begins with a brief review of the source of interest leading to our mainobjective and research question, furthermore why we believe this to be of importance.The chapter continues to argue against the problems that we findwith the existing proposal produced by TIB. Thereafter the different partsof our research and the various aspects of our design are discussed. Finallythere is a list of what we believe to be good ideas for continued research.
DISCUSSION OF THESIS
Our intention with this master thesis was to turn CocoBeach into a well-functioning public beach that could act asa guideline for further development along Dar es Salaamscoast.Writing a master thesis concerning beach recreation mightseem trivial or superficial in a country where the majorityof the population is struggling to survive the day. However,conversely one might argue that it is precisely in theseemerging mega cities that public spaces are needed the mostand play an incredibly important role for peoples livingconditions and improved welfare.
Dar es Salaam is growingexponentially fast and the rapid urbanisation has caused aloss of urban vegetation and open areas in the city. The urbanspread has resulted in a dense city core that lacks high qualityrecreational space and urban greenery (Mng?ong?go 2004 p.6). During our field work Coco Beach was repeatedly confirmedas an important place in people?s lives. Perceived tous as a public property and refuge from the bustling city weunderstood the vitality of Coco Beach and the relevance ofour topic.
Even though there is general interest in developing CocoBeach as a public park among governmental authorities andprivate developers the definition of ?public? is not alwaysthe same as our definition. As Swedish landscape architectstudents we define public as a place completely free of chargethat is available for everyone to use. The developers at KMCargue that a place that is free to enter but consists of chargeablefacilities could still be defined as public. Evidently wehave different points of references. However this is exactlywhat is threatening Coco Beach today, to become a publicpark with charged facilities.
We are concerned that KMC andTIBs proposal turns to a certain user group with higher economicresources and in doing so excluding the majority ofDar es Salaams inhabitants, or at least limiting the public accessibilityof the coast. Furthermore there is a possibility thatmany of today?s beach visitors will no longer feel comfortableon Coco Beach. This makes our topic even more significant,since we strongly believe that public areas should be a humanright irrespective of income, gender or origin.The responsible developers of Coco Beach had their designambition inspired by landscape architecture in Dubai, Qatarand South Africa.
It seems to be a general trend around theworld to create advanced and spectacular landscapes in orderto attract tourists and express status and welfare. However inthis process the real needs are forgotten by not creating a sitespecific design that takes nature and local conditions into accountwhere users are the centre of attention. For example inthe current KMC and TIB proposal a water park, and variouswater features are suggested. In a city were fresh water is ascarcity this to us is highly unsustainable. Furthermore alongthe whole park the plan consist of large open areas of lawn,which require a high level of maintenance and also frequentwatering.
COCO BEACH AS PART OF A LARGERCONTEXT
Tanzania and Dar es Salaam is located far away from Swedenon a continent that was entirely new to us. In order to graspour project site we needed to understand the big picture ofboth Dar es Salaam and Tanzania. It was a great challengeon such a short period of time grasping a foreign countrywith conditions, climate and culture unlike ours and set in acontext unlike the one we are trained to work with.Our background chapter might be considered as unreasonablyextensive but it was important to not only look atCoco Beach as a single unit but part of a larger city context.Therefore we had to investigate Dar es Salaam as a whole andcompile the most important facts that we found connected toCoco Beach and of main relevance to our project. This wascrucial to be able to create a realistic and anchored design.
For example it is not feasible to suggest flush toilets withoutknowing if water access and treatment is possible on site andwaste bins will not take care of the waste problems if it is notcollected etc. With our design these issues are addressed tothe extension that was possible for us with the project timelimitation and knowledge that we have.It is obvious that Dar es Salaam is strongly marked by itscolonial past and segregation is still very palpable. Thiswas something we experienced while travelling around thecity?s different districts. Since Coco Beach is situated withina district historically dedicated to expatriates this aspectneeded to be taken into account.
Prejudice and fear towardsCoco Beach already exist among non-users and it is difficult to know what reaction our proposal would cause amongneighbouring residents. To create a proposal that encourageincreased activity may cause complaints from neighbours.However our ambition is to prepare for a high usage andorganise the area to prevent chaotic and unsafe situations.We believe that a well organised, safe and beautiful parkeventually would attract the population on the peninsulaand function as a beach park for everyone despite origin orsocioeconomic affiliation.
