Architectural Studies

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    The Contribution of Women to Food Security and Livelihoods through Urban Agriculture in the City of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
    (National University of Science and Technology, 2012) Mudzengerere, Fungai H.
    This research explores the contribution, which is made by women to food security and livelihoods of families in the city of Bulawayo through urban agriculture. Women constitute the marginalised group in human society and their contribution to the society and well-being is slowly being realised as evidenced by campaigns to put them in positions of power. Rapid urbanization in Zimbabwe coupled with the economic crisis, which rocked the country between 2000 and 2012 had resulted in unemployment, which in turn created poverty and food shortages. In this research, primary data was collected through observations and interviews from people who practice urban agriculture in the city of Bulawayo. Interviews of key informants were carried out with the Bulawayo City Council staff members, government officials and other stakeholders who are concerned with the practice of urban agriculture in the city. Random and purposive sampling procedures were chosen to select residents who practice urban farming and stakeholders for interviews. Secondary data sources were used to review literature on the practice of agriculture in African cities of Accra in Uganda and Nairobi in Kenya. Responses were coded and analysed quantitatively, using statistical package SPSS. The research showed that women practice urban agriculture more than their male counterparts as they play a crucial role of ensuring food security at the household level. The research also found out that it is the women who make decisions on the types of crops to be grown, time of harvesting the crops and the market to which they can sell their surplus produce. In efforts to contribute to the food security, women usually face challenges of land ownership, money to finance their agricultural pursuits and to secure markets to sell their produce. These challenges tend to negatively affect their agricultural activities. It is recommended in this paper that if women are supported by providing them with land and money, they can actually positively contribute to the livelihoods of urban families through practicing urban farming. However, while this research has focused on the contribution of women to the livelihoods of families through urban farming, further research can look into the capitalisation of sewage to promote urban agriculture in the city of Bulawayo.
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    The Challenges of Managing an Archaeological Heritage Site in a Declining Economy: The Case of Khami World Heritage Site in Zimbabwe
    (W. S. Maney and Son Ltd, 2013) Makuvaza, Simon; Makuvaza, Violah
    This paper explores the case of the Khami archaeological site, whose degradation by the local communities in recent years was as a result of socioeconomic problems caused by the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy combined with the inability of the Zimbabwean government to support the site. We argue that the negative attitude by the local communities towards the management of cultural heritage sites is embedded in the colonial history of the country, and has been driven by the socio-economic difficulties emanating from the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy in recent years. We begin by explaining the history of Khami, its architecture, and the local communities residing around it. We then show and assert that the subsequent degradation of Khami and the landscape around it by the local communities is linked to the socio-economic problems of the country and poverty, which emanated from the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy. In the end, we contend that the economic constraints are part of the reasons why the local communities have from time to time failed to respect the importance of protecting cultural heritage sites in the country.
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    An Efficient Method for Rural Electronification Grid Design.
    (European Scientific Institute, 2014-09) Mhlanga, Samson; Nyakudya, R.
    This paper investigates the optimization of the electricity grid network in rural community of Chegutu district, in Zimbabwe. The Kruskal’s algorithm is used for the minimum spanning tree to carry out the optimization process.The project seeks to find how a network with a number of possible connections can have the least possible distance. The main objective of the optimization procedure is to minimize the total distance of the network connections, so as to minimize resources that are used when carrying out projects. Rural Electrification Agency has been failing to meet their targets for extension of the electricity grid network because of shortage of resources and input capital, thus the researcher adopts the idea of network optimization as a way of saving resources so that they can be used for other projects. The researcher used the algorithm to carry out the manual computation of the optimization process and also used C sharp programming language to create a code that is able to minimize the total distance of the network. In this dissertation the Kruskal’s algorithm has been translated into a simple model that can be easily used to map distances between nodes and vertices. The model presented in this dissertation help network service providers such as electricity, telephone and information technology to optimize their network resources so as to save money and resources for other uses in the future. The optimisation process shows that a total of 74km of 11kV power line could be saved from the network.
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    Tourism development activities in Chisuma communal area in Hwange Rural District, Zimbabwe
    (Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, 2015) Ndhlovu, Pardon; Chigwenya, Average; Makuvaza, Simon; Mudzengerere, Fungai H.
    In Victoria Falls, development of tourism dates back to around 1900 after the arrival of the railway line from Cape Town, completion of the Victoria Falls hotel and the bridge. In recent years, tourism activities have been spreading to the peri-urban area of Chisuma Communal Area (CCA) along the Batoka Gorges, downstream of the Victoria Falls. Tourism development in the study area was accelerated by the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament hosted by South Africa and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia. This has resulted in construction of lodges along the gorges displacing the local communities from their original villages. This paper examines the expansion and development of tourism in the CCA. Tourism development activities were found to be negatively impacting on the local area through deforestation, land degradation, displacement and social cultural erosion. To some extent, it was also found to be bringing in new livelihood strategies such as employment and development of infrastructure that are crucial for the development of the local communities.