Greening the real estate through sustainable housing development practices in Kigali city, Rwanda
Abstract
Rwanda has one of the highest densities of population in the world making sustainable
housing an important aspect of national development. In its capital Kigali, challenges of
scarce land resources and a growing population make sustainable housing one of the most
important considerations for the 21st Century. The main objective of this study was to
investigate existing practices promoting sustainable housing development in Kigali City. The
specific objectives were to map the roles of key stakeholders involved in housing
development sector in Kigali City, to determine activities being pursued by stakeholders to
green the housing sector and to assess the gaps that need interventions to increase uptake of
sustainable housing development. The study applied a survey (cross-sectional) research
design to collect primary data from a systematic random sample of 92 households drawn
from the three Districts of Kigali City. Actual data collection used a semi-structured
questionnaire to capture data from household heads. Key informant interviews, focus group
discussions and observation were applied to obtain first-hand data from selected respondents
and to complement questionnaire data. Secondary data were collected from official
government documents, international reports and scientific publications. Questionnaire data
were analyzed with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software
while data from interviews were analysed using stakeholder analysis and content analysis
methods. The results show that key stakeholders in housing sector development in Kigali City
were public sector agencies, private sector, civil society, academia and end users. Activities
for promoting sustainable housing in Kigali City included green design of houses to
maximise the use of natural lighting and ventilation, efficient use of energy, adoption of solar
energy as an alternative, harvesting of rainwater to reduce usage of piped water and location
of houses to lower the risk from natural hazards and promote safety of occupants. A Chisquare
test revealed significant relationships between income and existing practices
promoting sustainable housing development. A lack of mainstreaming of the concept of
sustainability in the housing sector, limited financial resources, widespread inexperience in
sustainable housing design and a weak regulatory framework on sustainable housing are the
main barriers hindering sustainable housing development in Kigali City. The study concludes
that stakeholders have adopted several activities for greening the housing development sector
but recommends a removal of existing barriers in order to accelerate sustainable development
in Kigali‟s housing sector
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Description
Thesis