IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v109y2021ics0264837721004348.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Armed conflict and cross-border asymmetries in urban development: A contextualized spatial analysis of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gisenyi, Rwanda

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa, Pech
  • Christian, Levers
  • Karen, Büscher
  • Blake, Walker

Abstract

Armed conflicts often cause significant structural disturbance and modification to urban areas. These manifest as changes to the built environment either through destruction and diminution of built area or through an increase in extent and the number of buildings. The magnitude of conflict-induced displacement and migration are dependent upon a range of socio-political factors, resulting in variabilities in conflict-induced urban growth. Border cities provide a valuable setting to compare these variations, as they share geographical and cultural similarities, enabling comparative analysis of the conditions leading to divergent trajectories. This study examines the effects of armed inter- and intra-state conflict on urban spatial development both within and across national borders, focusing on the proximal cities of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Gisenyi, Rwanda, between 1989 and 2014 (due to the availability of cloud-free satellite imagery). We conducted a visual analysis of high- to very high-resolution satellite imagery to map spatial development (both urban extent and individual buildings) for both cities. Based on this analysis, we then conducted site visits and interviews, through which underlying drivers of urban development pathways were identified and initial steps were made to disentangle conflict- and non-conflict drivers, as not all urban changes and differences are related to the presence or absence of armed conflict. These are situated in different phases of armed conflict in the region, the governance of their repercussions (or lack thereof), and the complex interdependencies between the two cities. Our analysis revealed remarkable differences in spatial development and urban morphology. While Goma’s urban area expands and densifies, Gisenyi's spatial extent remains relatively stable. Stakeholders on the ground identified armed conflict, linked population flows including internal and cross-border forced displacements, as well as differences in handling conflict-repercussions between the states as underlying drivers of the observed spatial changes. This study thus provides detailed evidence on the processes and drivers implicit in urban development and change in cross-border cities, their similarities, differences, and interdependencies, with a particular focus on armed conflicts’ domestic and cross-border effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa, Pech & Christian, Levers & Karen, Büscher & Blake, Walker, 2021. "Armed conflict and cross-border asymmetries in urban development: A contextualized spatial analysis of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gisenyi, Rwanda," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:109:y:2021:i:c:s0264837721004348
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105711
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837721004348
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105711?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Isabella Soi & Paul Nugent, 2017. "Peripheral Urbanism in Africa: Border Towns and Twin Towns in Africa," Journal of Borderlands Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 535-556, October.
    2. Huggins, Chris, 2017. "Agricultural Reform in Rwanda," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9781786990006, Febrero.
    3. An Ansoms & Donatella Rostagno, 2012. "Rwanda's Vision 2020 halfway through: what the eye does not see," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(133), pages 427-450, September.
    4. Birch, Colin P.D. & Oom, Sander P. & Beecham, Jonathan A., 2007. "Rectangular and hexagonal grids used for observation, experiment and simulation in ecology," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 206(3), pages 347-359.
    5. De Herdt, Tom & Olivier de Sardan, Jean-Pierre, 2015. "Real governance and practical norms in Sub-Saharan Africa: the game of the rules," IOB Analyses & Policy Briefs 15, Universiteit Antwerpen, Institute of Development Policy (IOB).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. David Bilungule Bakamana, 2021. "Culture of war, instability and sustained contemporary conflicts across African states," Bussecon Review of Social Sciences (2687-2285), Bussecon International Academy, vol. 3(1), pages 28-35, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Denis Maragno & Michele Dalla Fontana & Francesco Musco, 2020. "Mapping Heat Stress Vulnerability and Risk Assessment at the Neighborhood Scale to Drive Urban Adaptation Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, February.