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
The project area is divided into four different parts, a structurebased on the results from the Lynch analysis. We perceivedCoco Beach to consist of different areas in terms ofcharacter, by keeping, enhancing and integrating these areasinto our design a diverse park environment was achieved.To make it easier to understand and explain our designaspirations the results from the analyses was sorted into fourmajor categories; Health, Nature, Education and Culture.These are the design keys that have guided us to the rightsolutions. Following is a discussion of our results based onthese four keys.
HEALTH - IMPROVE THE HUMAN SCALE!
The most visible factor implicating on health and securitywas the amount of solid waste scattered along the beach. Thisfact was both astonishing and frightening to us and could notbe ignored throughout the project. Even though SWM strategiesare implemented on Coco Beach the results are highlydependent on KMC?s ability to collect and dump the waste.The dependence of KMC makes it difficult for us to guaranteea place free from pollution. However the design creates agood base for SWM that hopefully influences and simplifiesthe city process.In Sweden accessibility is a compulsory part of any publicdevelopments. In Tanzania disabled people struggle to movearound the city and wheelchairs are uncommon. Regardlesswe wanted to strive to create a place that is as accessible aspossible.
Paths are paved and slopes are gentle to achieve easyaccess by wheelchairs, bicycles and trolleys. However accessing the beach is a problem since it is left in its originallysandy groundcover. Although there are nice viewpoints fromthe pathways, so the beach and ocean can be enjoyed from adistance.Organising the traffic was important to achieve a safe environment.We hope that our bench and wall constructionshould be strong enough to keep vehicles outside the area. Tocreate such a large mosaic feature might be expensive but onthe other hand it contributes to a nice environment and givesCoco Beach a strong identity as well as serve as a piece ofpublic art. The construction and erection of the wall will alsocreate job opportunities for local craftsmen. Moreover appreciatedfeatures are less likely to be destroyed whilst ordinaryconcrete bollards often are mown down.
One of the larger parking areas is located outside the CocoBeach area. According to KMC?s existing property ownershipmap (KMC 2011, p. 17) it is declared as public land andour hope is that KMC would agree with our suggestion inorder to relieve and minimize parking areas on Coco Beach.However it could be problematic to construct parking lotsalong Toure Drive since that land is privately owned. Neverthelesspeople are parking their cars in these areas todayregardless of it being legal or not and will continue to do so.The informal parking causes an unsafe situation along theroad and deterioration of the groundcover. Therefore webelieve that organised parking lots would be a better solutionfor everyone.Another contributor towards a safer environment is lighteningduring dark hours.
Even though solar charged lights andpatrolling safety guards may create a sense of safety, securityis still not guaranteed. Burglars and harassments may occur.However, attracting more people may contribute to a saferpark by having more watchful eyes present. Several of thebeach vendors told us that they are not afraid to intervene ifneeded.
NATURE - PROMOTE URBAN NATURE!
Increased vegetation was a given design solution from thestart since it can contribute to plant diversity and coolermicroclimate. Unfortunately it has been difficult to use onlynative plant species since exotic plants species have been introduced and they are gradually replacing the natural flora(Mng?ongo, 2004, p. 36). Furthermore the harsh climate onthe coast further limited our options. The suggested plantsneed to be hardy and survive in dry sandy grounds and resiststrong saline winds.
Although we strived to use as much nativeplants as possible or at least plants originating from theEast Africa we had to suggest exotic plants as well. To be ableto improve the microclimate, spatial pleasure and preventmonoculture we felt this decision necessary. The exotic speciesare commonly found around Dar es Salaam, two of thembeing more invasive than the others. The first one is Opuntiavulgaris, an American cactus widely spread along the beachtoday. We have chosen to keep some of the cactuses sincethey will help prevent erosion and they stabilize the groundas well as function as a barrier towards the ocean winds.
Thesecond one is Azadirachta indica also known as Neem, originatingfrom India. Neem trees and bushes are widely spreadaround Dar es Salaam, it is a very leafy green tree that givesa soft shade. Opuntia vulgaris is only suggested in the secondzone in the Beach Park whilst Azadirachta indica is suggestedon several places throughout the whole park. Because of theplants invasive tendencies park maintainers need to controlthe spread continuously.
EDUCATION - CREATE A PLATFORM FOREDUCATION!
Education is the most important tool for any environmentalimprovements to be achieved. Hence, to make people understandthe consequences of their action, will hopefully makethem motivated to engage. To encourage education on CocoBeach we have created opportunities for a wide range ofactivities. Organised exhibitions will be held at the educationcentre and the recycling stations are interactive tools thatspread knowledge about waste management and recycling.
