Adaptive Design in Urban Flooding Conditions Case of Dar Es Salaam

Abstract

Flooding hazards in urban areas is a worldwide problem. This is influenced by rapid urbanization, overpopulation, and the demand for a settlement that has exceeded the local housing stock. This leads to people living in an unplanned area that is prone to flooding. In developing countries like Tanzania, flooding has been a challenge to the government and the citizens. The government has opted for the resettlement of citizens from flood areas to safer undeveloped land, but this method seems to fail whereby the residents want to stay in the area because of the opportunities in their daily life and not being prepared for resettlement. Though the residents have tried to reduce the impact of the floods through various methods of landscape design, trench construction, raising foundation, landfill, and constructing retaining walls, nothing has improved as there is always large amounts of water received by streams, rivers, and run-off water that rises above a normal entry-level construction every time the rainy seasons begin. By analyzing several case studies worldwide such as the Netherlands, Nigeria, United Kingdom, and the United States, it has been found that there is the possibility of establishing safe and quality settlements in flood-prone areas that may adapt to the flooding environment by coping with climatic change. This can be successful if design considerations are based on both the built environment and individual building. Therefore, as many flood-prone areas are in urban settings, they have the potential for economic activities, recreation, and even residential use and so it will be worthy to develop them into habitable areas of Dar es Salaam such as Masaki and Posta. The research goal is to have the city remain functional regardless of the season being experienced. To remain functional, the goal is also to encourage the development of advanced infrastructure such as roads and drainage systems that will serve as water channels during rainy seasons.