Popular Life

The internet has limited content depicting the city of Kampala, however, the information provided is thus suggestive of the popular life in the present-day capital of Uganda.

It is worth noting that most sites begin with a remark of the historical background of Kampala – including the hills and antelope anecdotes from the previous blog – as a grounds for introducing the city today. The city is noted for its mixed composition: evergreen trees, red-tiled villas, green iron-roof bungalows, and taller modern buildings comprise the city of Kampala. Interestingly enough, according to Uganda Tourism, Kampala is revered as the “greenest in Africa.” Not only is it known for this, but it is also respected as the “heart of Uganda,” granted that it is the capital. Furthermore, Kampala serves as the country’s commerce hub.

Diversity seems to be a common thread that is applied not only to the composition of the city, but also to other aspects of the city. For example, websites note that there is a wide range of types of accommodations one can stay at when visiting Kampala. Additionally, sites mention the variety of food establishments scattered throughout the hills of the city.

I found the discussion of the nightlife scene to be quite pertinent to popular culture. It seems as though the old industrial area has more nightspots and clubs, although bars seem to be spread out around the city. The five casinos indicate that quite the entertainment establishments are represented throughout the city.

Given this vibrant social and commercial environment that Kampala creates, I chose to explore the Garden City Shopping and Leisure Center more closely. Described as a “modern complex housing almost everything,” this place contains a great variety of shops. In addition to the shops, Garden City offers Pay TV on the first floor, which allows Kampalans quite the luxury of Digital Satellite Television if they choose to purchase this. At the complex, visitors can buy crafts and gift items, books, leather products, photography accessories, and Woolworths. Ugandan banks, salons, and optics are also a part of the complex. This complex is located on the eastern side of the city, east of Nakasero Hill, near a golf course.

Websites consulted:

http://www.ugandatourism.org/Kampala.php

http://www.ugandaonline.net

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/uganda/kampala

http://www.kampala-city-guide.com/

http://www.ugandatouristguide.com/uganda-safari-guide/kampala-city-guide.html

Identity and the City

An interesting fusion of folklore and historical facts form the history of Kampala. Folk legend has it that present-day Kampala was comprised mainly of swamps and hills, thus creating the ideal habitat for “Impala” – a slender, gazelle-like type of antelope – and other types of antelopes. It is said that these large mammals grazed on the slopes of the hills and drank water from the swamps. Because of this lively environment, the king – known as the ‘Kabaka’ – of Buganda had his palace on this landscape. Consequently, this area was converted into his hunting grounds.

1890 marks the amalgamation of folklore and history, as the British Empire builders arrived to this area. Because “Impala” was actually the British term for the specific antelope family, the area was commonly referred to as the “hill of the Impala.” In Luganda, “hill of the Impala” was translated to be “kasozi k’empala” – as kasozi means hill - and ultimately “kampala.” The term “hill of the Impala” was a direct reference to one hill.

In 1890, this particular hill was the one that Captain Fredrick Lugard of the Imperial British East African Company was victorious at. This hill became the administrative headquarters of the Imperial British East African Company (IBEAC) until 1894, when the administrative headquarters of the IBEAC moved to Entebbe. Today, this hill has been dubbed Old K’la.

After the signing of the Buganda Agreement in 1900, formal British annexation took place. In 1950, Kampala got its first mayor. It was not until 1962, post-independence, that Kampala became the official capital of Uganda. And, at this time, the 19 square kilometers that composed Old K’la had expanded to seven hills. The names of these seven hills are Mengo, Rubaga, Namirembe, Makerere, Kololo, Nakasero, and Kampala (Old K'la).

The history of this city name thus reflects the British occupation of this land during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. An interesting mix of English and Luganda ultimately led to the name of Kampala. Additionally, the prominence and importance of hills in both the folk and historical accounts are quite noteworthy. Even today, hills are closely tied to the city of Kampala and its identity.

Theorizing the African City

The capital of Uganda, Kampala is the country’s largest city. Comprised of five different boroughs – Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division, the city is also referred to as Kampala District.