Furthermore we hope that NGOs and school classes wouldwant to engage and arrange events. We believe that CocoBeach it the perfect place for reaching out to lots of peopleand functioning as a platform for education.
CULTURE - EMPHASIZE THE ESSENCE OF COCOBEACH!
As a newcomer to Dar es Salaam we might be able to seethings with fresh eyes, however it is also possible that wemisinterpret certain cultural features and traditions. Toreally identify the essence of Coco Beach it has been crucialto spend as much time as possible on the site and keep oureyes and ears open. Conversations with the beach visitorsand Tanzanians in general have played a key role to understandthis culture. The Market and concerts are in particularvibrant hotspots symbolising the beach culture. In ourdesign we thought it was important to enhance them withoutlosing the current atmosphere. Therefore today?s activitiesand vendors will remain on site but in a more organised andupgraded way. The Market will be provided by sturdy tablesfor retailing and a sheltering roof.
Vendors will be able tostore their equipment inside the tables and to avoid disputesamong vendors a renting scheme could be set up. Concertsare allocated to the flexible car park at the Event Area. Wesuggest these arrangements to end around 6.00 pm in respectof neighbours. Local material will also help to keep Tanzanianflavour at the same time encourage national trade andbusiness. Our hope is that Coco Beach also will become apopular destination for tourists where authentic culture,beach life and leisure could be experienced.
Essential to preserve the spirit of Coco Beach is to let thebeach remain public. It is impossible for us to make thatdecision but it has been our philosophy throughout thewhole project. Further we hope that local authorities willbe inspired and become aware of the benefits from a publicCoco Beach.
THE RESTAURANT
The conflict that is taking place regarding the Coco BeachBar and Restaurant and KMC has been very confusing tounderstand and to know who to rely on. However we choseto keep the restaurant since it is a situation out of our controland the restaurant is very popular among the beach visitors.The building is situated within 60 meters from the ocean,which according to the present regulations is not allowed onpublic land (Government of Tanzania 2004).
To try and compensatefor this we have integrated a public walkway alongthe restaurant on the ocean side making it possible for peopleto pass it easily. We also hope that NEMC will do checkupson the business and push the owner to take responsibility forhis predicted duties concerning the waste that his businessproduces.
MAINTENANCE, BUDGET AND CORRUPTION
Within this project we have chosen to not address the topicof budget. However we are aware that such a large parkproject would obviously be expensive to realise and wouldmost likely rely on outside funding.
One way to reduce theinitial cost in the next phase of implementation could be toconstruct the park through different stages, using as muchlocal workforce and materials as possible. Another possibilityis to seek funds from investors. A successful example thathas inspired us in our project is Forodhani Gardens in StoneTown, Zanzibar. This is a seaside park that was rehabilitatedby the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. However there is alwaysa risk when involving outside investors that they have certainconditions that may change the original design and conceptor in the case of Coco Beach case the park gets privatized.The maintenance of the park is another great concern.
Oncethe park is built it is important to have enough funds to beable to uphold it in the same condition and to make surethat all the facilities are taken care off. One idea to supportthe maintenance funds is to collect a small daily fee from thebeach vendors and to collect a fee from the parking. Measuresshould also be taken to make sure that the restaurantowner pays the contract fee. At present there are severalwaste pickers that rummage the beach for recyclable materialthat they can sell to the big manufacturers. Perhaps thesecould be hired to work for the park, be in charge of the recyclingstations and communication with the external municipalitywaste collectors.With this kind of system there is always a risk that theadministration may become corrupted. Hence money willdisappear in the wrong hands and not the cause of maintainingthe park.
Therefore it is especially important to come upwith a good strategy on how this could be avoidedTIB suggested assembling an outside board separate from thegovernmental agencies, which only focuses on the maintenanceand correct administration of the Coco Beach Park.
Perhaps this is as good solution to overcome the problem ofcorruption. However we believe that it is very important tomake sure that the people on the board are locally engagedon Coco Beach and feel a strong connection to it.
RELIABLE REFERENCES
During our research we have tried to use scientific articlesand peer-reviewed literature as much as possible. Howeverdue to difficulties to access information online parts of ourthesis are based on oral sources and hard copies that maybe difficult to get hold of for further reading. Dependent onoral sources we had the chance to take part of many differentopinions and stories. It was sometimes difficult to know whatopinion to rely on and what story to believe. It was importantto value the facts and create our own version based on thedifferent sources. Many had opinions on what the future ofCoco Beach should be like.
