Before I begin, I know one of the assignments this week was to rectify more of your maps. Fortunately for me, I only have one more map left! Unfortunately, this map is the absolute hardest map to rectify yet. It has barely any formal structures on it or roads, leaving me completely lost. I have already found the location, but when I rectify it, it warps the map pretty badly. The map is below, and you can see how difficult it is to rectify.
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| My last map |
Anyways, the informal of Kigali is mostly represented in its settlements and markets. Kigali, with its massive population explosion, has had to adapt over the years. The formal city was not able to keep up with the infrastructure needed in Kigali and thus, many residential settlements arose. In addition, many roads, most of which are just dirt, lead into these communities. Along with the many residents that have moved to the city, so has the informal economy. The informal economy has definitely adapted to accommodate the large number of people. The local markets are definitely vibrant and sell mostly anything you need. Here are some images of settlements and markets, contrasted with that of the formal.
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| Dirt road, many of which are not listed on maps or Google Earth |
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| A market in Kigali. This is the classic informal market, the hub of the informal economy. |
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| Informal settlements in Kigali. |
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| New houses that continue to spring up everywhere in Kigali, as the country gets richer. |
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| A Nakumatt, one of the largest supermarket chains in Kigali. |
All these images starkly contrast each other, and are prime examples of the active informal sector in Kigali. My favorite depiction of the informal is always the market. Looking at the street vendors and open markets versus the Nakumatt is just amazing. It's truly one of the most obvious contrasts between the informal and the formal.
As we know, Kigali is constantly looking to the future. And interesting enough, on the city website (http://www.kigalicity.gov.rw/spip.php?article494), there is an article about the city's "Master Plan." In the article, they often talk about the informal sector and the informal economy "upgrading" and developing into more of a formal market. They talk about the informal as the past, as something negative, and look to the formal sectors for the future. This is a normal sentiment in many African countries, especially those looking to become more Western (in particular, their economy). As Rwanda demands more and more taxes to fund its development, the informal market will surely shrink. However, as the rich gets richer and the poor get poorer, the informal market may in fact flourish.
Lastly, I leave this blogpost with images from AfricaMap of some informal and formal areas. The formal is mostly concentrated in the city center while the informal grows outward.
The map above is something I made really roughly. I'm still trying to figure out the whole polygon thing, but this was just a little example of the informal formal. Obviously, I did not do it in quite the detail. But the green is the formal, and the largest block is the financial district, political center, and where the wealthy live. In the north, there is a large golf course, surrounded by wealthier communities. The long rectangle is the airport. The red is the informal. The informal looks expansive, even though it may not be. The are around the airport however, is a very very large informal community. As you drive from the airport, you can see most of the poorer communities. As you get to the center, the informal begins to fade and the formal takes over. Nevertheless, I just thought making this map would be fun and interesting, even though it is quite poorly made. I did not realize how difficult its as to make accurate polygons! Who knew!
