Productive and Functional Upgrading Stratagems on the Bamenda Commercial Centre for a Sustainable Urban Development of the City
Abstract
The Bamenda commercial centre does not only act as the city’s heartbeat but also as its financial pool. Unfortunately, the commercial centre is neither planned nor developed as expected as traffic congestion, make-shift infrastructure, poor waste disposal, and insecurity are identified. This article divulges that productive and functional strategies are incumbent if development is to be controlled, managed and sustainable in the Bamenda commercial centre. Some 120 questionnaires were administered to stable and unstable traders, bike riders, taxi men, bankers and other business owners who frequent the area on daily basis. ArcGIS 10.0 and AutoCAD Map 3D soft wares were used in the production of maps in this work. In-depth research documentation was done to gather information used for results and analyses. Results from findings propound that the state of housing in the commercial centre is sub-standard and anarchical. Close to 82% of houses are built with temporary materials such as wood, earth blocks and corrugated iron sheets. The commercial centre is reputed for the high tonnage of waste it produces daily especially around the markets but has only six garbage cans. The main and food markets have little or no parking space for buyers and congestion along access streets leads to accidents. The existing infrastructure is poorly maintained and managed with just 50% of roads in the centre tarred. The article recommends that a complete upgrading of the Bamenda commercial centre will not only benefit the municipal council, but will as well render the development of the city sustainable.
Keywords: Urban upgrading, planned commercial centre, sustainable development, urban anarchy, Bamenda city
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