We decided in an early stage tofocus on the users. The result should have been completelydifferent if we had chosen to focus on the perspective of theKMC.Another aspect that we lacked during this project is goodlocal reference projects, instead we sought inspiration fromstreet life, private beaches and Zanzibar beaches.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
Five years of university studies together with helpful peopleand supervisors have made this project possible. Doing amaster thesis in a developing country has been a great learningexperience that we definitely encourage other studentsto do. It was a great opportunity for sharing knowledge andenriched our skills within landscape architecture. Howevergrasping a country from scratch involves challenges,including language barriers, different time perceptions, anddifficulties to get hold of information and people. This waschallenging to us and required engagement, patience anda flexible mind, also forcing us to integrate a lot more withpeople than we are used to in Sweden.
Furthermore we havelearned not to be afraid to think of new innovative ways tosolve problems or to attempt something that we previouslyknew nothing about.Nevertheless we managed to carry out our initial idea andinteract as much as possible with the community of Dar esSalaam. The warm, welcoming and outgoing attitude amongpeople in Dar es Salaam made it easy for us to integrate. Governmentalstaff, NGOs and students from ARU embraced uswith helpfulness and curiosity.
FUTURE RESEARCH
? Further development of adjacent areas to Coco Beach in order to create a coherent park environmentalong the east coast of the Msasani Peninsula.
? Mapping the whole coast of Dar es Salaam anddocumenting exactly what is public and private. Furthermoreto conduct an overall development schemesuggesting solutions for improved public access tobeaches.
? During our inventory we found several coastal sitesthat could serve as interesting topics for future land scape architecture projects e.g. Ocean Road, Palm Beach and a large green area adjacent to Kawe Beach.
? Furthermore the rivers are interesting environmentsto investigate since they are subject to informalsettlements, illegal waste dumping and annual floodingevents.
Hapa nawaletea chapter ya mwisho ya "CHAPTER 8 : DISCUSSION" Tafadhali tusome na tuielewe na kama mtaitaji chapter zingine nitawawekea pia ili tusome na tujifunze sote.
Karibuni!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to send a large thank you to everyone that hashelped us during our stay in Dar es Salaam. The willingnessfrom beach visitors, local authorities and NGO?s to interactin our project has been incredibly important.A large thanks to our supervisors; Prof. Rolf Johansson andDr. Mrema. Also thanks to Mr. Ikumla and Dr. Mbisso fortaking care of us and introducing us to Ardhi University(ARU) and Mr. Mufada for driving us along the coast. Alsothanks to Tuula Eriksson and Tomas Eriksson for supportiveproject discussions.We also wish to thank Benson and Fadina for your willingnessto brainstorm research questions and introduce us to thesituation on Coco Beach. Without your kindness we wouldhave never been aware of Coco Beach and this project wouldhave never been done.
Also for sharing good advice beforeand during our field study in Dar es Salaam.Many thanks to the students from ARU; Emmanuel, David,Elvis and Alphonce for accompanying us to Coco Beach andinterpreting interviews on site.Thanks to Anna, Amanda and Jonna for sharing your experiencesof the everyday life in Dar es Salaam and for quicklyintroduce us to the community when we arrived.Finally we want to thank ourselves for keeping up a goodmood and encouraging each other through tough times.
Asante sana!
Mina & EmelieUppsala 2015-01-21.
ABSTRACT
Sub Saharan Africa has during the last decade become theworld?s fastest urbanizing region. This change is concentratedto a few metropolitan areas one of them being Dares Salaam, the largest city of Tanzania. Since the 1960s Dares Salaam has grown from being a relatively small coastalcity of approximately 300 000 people to become a bustlingurban centre of four million inhabitants. This developmenthas had a major impact on the city structure, which in turnhas affected people?s welfare and the surrounding environment.One such consequence is the detrimental loss of urbanvegetation and open areas in the city. The coastline of Dar esSalaam is today part of the larger green spaces in the city stillleft largely untouched and available for recreational purposes.However the coast is also a large economic asset, this in combinationwith the existing pressure of urban expansion is rapidlychanging the coastal appearance. Economic enterprisessuch as hotels, shopping centres and privatized beaches arespreading and contributing to an increasingly fragmentedcoast limiting the public accessibility.
