Abstract
Planning and development are simultaneous activities that when carried out correctly bring about sustainable development, while urban planning involves urban design, policies and theories that have significant impact in determining the direction and approach of planning. Despite being projected as the continent with the highest rate of urbanization by 2020, Africa has displayed a high level of inequality in regard to development and empowerment. The rate of service delivery in African cities and urban centres is low, access to infrastructure is limited and employment opportunities are scarce. Even though the rural population migrates to urban areas in order to access the services mentioned above, administrations and local governments still fail to adequately cater to the masses thus leading to urban poverty and economic disparity. Lamu World Heritage site is no exception in this regard, as it is the only urban centre in Lamu County, playing host to more than 60% of the county population. Its problems are bound to increase if appropriate urgent planning initiatives are not implemented especially given the current projects coming up in the area including the Lamu deep water port and LAPSETT corridor economic activities. This paper while employing a critical review approach of existing planning initiatives for Lamu World Heritage Site combined with personal observations and experience, seeks to determine the most optimal planning approach that is not only inclusive and involves numerous stakeholders and activities but also one that addresses the dimensions of urban and rural poverty such as income and social poverty, environmental poverty, health poverty and educational poverty. The paper further considered the ideal planning scenarios under the three planning theoretical models prevalent today which are (a) the communicative model; (b) the new urbanism; and (c) the just city. The paper found out that, and also as supported by Fainstein (2000), the first model though emphasizing the planner’s role in mediating among “stakeholders” within the planning situation was not robust enough to capture all aspects of development; while the second, though projecting physical picture of a desirable city to be obtained through planning was not comprehensive enough too to accommodate and evolve with the development process; the third model however, though also outcome oriented and abstract than the new urbanism was found capable of presenting a model of spatial relations based on equity and can be able to bring about equity and improved quality of life. The paper further found out that this inclusive planning model, unlike other theories and models, is able to accommodate the different society groups based on either culture, ethnicity, religion, income groups and social class to bring about urban areas that are accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable. In conclusion, the paper argues that the ‘just City’ model is the most suitable option for Lamu World Heritage Site given its unique conservation demands as it creates a framework for sustainable development through a bottom up approach where the concerns of the marginalized, minority and poor are taken into account while at the same time provide a safe livable environment with affordable and equitable access to urban services and livelihood opportunities for all the city residents and other city users to promote optimal development of its human capital and ensure the respect of human dignity and equality. This is in line with UNESCO’s thematic indicators for culture in the 2030 Agenda which seek to measure and monitor the process of culture’s contribution to the national and local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals for sustainable development and appropriately demonstrates how culture and conservation has contributed to inclusion and empowerment in the development planning of Lamu World Heritage Site
