Assessment of Land Use Development Pattern on Settlements along Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridor in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania

Abstract

This paper presents the impacts of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on land uses of adjacent settlements. The study was conducted in Manzese ward, Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania. The primary objective was to quantify the rate of land use change influenced by BRT system on neighbouring settlements. Residential land uses have transformed to commercial perse and mixture of commercial-residentials and institutions. Mainly the changed lands are dominated by whole and retail shops, bars and restaurants, banks, bus yards, petrol stations and local markets. Some premises have converted to private and public offices, dispensaries and parking lots. Data were collected through cross-sectional random sampling, and about 199 households were interviewed. Quantum-GIS package and Statistical analysis tools such as ANOVA, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Euclidean distance metrics were applied to analyse the data. Results indicated a significant transformation in land uses. About 30% of residential houses have converted to commercial multi-story buildings accommodating commercial activities and offices in the ground and first floors and residential apartments in the top-most floors. Land values along the BRT corridor have increased by 108.3%, rising from TZS 301,860 (USD 116) per square meter in 2014 up to TZS 628,875 (USD 242) per square meter in 2024. On the other hand, about 97.48% of the land use patterns along the BRT have reduced residential premised but erecting the mixed-use properties. The growth of multi-story buildings rose by 20% over five years, indicating increased demand for housing near transit. This research highlights the need for equitable urban planning policies to guide and control land use changes on settlement development along the BRT corridor to ensure its sustainability.