The coastline of theMsasani Peninsula is one of the more exploited stretchesin the city. Intriguingly though it is also there that Dar esSalaams most popular public beach ?Coco Beach? is located.It is visited by several hundreds of people each week and thearea functions similar to a city park. However Coco Beach isnot being maintained appropriately. No design interventionshave been implemented; there is a high level of pollution anda lack of necessary facilities. In the fall of 2014 the KinondoniMunicipality Council published a new redevelopmentproposal for the entire east coast of the Msasani Peninsulaincluding Coco Beach. However included in this proposalare various semi-private establishments which may in factfurther limit the public accessibility of the beach area. Thisthesis proposes an alternative design for Coco Beach, withthe objective to keep the area completely public. It argues forthe benefits that this will provide the city and why we believeit is important for the entire area to be free of charge andopen to all city inhabitants independent of economic status.The design strengthens and improves the present qualities ofCoco Beach and targets its weaknesses. This is accomplishedby focusing on four main keys; Health, Nature, Educationand Culture, anchoring the design socially, environmentallyand locally.
The Coco Beach Park stretches over a length of2 kilometres. The area is lined by palm trees, emphasizingthe name and giving a strong sense of local identity. Thepark further consists of four areas with different characters,focusing on various activities. These are connected througha design language inspired by the ocean waves. This projectcould act as a guideline for further public developmentsalong the Tanzanian coast.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
PrefaceProject
Background
Aim & Research Question
Limitations
Target Group
CHAPTER 2: METHODS
Project Overview
Discussion of Methods
CHAPTER 3: CONTEXTUALBACKGROUND
The United Republic of Tanzania
Contemporary Dar es Salaam
CHAPTER 4: THE COAST
Land Laws & Regulations
Costal Developments
Site Visits toNon-Public Beaches
CHAPTER 5: GETTING TOKNOW COCO BEACH
The Peoples BeachLocation of Project SiteDeveloping Coco BeachVisions & Future Plans
CHAPTER 6: ANALYSIS
Gehl Analyses
Lynch Analyses
Three City Levels
SWOT Analyses
CHAPTER 7: THE DESIGN
Designing a Sustainable
BeachDesign Keys
Design Language
The Design
The Market
The Beach Park
The Event Area
The Forest
CHAPTER 8: DISCUSSION
Discussion of Thesis
Coco Beach as Partof a Larger Context
Discussion of Results
Reliable References
Personal Reflections
Future Research
CHAPTER 8 : DISCUSSION
Chapter eight is a reflection over our entire project and discussion of our results.It begins with a brief review of the source of interest leading to our mainobjective and research question, furthermore why we believe this to be of importance.The chapter continues to argue against the problems that we findwith the existing proposal produced by TIB. Thereafter the different partsof our research and the various aspects of our design are discussed. Finallythere is a list of what we believe to be good ideas for continued research.
DISCUSSION OF THESIS
Our intention with this master thesis was to turn CocoBeach into a well-functioning public beach that could act asa guideline for further development along Dar es Salaamscoast.Writing a master thesis concerning beach recreation mightseem trivial or superficial in a country where the majorityof the population is struggling to survive the day. However,conversely one might argue that it is precisely in theseemerging mega cities that public spaces are needed the mostand play an incredibly important role for peoples livingconditions and improved welfare.
Dar es Salaam is growingexponentially fast and the rapid urbanisation has caused aloss of urban vegetation and open areas in the city. The urbanspread has resulted in a dense city core that lacks high qualityrecreational space and urban greenery (Mng?ong?go 2004 p.6). During our field work Coco Beach was repeatedly confirmedas an important place in people?s lives. Perceived tous as a public property and refuge from the bustling city weunderstood the vitality of Coco Beach and the relevance ofour topic.
Even though there is general interest in developing CocoBeach as a public park among governmental authorities andprivate developers the definition of ?public? is not alwaysthe same as our definition. As Swedish landscape architectstudents we define public as a place completely free of chargethat is available for everyone to use. The developers at KMCargue that a place that is free to enter but consists of chargeablefacilities could still be defined as public. Evidently wehave different points of references. However this is exactlywhat is threatening Coco Beach today, to become a publicpark with charged facilities.
We are concerned that KMC andTIBs proposal turns to a certain user group with higher economicresources and in doing so excluding the majority ofDar es Salaams inhabitants, or at least limiting the public accessibilityof the coast. Furthermore there is a possibility thatmany of today?s beach visitors will no longer feel comfortableon Coco Beach. This makes our topic even more significant,since we strongly believe that public areas should be a humanright irrespective of income, gender or origin.The responsible developers of Coco Beach had their designambition inspired by landscape architecture in Dubai, Qatarand South Africa.
