Types of Land Use in Rwanda free essay sample

Economics is dedicated to the study of land use, natural resources, public utilities, housing, and urban land issues. Land use is also often used to refer to the distinct land use types in zoning. Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It also has been defined as the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover type to produce Types of the various land uses in Rwanda are: Residential Land Use This land use is where people live (houses, apartment buildings) and the following table show the distribution of land per household by province 2006 Gitarama ,butare,gikongoro,are now southern province and cyangungu , kibuye, Gisenyi,are Western Ruhengeri , Byumba are northen. while umutara and kibungo are eastern province now. 2. Institutional Land Use These are Government related (schools, town hall, police station) Rwanda use its land for education purses, like an example where high institution are located, universities, primary school and different institutional buildings. These use have interest to the citizens. 3. Recreational Land Use These are land for fun, entertainment purposes (parks, bowling place) like examples of national and regional stadium, recreational area , and different youth center for leisure like kimisagara youth center Gatenga , national museum . national park etc 4. Open/ Vacant Space Land Use these are Empty land public garden land use like premature public garden , MINADEF public garden etc. and some private vacant (plot) which are waiting for a development. Commercial Land Use places to do with [making] money (stores, banks) those places are example CBD (central business district) located in a city center and there are some commercial zone like KISIMENTI , REMERA , and other place used to carry out commercial activities like different market , etc 6. Industrial Land Use These are working places that help industry (factories) to function and those are manufacturing place for product . Rwanda uses its land for industrial purposes those land are located in gikondo industrial area and according to the master plan this industrial area is going to move in masaka. . Agricultural Land Use Land used to grow food etc. (farmland) The state of land use and agricultural development in Rwanda Arable land Rwanda is a small country with an area of 26,336 km2. The total arable land is about 1. 4 million hectares, which is 52 per cent of the total surface area of the country. However the actual area cultivated has exceeded 1. 6 million ha in recent yea rs. Another 0. 47 million ha is under permanent pasture, so well over 70 per cent of the country’s total land surface is exploited for agriculture (ROR 2008). Rwanda has about 165,000 ha of marshlands of which 93,754 ha (57 per cent) have been cultivated. However, only 5,000 ha have been developed and can be cultivated throughout the year while the rest are arbitrarily cultivated by peasants grouped in organizations or by cooperatives without any technical study (ROR 2008). 8. Transportation Land Use -these are land to do with transport (bus stops, roads) ] like nyabugogo , Remera bus station and different road . 9. Government Land Use These are like institutional and other government related building examples are ministries , district , provinces headquarters ,etc. LAND USE PATTERNS IN KIGALI Land-use pattern in Kigali The pattern found in the way the traces of hominid activities are distributed across the landscape LAND USE PATTERNS The origin and functions of settlement differ. We shall take a brief look at the different types of land use in KIGALI CITY. Kigali city has some densely populated areas. These include areas such as biryogo , muhima ,nyamirambo , kimisagara, gatsata and gikondo . On the other hand there are certain parts of the city where the population are very sparse. Like gahanga , north part of gisozi ,bumbogo , kinyinya, ..? In some of these country towns the population is in fact decreasing. This is partly due to the depopulation of the rural areas, resulting from the pulling and pushing factors that we have already studied. 1. Different land use zones in Kigali city if we study its map, it becomes clear that not all the land is used for the same purposes. There are various functions to be fulfilled in any particular town or city, and these take place in different areas. Industries, for example, are usually found on the outskirts of a city, while the head offices of large organizations are likely to be in the central business district. As any city has different needs, there are different kinds of businesses, institutions or persons to supply in these needs. Just think of sport for a moment. Which amenities in your area cater for sport? Cities also have many other functions. Let’s have a look at some typical land use zones in the city: 1. 1 Central Business District (CBD) The Central Business District is the heart of any city and its function is commercial. All cities have such an area. The location of the CBD usually offers easy access to all the main traffic routes. The price of land in the Central Business District is usually exceptionally high, so that most buildings in this area are very tall. In the course of time, as the city expands, the CBD of any given city may move to a new location. In Port Elizabeth for example, the CBD was once close to the harbour. The area has since moved to Cape Road, which is further away from die original CBD. . 2 WholesalersWholesalers supply goods to retailers. The public cannot buy directly from the wholesalers. They only supply stock to the smaller shops. Wholesalers usually have larger businesses with ample storage space. The products are stored on ordinary shelves, with very little attention to advertising, display and decoration. Flats and lower status housing zone This zone is usually distinguished by blocks of flats or smaller houses on small plots. Think of Hill brow in Johannesburg, for example. The buildings might sometimes appear old and dilapidated, giving the area a lower status. In earlier days these neighborhoods usually enjoyed a higher status. With the development of other neighborhoods with newer houses, many residents moved out. Now the original flats or houses are inhabited by people with a lower income. This is the reason why the zone is called a transition area. 1. 4 Medium-status housing zone Residents living in this zone usually fall in the middle-income group. This means that they earn more than those who make use of lower-status housing. However, these people still prefer to live near the workplace. 1. 5 High-status housing zone This zone is usually found on the fringe of the city. It consists of big houses on large plots. Sometimes the plots are big enough so that the owners can keep horses and other animals. The residents fall in the high-income bracket. They find it more important to live in attractive, peaceful surroundings than close to work. Time spent on travelling is of no consequence. 1. 6 Large industries Large industries are also found outside the city boundaries. Mostly this is because industries need larger premises, and they are not located near residential areas due to factors such as possible noise and air pollution. Land is also cheaper on the outskirts of the city, while also occur, these tend to decrease, making way offering more land for future expansion. 1. 7 Rural-urban Seam The rural-urban seam is a zone where urban land use is slowly encroaching on the area. Initially it forms the border between urban and rural areas. Although rural activities such as dairy farming may still for other types of land use.