Located northwest of Murchison Bay, the city is located quite centrally within Uganda. The city itself spans 73 square miles – 68 of which are land and 5 of which are water. It is elevated at roughly 4,000 feet.

Approximately 1.65 million Ugandans call Kampala home. Kampala also houses Makerere University, the East African Development Bank headquarters, the Uganda Museum, the Ugandan National Theatre, the Nakasero Market, and St. Balikuddembe Market.

In the 1675 Map, Kampala is directly on a latitude line. It is near Amara Mons, Agola, and Fungi.

In the 1770 Map (shown above), it is again directly on the same latitude line, and there is a block of text

nearby as opposed to other cities or important landmark notations.

In terms of the Malaria distribution, it is entirely dark blue as represented by the Malaria MARA map. This suggests that there is quite a high frequency of malaria in Kampala.

It appears as though Kampala’s city center, and the avenues that stem from it, form somewhat of a boomerang and Y as noted in the picture above.

The five layers of AfricaMap that I selected to explore were Ethnicity, Economy Agriculture Crop Type, Population Growth Rate, 1000 CE, and religion by ethnicity.

The Ethnicity map indicates one type of ethnicity throughout Kampala – Ganda – which is also associated with the Bantu family (recall Bantu is the primary language in Uganda). Given Ganda’s similarity to the country’s name, this is the prevalent ethnicity throughout most of Uganda.

The Economy Agriculture Crop Type map shows that Kampala, like Uganda, focuses on a tree fruit agricultural economy. This also illuminates the idea that Kampala is a lush environment given the combination of trees and proximity to water.

The Population Growth Rate map, based on the World Census from 2000 suggests that Kampala grows at the same rate as the rest of Uganda – a high 2.77 – 5.84%.

The 1000 CE map shows that Kampala fell in the San category during this time period.

Lastly, the Religion by ethnicity map displays the religious diversity found in Kampala. It appears that Christianity, represented by the pink dots, is quite prominent. Nonetheless, Ethnic Religions (blue) and Islam (green) are also in the mix.

History of African Urbanism - AfricaMapping

AfricaMap is a wonderful resource that offers much insight about different geographical and historical elements. I looked at the diverse set of languages, environmental features, and population densities that comprise the African continent. In particular, I focused on these characteristics as they pertained to Egypt, South Africa, Madagascar, and - the country that is home to my African City of Kampala - Uganda.


The first layer I explored was that of language; AfricaMap represents 35 different languages. As expected, given the distance between the four countries I selected, there is some disparity between the languages spoken in these different areas. A goldish yellow indicates that Semitic: Arab & Bedouin is spoken in Egypt. Maroon and lime green suggest that in South Africa, San and Bantu are spoken. A melon color shows that Malagasy is spoken in Madagascar. Lastly, Bantu is also spoken in Uganda.
Secondly, I analyzed the environment of Africa by means of its major rivers and surficial geology. It is clear that the Nile River plays an important role in Egypt's environment. Given the Nile's prominent part in Egypt's environment, the surrounding areas are quite low, making sense of the notion that they are river basins. The map shows that South Africa has a river (of 0.0 - 0.5), indicating its narrow nature, which runs from west to east. Madagascar is an island country, and as such, its elevation around its perimeter is quite low relative to the central part. Madagascar is barren of rivers, which makes sense given its location in between the Mozambique Channel and the Indian Ocean. Finally, Uganda has a small river (again 0.0-0.5 according to the map legend) that ends in Lake Victoria, which is located southeast of Kampala.
Lastly, I considered the population density of these different countries. I was not shocked to find that the areas surrounding the Nile River were the most populated areas in Egypt. Historically the Nile has been a key artery for the African continent, so it makes sense that high concentrations of people would be found in this area. Secondly, I found that the eastern part of South Africa was more densely populated than the rest of the country. Furthermore, the cities of Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town - all cities on the coastline - had much higher populations than the rest of the country. In contrast, the central part of Madagascar was its most populated area. The part of the country near Antananavo and down was its most dense area. Lastly, Uganda was pretty evenly populated - and quite highly populated at that. I speculate that this could perhaps be given its proximity to Lake Victoria.