It seems to be a general trend around theworld to create advanced and spectacular landscapes in orderto attract tourists and express status and welfare. However inthis process the real needs are forgotten by not creating a sitespecific design that takes nature and local conditions into accountwhere users are the centre of attention. For example inthe current KMC and TIB proposal a water park, and variouswater features are suggested. In a city were fresh water is ascarcity this to us is highly unsustainable. Furthermore alongthe whole park the plan consist of large open areas of lawn,which require a high level of maintenance and also frequentwatering.
COCO BEACH AS PART OF A LARGERCONTEXT
Tanzania and Dar es Salaam is located far away from Swedenon a continent that was entirely new to us. In order to graspour project site we needed to understand the big picture ofboth Dar es Salaam and Tanzania. It was a great challengeon such a short period of time grasping a foreign countrywith conditions, climate and culture unlike ours and set in acontext unlike the one we are trained to work with.Our background chapter might be considered as unreasonablyextensive but it was important to not only look atCoco Beach as a single unit but part of a larger city context.Therefore we had to investigate Dar es Salaam as a whole andcompile the most important facts that we found connected toCoco Beach and of main relevance to our project. This wascrucial to be able to create a realistic and anchored design.
For example it is not feasible to suggest flush toilets withoutknowing if water access and treatment is possible on site andwaste bins will not take care of the waste problems if it is notcollected etc. With our design these issues are addressed tothe extension that was possible for us with the project timelimitation and knowledge that we have.It is obvious that Dar es Salaam is strongly marked by itscolonial past and segregation is still very palpable. Thiswas something we experienced while travelling around thecity?s different districts. Since Coco Beach is situated withina district historically dedicated to expatriates this aspectneeded to be taken into account.
Prejudice and fear towardsCoco Beach already exist among non-users and it is difficult to know what reaction our proposal would cause amongneighbouring residents. To create a proposal that encourageincreased activity may cause complaints from neighbours.However our ambition is to prepare for a high usage andorganise the area to prevent chaotic and unsafe situations.We believe that a well organised, safe and beautiful parkeventually would attract the population on the peninsulaand function as a beach park for everyone despite origin orsocioeconomic affiliation.
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
The project area is divided into four different parts, a structurebased on the results from the Lynch analysis. We perceivedCoco Beach to consist of different areas in terms ofcharacter, by keeping, enhancing and integrating these areasinto our design a diverse park environment was achieved.To make it easier to understand and explain our designaspirations the results from the analyses was sorted into fourmajor categories; Health, Nature, Education and Culture.These are the design keys that have guided us to the rightsolutions. Following is a discussion of our results based onthese four keys.
HEALTH - IMPROVE THE HUMAN SCALE!
The most visible factor implicating on health and securitywas the amount of solid waste scattered along the beach. Thisfact was both astonishing and frightening to us and could notbe ignored throughout the project. Even though SWM strategiesare implemented on Coco Beach the results are highlydependent on KMC?s ability to collect and dump the waste.The dependence of KMC makes it difficult for us to guaranteea place free from pollution. However the design creates agood base for SWM that hopefully influences and simplifiesthe city process.In Sweden accessibility is a compulsory part of any publicdevelopments. In Tanzania disabled people struggle to movearound the city and wheelchairs are uncommon. Regardlesswe wanted to strive to create a place that is as accessible aspossible.
Paths are paved and slopes are gentle to achieve easyaccess by wheelchairs, bicycles and trolleys. However accessing the beach is a problem since it is left in its originallysandy groundcover. Although there are nice viewpoints fromthe pathways, so the beach and ocean can be enjoyed from adistance.Organising the traffic was important to achieve a safe environment.We hope that our bench and wall constructionshould be strong enough to keep vehicles outside the area. Tocreate such a large mosaic feature might be expensive but onthe other hand it contributes to a nice environment and givesCoco Beach a strong identity as well as serve as a piece ofpublic art. The construction and erection of the wall will alsocreate job opportunities for local craftsmen. Moreover appreciatedfeatures are less likely to be destroyed whilst ordinaryconcrete bollards often are mown down.
