Mental and Material Manifestations of Spatial Injustices in Sub-Saharan Africa - Paper Example

Introduction

Spatial injustices refer to the unequal and unjust occurrences in the space that people of different social classes live. Developed and developing cities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa experience spatial injustice as many people of different social classes have migrated there to search for a good living. However, the increasing population in cities has led to mental and material manifestations of spatial injustices which have affected the lives of people in such cities. In Uganda, Kampala is one of the cities affected by spatial injustices. In this case, the major mental and material manifestations of spatial injustices include mental manifestations, unequal distribution of resources in cities, hazards, climate changes that affect people's lives, spiritual injustices, and unequal treatment of the vulnerable groups in the cities among others. Such injustices have been greatly experienced in cities in sub-Saharan Africa as compared to cities in other parts of the world. Thus, the manifestation in Kampala needs to be discussed qualitatively so that a solution on how to reduce the spatial injustices can be reached.

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Mental Manifestations of Spatial Injustices

Kampala is one of the cities in the sub-Saharan region which has experienced massive population increase since it is the capital city of Uganda. People of different social classes have moved to the city to earn a living. Still, there have been different mental perceptions towards the people intentions of people moving to the city. The perceptions are based on the people's social lives and places of origin in that there are those who are seen as the fittest to live in the city while others are perceived as not being in a position to live there. Therefore, this has been taken as a form of spatial injustice in the city since not everyone has been granted a positive mandate to move and live comfortably in the city.

Firstly, the people who are capable of earning a living in Kampala are perceived as the owners of the city who have all the freedom to do what they want in the large space. They can build and live anywhere, invest in any place without facing any hindrance from the authority. Additionally, they are seen as the backbone of the cities since they have enough income to access the goods and services provided in the city. In short, they are seen as being mentally upright, and they can make solid decisions about the progress of the city.

On the other hand, the lower in the social class are always thought as beggars moving to the city to get support for a living. Such people always get rejected by people who own the resources in the city. They are sometimes perceived as being out of their minds just because they do not have the means to make decisions on what they should do while in the cities. Also, they are seen as the town outcasts, and they should not even find a place to stay in the urban space. Due to their poverty states, they can be found mostly on the streets of Kampala as they are rarely accepted to live in the rental rooms and houses in the city.

Having examined the mental perceptions of the two classes of people living in Kampala, it is open that the world has negative thinking towards the poor people living in cities due to their social status. Such an attitude has been greatly witnessed in sub-Saharan Africa where a big gap exists between the poor and the rich. The mental perceptions of people towards the low-class people living in Kampala city has been seen as a form of spatial injustice since everyone has a right to live anywhere in the city.

Unequal Distribution of Resources

The unequal distribution of resources in among people living in Kampala has established a base for unjust treatment of those who cannot afford the material possessions in the city. Even when all classes of people move to the city to get away to live, the gap between the poor and the rich remains established. According to the Oxfam charity report in 2017, there are so many injustices in that have resulted in some people in the city being super rich while others are extremely poor. Those who are rich keep improving while others keep going low every year. On top of that, the city has boundaries for the poor and the rich such that the rich live in developed while the poor live in underdeveloped households where they can afford to pay and buy cheap foods too.

The reports emphasized that the boundaries existing between the social classes have resulted in inequality not only in the city but the whole country whereby the wealthy merchant seems to engage together and ignore those who are poor. The drivers of inequality in the country include the country's investments in education, health, agriculture, and industrial sectors. Those who own a lot of income tend to invest in the sectors mentioned above yet the poor cannot even afford the commodities sold in the shops in the city. Besides, the quality of education the rich give to their children keeps the gap widening as the education level in Uganda determines the people's future. Therefore, the spatial injustices are continuing to advance in the city due to the lack of control and balance in the allocation of resources among the different social classes in Kampala.

However, the extent of inequality in the distribution of resources in developed countries and cities is not the same compared to the sub-Saharan countries. Developed cities have a certain balance in that most of the residents are in the middle social class, and so the level of injustice is not high. As such, sub-Saharan cities such as Kampala should try to control and balance its resources so that each of the individuals residing there can afford to purchase necessary commodities. The key sectors such as education, industry, agriculture, and health should aim at benefiting all the social classes without favoring the high-income individuals in the city. In doing so, all inhabitants will experience equity and equality, thus promoting spatial justice.