    2. Kim, Suji & Lee, Sujin & Ko, Eunjeong & Jang, Kitae & Yeo, Jiho, 2021. "Changes in car and bus usage amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Relationship with land use and land price," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    3. Devon E.A. Curtis, 2015. "Development assistance and the lasting legacies of rebellion in Burundi and Rwanda," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(7), pages 1365-1381, July.
    4. Carlos Moreno‐Jaimes, 2022. "Indulgent citizens: Bribery in Mexico's bureaucratic procedures," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(3), pages 190-208, August.
    5. Pacheco de Castro Flores Ribeiro, Paulo & Osório de Barros de Lima e Santos, José Manuel & Prudêncio Rafael Canadas, Maria João & Contente de Vinha Novais, Ana Maria & Ribeiro Ferraria Moreira, Franci, 2021. "Explaining farming systems spatial patterns: A farm-level choice model based on socioeconomic and biophysical drivers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    6. Dr. RWABUTOGO ZOGEYE Marcel (PhD) & Dr. Benard Nuwatuhaire (PhD), 2020. "Effect of Performance contract “Imihigo†on Socio-Economic Development in Rwanda. Gakenke District," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 4(6), pages 717-723, June.
    7. Francesca Peroni & Guglielmo Pristeri & Daniele Codato & Salvatore Eugenio Pappalardo & Massimo De Marchi, 2019. "Biotope Area Factor: An Ecological Urban Index to Geovisualize Soil Sealing in Padua, Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Jue Wang & Mei-Po Kwan & Yanwei Chai, 2018. "An Innovative Context-Based Crystal-Growth Activity Space Method for Environmental Exposure Assessment: A Study Using GIS and GPS Trajectory Data Collected in Chicago," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-24, April.
    9. Oliveira, Renata Lúcia Magalhães de & Dablanc, Laetitia & Schorung, Matthieu, 2022. "Changes in warehouse spatial patterns and rental prices: Are they related? Exploring the case of US metropolitan areas," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    10. Sungsoo Yoon & Youngjoo Moon & Jinah Jeong & Chan-Ryul Park & Wanmo Kang, 2021. "A Network-Based Approach for Reducing Pedestrian Exposure to PM 2.5 Induced by Road Traffic in Seoul," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, October.
    11. Christopher T. Emrich & Yao Zhou & Sanam K. Aksha & Herbert E. Longenecker, 2022. "Creating a Nationwide Composite Hazard Index Using Empirically Based Threat Assessment Approaches Applied to Open Geospatial Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-25, February.
    12. Boura, Georgia & Ferguson, Neil S., 2024. "Incorporating geographic interdependencies into the resilience assessment of multimodal public transport networks," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    13. Pritish Behuria & Tom Goodfellow, 2016. "The political settlement and ‘deals environment’ in Rwanda: Unpacking two decades of economic growth," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-057-16, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    14. Maria Fabrizia Clemente, 2022. "The Future Impacts of ESL Events in Euro-Mediterranean Coastal Cities: The Coast-RiskBySea Model to Assess the Potential Economic Damages in Naples, Marseille and Barcelona," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    15. Sui Zhang & Minghao Wang & Zhao Yang & Baolei Zhang, 2021. "A Novel Predictor for Micro-Scale COVID-19 Risk Modeling: An Empirical Study from a Spatiotemporal Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-16, December.
    16. Ryzhkov, Alexander & Sarzhan, Yuliya, 2020. "Market initiative and central planning: A study of the Moscow bus network," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    17. Marchetti, Yuliya & Nguyen, Hai & Braverman, Amy & Cressie, Noel, 2018. "Spatial data compression via adaptive dispersion clustering," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 138-153.
    18. Shakirah Esmail Hudani, 2020. "The Green Masterplan: Crisis, State Transition and Urban Transformation in Post‐Genocide Rwanda," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 673-690, July.
    19. Pritish Behuria, 2019. "The comparative political economy of plastic bag bans in East Africa: why implementation has varied in Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 372019, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    20. Rafael Hologa & Nils Riach, 2020. "Approaching Bike Hazards via Crowdsourcing of Volunteered Geographic Information," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-14, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:109:y:2021:i:c:s0264837721004348. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.