One of the larger parking areas is located outside the CocoBeach area. According to KMC?s existing property ownershipmap (KMC 2011, p. 17) it is declared as public land andour hope is that KMC would agree with our suggestion inorder to relieve and minimize parking areas on Coco Beach.However it could be problematic to construct parking lotsalong Toure Drive since that land is privately owned. Neverthelesspeople are parking their cars in these areas todayregardless of it being legal or not and will continue to do so.The informal parking causes an unsafe situation along theroad and deterioration of the groundcover. Therefore webelieve that organised parking lots would be a better solutionfor everyone.Another contributor towards a safer environment is lighteningduring dark hours.
Even though solar charged lights andpatrolling safety guards may create a sense of safety, securityis still not guaranteed. Burglars and harassments may occur.However, attracting more people may contribute to a saferpark by having more watchful eyes present. Several of thebeach vendors told us that they are not afraid to intervene ifneeded.
NATURE - PROMOTE URBAN NATURE!
Increased vegetation was a given design solution from thestart since it can contribute to plant diversity and coolermicroclimate. Unfortunately it has been difficult to use onlynative plant species since exotic plants species have been introduced and they are gradually replacing the natural flora(Mng?ongo, 2004, p. 36). Furthermore the harsh climate onthe coast further limited our options. The suggested plantsneed to be hardy and survive in dry sandy grounds and resiststrong saline winds.
Although we strived to use as much nativeplants as possible or at least plants originating from theEast Africa we had to suggest exotic plants as well. To be ableto improve the microclimate, spatial pleasure and preventmonoculture we felt this decision necessary. The exotic speciesare commonly found around Dar es Salaam, two of thembeing more invasive than the others. The first one is Opuntiavulgaris, an American cactus widely spread along the beachtoday. We have chosen to keep some of the cactuses sincethey will help prevent erosion and they stabilize the groundas well as function as a barrier towards the ocean winds.
Thesecond one is Azadirachta indica also known as Neem, originatingfrom India. Neem trees and bushes are widely spreadaround Dar es Salaam, it is a very leafy green tree that givesa soft shade. Opuntia vulgaris is only suggested in the secondzone in the Beach Park whilst Azadirachta indica is suggestedon several places throughout the whole park. Because of theplants invasive tendencies park maintainers need to controlthe spread continuously.
EDUCATION - CREATE A PLATFORM FOREDUCATION!
Education is the most important tool for any environmentalimprovements to be achieved. Hence, to make people understandthe consequences of their action, will hopefully makethem motivated to engage. To encourage education on CocoBeach we have created opportunities for a wide range ofactivities. Organised exhibitions will be held at the educationcentre and the recycling stations are interactive tools thatspread knowledge about waste management and recycling.
Furthermore we hope that NGOs and school classes wouldwant to engage and arrange events. We believe that CocoBeach it the perfect place for reaching out to lots of peopleand functioning as a platform for education.
CULTURE - EMPHASIZE THE ESSENCE OF COCOBEACH!
As a newcomer to Dar es Salaam we might be able to seethings with fresh eyes, however it is also possible that wemisinterpret certain cultural features and traditions. Toreally identify the essence of Coco Beach it has been crucialto spend as much time as possible on the site and keep oureyes and ears open. Conversations with the beach visitorsand Tanzanians in general have played a key role to understandthis culture. The Market and concerts are in particularvibrant hotspots symbolising the beach culture. In ourdesign we thought it was important to enhance them withoutlosing the current atmosphere. Therefore today?s activitiesand vendors will remain on site but in a more organised andupgraded way. The Market will be provided by sturdy tablesfor retailing and a sheltering roof.
Vendors will be able tostore their equipment inside the tables and to avoid disputesamong vendors a renting scheme could be set up. Concertsare allocated to the flexible car park at the Event Area. Wesuggest these arrangements to end around 6.00 pm in respectof neighbours. Local material will also help to keep Tanzanianflavour at the same time encourage national trade andbusiness. Our hope is that Coco Beach also will become apopular destination for tourists where authentic culture,beach life and leisure could be experienced.
Essential to preserve the spirit of Coco Beach is to let thebeach remain public. It is impossible for us to make thatdecision but it has been our philosophy throughout thewhole project. Further we hope that local authorities willbe inspired and become aware of the benefits from a publicCoco Beach.
THE RESTAURANT
The conflict that is taking place regarding the Coco BeachBar and Restaurant and KMC has been very confusing tounderstand and to know who to rely on. However we choseto keep the restaurant since it is a situation out of our controland the restaurant is very popular among the beach visitors.The building is situated within 60 meters from the ocean,which according to the present regulations is not allowed onpublic land (Government of Tanzania 2004).
