ACDP Newsletter February 2015 - "Defining Boundaries" by Braden Swab

designing a world of hope an Association of Christian Design Professionals FEBRUARY 2015

Defining Boundaries: Designing to Minimize Land Insecurity

by Braden Swab, EIT EMI Canada

The history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been one of conflict, violence and war.

In the most recent conflicts, over 50,000 people were killed in the Bunia area of the northeastern Orientale province alone. Towards the end of the fighting, the two quarrelling factions approached the central campus of the University of Bunia on opposite sides. The campus was set to be the final battleground. However, due to the ties that both sides had to the school, the decision was made to avoid damage to the campus and eventually, the first peace agreements were made on the University’s soil.

Our Engineering Ministries International project team stood on this very same soil in February 2014 as we heard the University’s story for the first time. It quickly became apparent that this history continued to play a large part in shaping the ministry leaders’ vision. In fact, it was so integral to their identity that the word “Shalom” was added to the University’s name because of their role in restoring peace to the area. We were serving “l’Université Shalom de Bunia”—the Shalom University of Bunia— as they prepared to expand to a second campus.

Much of the violence in the DR Congo can be traced back, at least in part, to a tumultuous history of land tenure insecurity. The traditional indigenous system mainly involved communal land. Rights to land were granted to peasants in return for tribute payments to tribal chiefs. This established a social order heavily tied to land. While this social stratification could be seen as a downside of the traditional system, it did ensure that most people (if not all) had some rights to land.

This customary land tenure changed during colonialism, when Belgium introduced land registration and private ownership, and declared all vacant lands to be property of the state. Shortly after independence in 1960, this policy was extended to declare all land to be property of the new independent state. Among the results was the common practice of leveraging land for political gain.

The effects of this practice snowballed over time and eventually, access to land and land rights (or lack thereof) became fuel for conflict and compounded poverty in the DR Congo.

As the dust has settled from some of the latest violence in the Bunia area, many of the locals remain sensitive to land issues. Post-war, land is seen by many as “first come first served” and squatters have become a norm. While the government has tried to change this through regulation, the custom of obtaining land in this manner still exists.

The local sensitivity to land insecurity was obvious as our team talked with the development committee at the Shalom University of Bunia. It was clear that our master plan for their largely vacant second campus on the west edge of the city needed to address this problem. The issues involved included: Unclear boundaries and land vacancy The University had already had some of its new land appropriated by neighbors. Without clear boundaries and enforced legal regulation, this land likely can’t be recovered.

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Inadequate housing With population increases and a large amount of land owned by a small number of people, centres such as Bunia experience a lack of access to adequate shelter, especially for those with low incomes.

Food insecurity The conflicts and resulting land insecurity decreased food production, as local farmers were forced to grow food mainly for self-consumption. A lack of food in the marketplace forced many other Congolese to grow their own food where they could. Today many still rely, at least partially, on growing food for selfconsumption.

Reduction of market opportunities Many people in the DR Congo make their living by selling various products in the market. However, due to a lack of affordable space and the commonality of unfair rental contracts with corrupt landlords, becoming a successful entrepreneur can be difficult.

These factors had to be considered in our team’s master plan and appropriately balanced with other design and phasing considerations to ensure security for the University, its staff and its students.

The issue of unclear boundaries and vacant land was the most pressing for the development committee. The University was resistant to building a wall around the entire 100-acre site, largely due to construction costs for a 3.7 km long wall. As an alternative, we recommended that land in the most vulnerable areas be developed first, with buildings around the edges of the site and agricultural land in the middle (rather than separating the agricultural land from the development). A strategically placed guardhouse was also included in the Phase I design.

West Campus Drawing, Phase 1

Next, the new campus needed to include adequate housing for students and staff. Culturally, this meant distinct residences for single men and single women on opposite ends of campus. Student housing was incorporated into the first phase of the project, since occupation can be one of the best forms of ensuring land security. Since the campus is on the west edge of the city, the design also needed to incorporate convenient access to food, recreation and services to maintain student occupation.

Another way of providing culturally adequate housing, while simultaneously addressing the third issue of food insecurity, involved incorporating space around housing to allow students to have their own gardens. By doing this, a greater sense of individual space and security could be created for the students.

The inclusion of personal gardens at the University’s existing campus had already proved to be effective and valuable.

Finally, the inclusion of a commercial area along the north property line was proposed to allow for market opportunities, while helping to subsidize the University through fair and secure rental contracts.

Sometimes, as design professionals, we are limited in the ways we are able to help others overcome poverty. An eMi team does not have the ability to change a government’s policies or a nation’s history. However, we can use design to overcome these challenges on a local level. To do so, we must continue to take issues such as land tenure insecurity into consideration as we design effectively towards a world without poverty.

The ACDP is now the EMI Network.

The EMI Network will be the same collection of faithful design professionals who assist and support the ministry of EMI through donating their time, talent and treasure, but a couple of changes are coming your way. First, is the name change which will identify the group more clearly with EMI. Second, is the newsletter, which is now going to be the EMI Tech Quarterly. Look for the first edition of this technical newsletter in your mailbox this May. Thank You for your continuous support of the ministry of EMI. We greatly appreciate your partnership with us in Designing A World of Hope.