Influence of Colonial Planning Legislation on Spatial Development in Zimbabwe and Zambia

Abstract

Most African countries in the world currently face significant conflict on how colonial spatial planning legislation governs contemporary spatial planning practices. Spatial development is controlled by various pieces of spatial planning legislation, which include statutes and bylaws. The spatial planning legislation that was in place before Zimbabwe and Zambia attained independence influenced development and this continues to date. This paper focuses on how colonial spatial planning legislation influenced and still influences spatial development in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The methodology of this paper includes a review and analysis of published documents on spatial planning. The spatial planning legislation for both countries will be reviewed. This paper noted that British colonial spatial planning legislation was biased toward Europeans and disadvantaged Africans. This paper reveals that colonial spatial planning legislation influenced spatial development in both colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe and Zambia. The implanted aspects of the legislation were difficult to recover from, especially in Zimbabwe. However, Zambia reviewed its spatial planning legislation in 2015 and adopted sustainable integrated development plans.