Place Centered Social-Economic, Cultural and Environmental Influence in the Making of Namatala Slums in Mbale Municipality, Uganda

The increase in the levels of urbanization and congestion in cities like Mbale can be attributed to the lack of proper policies and planning to regulating or managing the socio-economic and environmental factors that otherwise exacerbate occurrence of slums. In this paper focus is drawn on these factors which are thought to have largely influenced formation of Namatala slum in Mbale Municipality. While this slum exhibits the challenges presented by typical most African slums, this study argues that linkages between the social, economic, environmental, and cultural dimensions of Namatala slum formed the basis of understanding the challenges particular to its populace. The study used mixed methods research design that entailed collection of data through household survey questionnaires, key stakeholder interviews and focus group discussions. The study established that Namatala is a significantly disadvantaged location, wrought with poverty, inadequate social amenities, poor housing, lack of solid waste management, lack of essential infrastructure, and inadequate access to clean water, safe sanitation facilities and security of tenure. This problem can be attributed to a lack of place-specific policy implementation of the national policies and guidelines as well as lack of intervention by the government, inappropriate regulation, dysfunctional land markets, unresponsive financial systems, and a fundamental lack of political will.