Urban Design Characteristics that Influence Human Activities in Swahili Streets: The Case of Old Town Mombasa

Abstract

The study aims at establishing the urban design problems along Ndia Kuu, ahistoric street located within the conservation ar ea of the Old Town of Mombasa.A case study approach is used to identify the urban design elements that havebeen incorporated within the historic Stone Town of Zanzibar and the historicCity of Chandigarh. The elements studied include the historical backg round andurban design characteristics such as building functions, building height,vegetation, material use, the nodes, the paths, the edges and the landmarks. Anurban design proposal is formulated in form of design recommendations andconclusions based on the established urban design problems along Ndia Kuu andin view of incorporating the conclusions arrived at in Part I of this thesis.The study therefore proposes the re -organisation of circulation patterns, the re -organisation of nodes and the empha sis of existing landmarks in order to solve theproblems established. Specific urban elements established in Part I of this thesis,such as the width of the Street, the average building height, number of columnsper meter and height of windows from the fl oor have been incorporated in thedesign proposal to enhance the characteristics of the spaces. The urban designproposal recognizes the existing attributes such as the historical context, thelandmarks and the Swahili culture as a way of creating a more s ustainable urbanenvironment.