To try and compensatefor this we have integrated a public walkway alongthe restaurant on the ocean side making it possible for peopleto pass it easily. We also hope that NEMC will do checkupson the business and push the owner to take responsibility forhis predicted duties concerning the waste that his businessproduces.
MAINTENANCE, BUDGET AND CORRUPTION
Within this project we have chosen to not address the topicof budget. However we are aware that such a large parkproject would obviously be expensive to realise and wouldmost likely rely on outside funding.
One way to reduce theinitial cost in the next phase of implementation could be toconstruct the park through different stages, using as muchlocal workforce and materials as possible. Another possibilityis to seek funds from investors. A successful example thathas inspired us in our project is Forodhani Gardens in StoneTown, Zanzibar. This is a seaside park that was rehabilitatedby the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. However there is alwaysa risk when involving outside investors that they have certainconditions that may change the original design and conceptor in the case of Coco Beach case the park gets privatized.The maintenance of the park is another great concern.
Oncethe park is built it is important to have enough funds to beable to uphold it in the same condition and to make surethat all the facilities are taken care off. One idea to supportthe maintenance funds is to collect a small daily fee from thebeach vendors and to collect a fee from the parking. Measuresshould also be taken to make sure that the restaurantowner pays the contract fee. At present there are severalwaste pickers that rummage the beach for recyclable materialthat they can sell to the big manufacturers. Perhaps thesecould be hired to work for the park, be in charge of the recyclingstations and communication with the external municipalitywaste collectors.With this kind of system there is always a risk that theadministration may become corrupted. Hence money willdisappear in the wrong hands and not the cause of maintainingthe park.
Therefore it is especially important to come upwith a good strategy on how this could be avoidedTIB suggested assembling an outside board separate from thegovernmental agencies, which only focuses on the maintenanceand correct administration of the Coco Beach Park.
Perhaps this is as good solution to overcome the problem ofcorruption. However we believe that it is very important tomake sure that the people on the board are locally engagedon Coco Beach and feel a strong connection to it.
RELIABLE REFERENCES
During our research we have tried to use scientific articlesand peer-reviewed literature as much as possible. Howeverdue to difficulties to access information online parts of ourthesis are based on oral sources and hard copies that maybe difficult to get hold of for further reading. Dependent onoral sources we had the chance to take part of many differentopinions and stories. It was sometimes difficult to know whatopinion to rely on and what story to believe. It was importantto value the facts and create our own version based on thedifferent sources. Many had opinions on what the future ofCoco Beach should be like.
We decided in an early stage tofocus on the users. The result should have been completelydifferent if we had chosen to focus on the perspective of theKMC.Another aspect that we lacked during this project is goodlocal reference projects, instead we sought inspiration fromstreet life, private beaches and Zanzibar beaches.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
Five years of university studies together with helpful peopleand supervisors have made this project possible. Doing amaster thesis in a developing country has been a great learningexperience that we definitely encourage other studentsto do. It was a great opportunity for sharing knowledge andenriched our skills within landscape architecture. Howevergrasping a country from scratch involves challenges,including language barriers, different time perceptions, anddifficulties to get hold of information and people. This waschallenging to us and required engagement, patience anda flexible mind, also forcing us to integrate a lot more withpeople than we are used to in Sweden.
Furthermore we havelearned not to be afraid to think of new innovative ways tosolve problems or to attempt something that we previouslyknew nothing about.Nevertheless we managed to carry out our initial idea andinteract as much as possible with the community of Dar esSalaam. The warm, welcoming and outgoing attitude amongpeople in Dar es Salaam made it easy for us to integrate. Governmentalstaff, NGOs and students from ARU embraced uswith helpfulness and curiosity.
FUTURE RESEARCH
? Further development of adjacent areas to Coco Beach in order to create a coherent park environmentalong the east coast of the Msasani Peninsula.
? Mapping the whole coast of Dar es Salaam anddocumenting exactly what is public and private. Furthermoreto conduct an overall development schemesuggesting solutions for improved public access tobeaches.
? During our inventory we found several coastal sitesthat could serve as interesting topics for future land scape architecture projects e.g. Ocean Road, Palm Beach and a large green area adjacent to Kawe Beach.
? Furthermore the rivers are interesting environmentsto investigate since they are subject to informalsettlements, illegal waste dumping and annual floodingevents.
