Paper short abstract:

This paper seeks to identify disparities in residential settlement patterns in Kampala and link them to household-dependent constraints in accessing land markets.

Paper long abstract:

Where you live in a city determines the access you have to its resources, since they are unequally distributed in space. Therefore, when moving to/within a city, the choice of where to settle will influence the ease of access to these resources. However, choice of location is often limited by constraints in access to land by how land markets are functioning. Apart from being time and context-specific, how people interact in these land markets is dependent on their socio-economic situation, their social capital and networks at the location, and the information they have available.

Based on survey data of 2483 households along the Hoima and Jinja corridors in Kampala Metropolitan Region, this paper will combine statistical as well as spatial analysis methods to identify disparities in residential settlement patterns according to geographical location, tenure status and residential typology. Based on these observed disparities, an analysis will be carried out to identify potential factors that contribute to a household's residential location choice. They include but are not limited to: household's socio-economic status, previous residential location, reasons for moving, time of last move, condition of the plot on moving, ease of access to the area and available information regarding procedural components in getting access to urban land. To conclude, the (in)justice of identified disparities and unequal access to land markets will be reflected on in the context of rapidly urbanizing cities on the African continent.