Local Residents’ Responses to Livelihood Transformation in the Peri-Urban Mwanza City, Tanzania

Laison S. Kaganga

Laison S. Kaganga https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6669-4872

Keywords: Livelihood assets, Local residents, Tanzania, Peri-urban areas, Urbanisation

Abstract

The profound effect of urbanisation in most cities’ peri-urban areas in the global south is the transformation of the livelihoods of local residents through the destruction or creation of livelihood assets. This occurs when urbanisation constrains or enhances the livelihood during the transition from rural to urban monetary economies. This study aims to assess the local residents’ responses to the livelihood transformation brought by urbanisation in the peri-urban Mwanza City, Tanzania. In order to achieve that, the capital assets framework of the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) has been used as an analytical tool to understand peri-urban livelihood. Data was gathered from 155 local residents’ households in the study ward of Buswelu by employing both probability and non-probability techniques. Geographic information systems technologies and remote sensing were employed in the study to identify changes in land use and their implications for livelihood. In-depth interviews, structured interviews, documentary reviews, and field observation were all employed as data collection methods. The findings indicate that the built-up area has expanded by 412%, from 220 to 1,957 hectares, between the years 2000 and 2020. This expansion has been at the cost of other land use, which has eventually affected local peri-urban residents' livelihoods in various ways. Conversely, urbanisation opened up new urban livelihood opportunities for residents in peri-urban areas. Consequently, the local residents responded to the transformation of livelihood by intensifying agriculture and diversifying activities for both farm and non-farm livelihoods, and some herders opted to migrate with their animals to more rural villages. However, the findings exhibit that some of the coping mechanisms helped them improve their livelihoods, while others did not. Additionally, human and financial capital appeared to be of greater relevance in the urban livelihood setting. Thus, a proper understanding of the local residents’ responses to livelihood transformation is of great significance for enhancing their livelihood during the transition from rural to urban life.

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