Climate Changes in Kampala

Climate change in Uganda has also changed people's lives in Uganda. Most of the Ugandan residents depend on agriculture to earn a living. The northern part of Uganda has been faced by drought from time to time resulting in low harvests at the end of the season. For that matter, many people have opted to shift to the city, Kampala, where they can get an alternative way to earn a living. Since some of the people moving to the city do not meet the qualifications to secure jobs, they end up lacking jobs that can boost their lives in the city. Hunger and diseases take over resulting in extreme sickness and even death.

Still, those who qualify for jobs find it easy to live in the city due to the availability of jobs. They end up enjoying life, unlike the unqualified residents who always struggle to live or even switch back to their local areas to fight with drought. Some of them even go to the extent of begging or depending on charity foods for a living. This has always been unjust since the rich people in the same city keep on enjoying their wealth without caring about those who are suffering. The change in climate, especially the onset of droughts destroys the planted crops, thus, leaving the owners without another alternative. The only choice that remains is to depend on foods from shops which have always been expensive or to move to the city which is not a guarantee for a good life.

Although climate change does not directly reveal spatial injustice in Kampala, the problems that those who depend on farming go through reveal that there is no equity in the country. Unlike developed countries which have a diversified economy that can benefit all people, Uganda depends majorly on farming which can be easily affected by the changes in climate. Since farming is the backbone of its economy, its decline affects the lives of those living in cities such as Kampala. Therefore, the whole country faces the negative effects of climate change.

Disasters and Natural Calamities

Disasters can be natural or artificial. Natural disasters can be as well be classified under natural calamities. Besides, artificial disasters result from the mistakes made by human beings. In Kampala, natural and artificial calamities have been witnessed severally. The frequently witnessed calamities include floods, landslides, earthquakes, wars involving the country, and transport-related disasters. The calamities mentioned above have in one way or another resulted in spatial injustices in the country.

First of all, floods have been rampant in the city of Kampala in the rainy season. Apart from the flooding on roads that causes difficulties in traveling, people's lives have been affected by the excessive overflow of rainwater. However, not all people have always suffered from the effects of floods in the city. The impoverished people living in the slums are the most affected. The floods were away from their delicately built houses, and this leaves them homeless with no other place to shelter. However, those who live in well-built apartments face little to no destructions during the floods. Since those who live in slums can barely afford to live in expensive apartments, they have always been subjected to the effects of floods. There has been no sure way of promoting spatial justice except for the efforts of non-governmental and governmental organizations that always intervene to save the lives of the drowning victims.

The same cases have been witnessed during occurrences of landslides and earthquakes in Kampala whereby weak buildings that the lower class individuals live in get covered by the masses of soil from landslides and earthquakes. As many such people end up losing lives during the calamity. Strong buildings are rarely affected by landslides and earthquakes and so those who can afford to live there are rarely affected. Therefore, there is no equality in the city such that some people are at high risk of dying than others. Unless uniform development is encouraged, inequality is still evident in every aspect of people's lives in Kampala.

On the other sides, wars and transport disasters have shown the aspect of spatial injustice in the city of Kampala. Firstly, the country has sometimes engaged in internal or external wars which resulted in disruption in the people's way of living. Since the wars are always accompanied by random fighting, innocent people end up getting hurt during the fights. Destruction of property is also witnessed, leading to the loss of people's possessions (Ashad, 2018). In extreme cases police officers whose goal is to maintain peace in the city arrest anyone present at the war scene and innocent people are as well arrested and subjected to false judgment and punishment. Therefore, wars in the country can cause spatial injustices to the people around the scene, and so people should be careful at such times to avoid getting in such trouble.

Transport disasters include road accidents and other road-based events that affect people's lives. The causes of road accidents include careless driving, drunk driving, and potholes on the roads, and lack of clearly outlines rules and regulations on safe driving. Road accidents lead to injury or death of those involved. This has not always been just since the victims are mostly unaware of the incoming accidents, especially where the accidents are due to careless driving or drunk driving. The drivers are always to be blamed for such cases. Such incidences have been common in sub-Saharan countries which do not have well-constructed roads for smooth driving. The same affects Uganda which has underdeveloped roads. The spatial injustice comes in where the drunk and careless drivers cause injuries and deaths to many...