Paper short abstract:

The city of Kigali aspires to be an African centre of urban excellence. The infra-space production is contested due to the shortage of land which in most cases requires the relocation of urban dwellers in favour of urban infrastructure development.

Paper long abstract:

The unprecedented urbanization in the city of Kigali involves the production of urban infrastructure to unlock the city’s inaccessibility and (re)order the city’s planning through its mammoth plan and zoning regulations. Despite the necessity of these urban infrastructures, their production has merely been based on the availability of land which involves expropriation as a result of the public land shortage. The acquired land is solely reserved for urban infrastructure which then inhibits the production of spaces all along infrastructures. This study assesses the connection between urban infrastructure development and space production within the city of Kigali in the newly developed road network and drainage system under the informal settlement upgrading project in the former unplanned neighbourhood close to the Central Business District ( CBD). Through field observation and interviews, the study concentrates on the people’s perspectives, the existing situation and the future of city planning to harness urban spaces’ role in city development.