Participatory Retrofitting Through Extended Planners in Tanzanian Urban Areas

The global endeavour to develop inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and human settlements is paramount. Land use conflicts in urban areas persist as a critical issue among stakeholders in contemporary urban development discourse. This article examines the effectiveness of local mediation strategies in resolving land use conflicts within East African cities’ rapidly expanding metropolitan areas. It focuses explicitly on community-based leaders, referred to as “extended planners,” who foster sustainable communities through their involvement in conflict mediation. Unlike municipal authorities, whose responses can be slow, these grassroots leaders promptly engage in mediation efforts, demonstrating their critical role in urban land management. Through an ethnographic approach to data collection and analysis using the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), this study highlights the significant influence that extended planners have on conflict resolution and the improvement of community welfare. The findings indicate that residents generally report land use conflicts to the Mtaa Government Office, where mediation sessions are conducted. The grassroots leaders, acting as the primary mediators, facilitate these sessions with the conflicting parties and relevant stakeholders, utilising traditional methods and established mediation protocols. The study underscores the diverse roles of different actors in the mediation process, with grassroots (Mtaa) leaders mainly overseeing it. It concludes with a call for empowering these leaders with essential knowledge in urban planning and conflict resolution skills to increase the mediation sessions’ effectiveness.