As time flies, has 'akarubanda' flown with it?

This paper a few weeks ago published an article with the title ‘Are Rwandans in Kigali finally turning into urbanites?’ offering a historical reflection of Kigali city and how quickly the city has become urban over the last few decades. One of the undeniable elements in the traditional setting that the author refers to as ‘scattering of villages’ is the abundance of public open spaces a.k.a ‘akarubanda’, as the saying would go ‘nta gasharu katagira akarubanda’, meaning there was no hilltop devoid of public open space. The public open space in front of the king’s palace had only one entrance that people used to get through to the ‘imbuga ngari’ where Rwandans used to meet for traditional concerts and other social activities. Indeed, akarubanda dotted each and every hill in Rwanda. As time flies, as the traditional smoking pipe disappears, as the mango trees and the goats fade away, has ‘akarubanda’ followed suit? And if this were the case, why would this be? Logically akarubanda should increase and become even more significant, more valuable to increasing population of the Kigali urbanites my fellow author focuses on. The way we no longer see the traditional smoking pipe is perhaps the same way we do not see lots of opportunities for public open space in the city currently. Kigali does not have open parks, public gardens, public plazas, etc. and the few open spaces available are not easily accessible to the public. The car free zone project was a commendable attempt but for over two years, the street in yet to become a public space. One of the biggest benefits of public open spaces in a city is that they enhance the quality of life for the urbanites, which consequently is a key factor of building a sustainable city, a dream that each city in the worlds would like to achieve. As we work hard towards implementing SDGs and other urban policies, it will he inevitable to rethink how the city can activate, bring back akarubanda. The satisfaction, everyday experience and the perception of the citizens are some of the key factors to determine the urban livability and in turn they depend on the economic, social, and environmental qualities of a city, all of which can be greatly improved by presence of adequate public open spaces. But just how do public open spaces offer that antidote? Focusing on their benefits can indeed inspire us to think a lot more faster and respond more innovatively to this issue. I will discuss the environmental, social and economic benefits. On the environmental and ecological benefits, cities have become concrete and asphalt jungles. Too much hard-surfaced building and roads, whose density is on the rise day by day. Unlike vegetation that would convert solar energy into food, the built environment traps leading to ecological consequences such as higher temperatures and uncertain rainfall patters. The skyscrapers further reduce wind speeds, hence affecting the ventilation at the city scale and causing undesirable heat island effects. Undoubtedly, public open spaces within a city fabric offer many other ecological benefits. The trees and vegetation further provide shelter and improve air circulation, where as water bodies and fountains provide breezes that help to reduce the fluctuation of temperatures as they absorb a lot of the unwanted heat. Public open spaces further help to alleviate air pollution and noise pollution, which are very common in any city. The increasing natural habitats attract more wildlife promoting biodiversity. On the social and psychological benefits, human beings are said to be gregarious and expected to meet and socialise. Public open space certainly offers such a scene for social cohesion. Scholars have defined public space, as “the stage upon which the drama of communal life unfolds”. It provide citizens a place for different everyday outdoor activities, be it playgrounds for children, picnic areas for families, training fields for sports people, social events for communities, leisure activities for all. Looking at the World Health Organization’s definition of health as ‘a state of complete psychical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’, it becomes more exciting to know that public parks are medicinal! Research has shown that when people are exposed to natural environments, their immunity system can be boosted and their stress levels rapidly reduced. They also contribute to environmental awareness and psychological benefits; research has shown that close access to public open spaces by the community members can reduce the level of violence and crime. On economic benefits, public open spaces have also been said to contribute to economic development though job creation especially for the youth, socialisation leads to more clients and more profits for business within. When public open spaces are successful, the property value of adjacent buildings goes up. As mentioned before, they reduce heat island effects, hence reducing amount of energy consumption and the cost of maintenance at the city level. Pollution control is another benefit as they encourage rainwater harvesting into ponds or water bodies as well as offer grounds for storm water management. Additionally, they promote urban tourism and attract more travellers. Therefore, the provision of akarubanda (public open space) is very important in contemporary urban design and planning and ought to be prioritised amongst all other urban agenda. In the context of the urban change and rapid urbanisation sweeping across cities in the developing world, the physical, social and economic benefits of public open spaces are way too heavy to be ignored. The writer is a lecturer at the school of Architecture, University of Rwanda. An architect and urban designer with keen interest on the dialectical relations between architecture and society.

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As time flies, has 'akarubanda' flown with it?