The Evolution, Formation and Development of Namatala Slum of Mbale Municipality, Uganda

Namatala, is the largest slum in the industrial division of Mbale Municipality in Eastern Uganda, having depicted the strongest patterns of urban infill and sprawl between 2003 and 2013.  The aim of this paper is to assess the evolution, formation, and development of Namatala slum drawing attention to the various challenges in the slum area in order to develop a place-centered approach for considering sustainable development solutions. The study targeted households in the slum area collecting data through observation, survey questionnaires, key stakeholder interviews, and focus group discussions. It was found that Namatala is a significantly disadvantaged location; wrought with poverty, inadequate social amenities, poor housing, lack of solid waste management, lack of essential infrastructure, and inadequate access to clean water, safe sanitation facilities, and security of tenure. This problem is largely attributable to lack of place-specific policy implementation of the national policies and guidelines inappropriate regulation, dysfunctional land markets, unresponsive financial systems, and a fundamental lack of political will. More so, there is absence of the means for public engagement.