[ Effets de la dynamique urbaine d’une ville subsaharienne: Cas des limites de Mbujimayi en République Démocratique du Congo ]
Volume 77, Issue 2, March 2025, Pages 236–247
Pierre Mpoyi Ndolo Loy1, Donatien Bukome Itongwa2, and John Tshibangu Wa Ilunga3
1 Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Mbujimayi, Mbujimayi, 682 Kasaï-Oriental, RD Congo
2 Department de Géographie et Sciences de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, 1825 Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
3 Department de Géographie et Sciences de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, 1825 Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2025 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Mbujimayi, a post-colonial city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is experiencing urbanization characterized by the absence of forward-looking planning, which has led to land speculation and the anarchic occupation of urban space. This article proposes to analyze the urban dynamics of the 1950 and 1960 urban space (between 1950 and 1960) and the spontaneous space, more than 60 years after its independence (from 1960 to 2020). The unprecedented population growth of Mbujimayi from 21875 inhabitants in 1950 to 3490211 inhabitants in 2020, mainly following the repression of the Shaba (Katanga) to the Kasai of the Baluba – Lubilanji and other ethnic groups in 1992, has caused the total consumption of the base of the Mbujimayi area with an overflow of the area. The latter has reached 145.80 km2 in fact, including 106.86 km2 of legal area. Thus, the extension of the city of Mbujimayi blocked by the natural limits (the rivers Muya in the north, Kanshi in the south and Mbuji-Mayi in the east) was built only in its western part, in the commune of Bipemba. It has created two boundaries, one legal which remains immutable, and the other de facto which is mutable in the Mulenda and Mukumbi sectors of the territory of Lupatapata. The coexistence of these two boundaries legally creates a biased situation in the delimitation of this city.
Author Keywords: urban dynamics, limits, postcolonial cities.
Volume 77, Issue 2, March 2025, Pages 236–247
Pierre Mpoyi Ndolo Loy1, Donatien Bukome Itongwa2, and John Tshibangu Wa Ilunga3
1 Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Mbujimayi, Mbujimayi, 682 Kasaï-Oriental, RD Congo
2 Department de Géographie et Sciences de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, 1825 Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
3 Department de Géographie et Sciences de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Université de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, 1825 Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2025 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Mbujimayi, a post-colonial city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is experiencing urbanization characterized by the absence of forward-looking planning, which has led to land speculation and the anarchic occupation of urban space. This article proposes to analyze the urban dynamics of the 1950 and 1960 urban space (between 1950 and 1960) and the spontaneous space, more than 60 years after its independence (from 1960 to 2020). The unprecedented population growth of Mbujimayi from 21875 inhabitants in 1950 to 3490211 inhabitants in 2020, mainly following the repression of the Shaba (Katanga) to the Kasai of the Baluba – Lubilanji and other ethnic groups in 1992, has caused the total consumption of the base of the Mbujimayi area with an overflow of the area. The latter has reached 145.80 km2 in fact, including 106.86 km2 of legal area. Thus, the extension of the city of Mbujimayi blocked by the natural limits (the rivers Muya in the north, Kanshi in the south and Mbuji-Mayi in the east) was built only in its western part, in the commune of Bipemba. It has created two boundaries, one legal which remains immutable, and the other de facto which is mutable in the Mulenda and Mukumbi sectors of the territory of Lupatapata. The coexistence of these two boundaries legally creates a biased situation in the delimitation of this city.
Author Keywords: urban dynamics, limits, postcolonial cities.
Abstract: (french)
Mbujimayi, ville postcoloniale de la République Démocratique du Congo connaît une urbanisation caractérisée par l’absence d’une planification prévisionnelle qui a conduit à une spéculation foncière et l’occupation anarchique de l’espace urbain. Cet article se propose d’analyser la dynamique urbaine depuis l’apparition de l’espace urbain planifié (entre 1950 et 1960) et de l’espace spontané, de plus de 60 ans après son indépendance (de 1960 jusqu’en 2020). La croissance démographique sans précédent de Mbujimayi passant de 21875 habitants en 1950 à 3490211 habitants en 2020, consécutive surtout au refoulement du Shaba (Katanga) vers le Kasaï des Baluba –Lubilanji et d’autres ethnies des années 1992, a occasionné la consommation totale de l’assiette de l’espace de Mbujimayi avec un débordement de la superficie. Cette dernière a atteint 145,80 Km2 de fait, y compris 106,86 Km2 de superficie légale. Donc, l’extension de la ville de Mbujimayi bloquée par les limites naturelles (les rivières Muya au nord, Kanshi au sud et Mbuji-Mayi à l’est) s’est faite uniquement dans sa partie ouest, commune de Bipemba. Elle a engendré deux limites, une légale qui reste immuable, et l’autre de fait qui est muable dans les secteurs de Mulenda et Mukumbi du territoire de Lupatapata. La coexistence de ces deux limites crée juridiquement une situation biaisée dans la délimitation de cette ville.
Author Keywords: dynamique urbaine, limite, ville postcoloniale.
How to Cite this Article
Pierre Mpoyi Ndolo Loy, Donatien Bukome Itongwa, and John Tshibangu Wa Ilunga, “Effects of urban dynamics in a sub-saharan city: Case of the limits of Mbujimayi in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 77, no. 2, pp. 236–247, March 2025.
