Urban Decay and the Resilience Factor in Bulawayo’s Downtown Precinc

Abstract

This paper provides an assessment of the impacts that urban decay has on the various urban activities and subsequently on the resilience of cities. This is against the background that despite being a matter of public concern for many years, urban decay has not been given enough attention in Zimbabwe’s urban planning and management platforms, yet its impacts affect the social and economic activities of cities and is central to their resilience. By definition, urban decay describes a condition of observable indicators of the physical deterioration of the built environment that end up attracting crime, vandalism and pollution. This usually results in the decline of social and economic activities as more and more businesses relocate to more prosperous areas where infrastructure and services are adequate and development opportunities exist. The implications of urban decline to urban resilience are that the economic and social systems of a city may not be able to return to or to surpass equilibrium after experiencing stresses and/ or shocks. The research adopted a mixed- methods approach, using primary and secondary data sources, making use of questionnaires, observation, key informant interviews and document analysis to gather data from the public, property owners, business operators and selected participants from central and local government. Findings reveal that the major indicators of urban decay in the downtown area of Bulawayo are segregation, crime and disorder, infrastructural dilapidation, building obsolescence and poor solid waste management. Conclusions were made that urban decay affects economic and social activities as well as the environment negatively, making it difficult for cities to recover after shocks and stresses as opportunities for businesses and employment are lost. Therefore, it is recommended that areas that are experiencing decay be transformed by way of regeneration, redevelopment or revitalisation to ensure that economic and social activities are at least maintained and enable resilience.