Ecological planning as an inner-city revitalisation agenda for Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Background: This article examines approaches for integrating ecological thought in inner-city revitalisation with a special focus on the inner-city of Harare. It is an exploration and possible (re-)framing of the garden suburb approach that is strongly rooted in the garden city concept with the aim of enabling the attainment of the City of Harare Vision 2025 that the city leaders and managers have envisioned. Methods: The methods used to collect data included key informant interviews, field surveys and in depth analysis of secondary sources. Results: Past initiatives in seeking to transform the inner-city of Harare into a vibrant environment proved futile with little effect on the face lifting of the critical space. This is partly because just socio-economic planning approaches were adopted. Conclusions: The article concludes that the absence of ecological planning among other factors of finance and political will explain the non-effect of past revitalisation of the inner-city of Harare. Given this explanation, we suggest sustained inner-city revitalisation that conforms ecological planning to the city’s 2025 vision and beyond.