The Confusion of Development

T.J. Burghart
Jul 23, 2017 · 5 min read

While it may not seem exciting on the surface, my twenty minute walk to work each morning is filled with many nuances and is a microcosm of Rwanda’s confusing capital, Kigali. Typically the morning commute commences on the porch of our office’s home after reading a chapter and consuming a coffee.

Exiting the steel gate, I step into the street filed with subtle taps from motos horns and neighbors walking with cell phones as radios. Across the street lies a large plot of land that was turned into a farm at the first sign of rainy season. Seemingly this stretch of road is no man’s land like. Along the street are a few homes on the upper side of the hill which are bounded by tall brick walls and drainage culvert along the road — needless to say a very deep barrier. Often seeing very little action in front of the homes but hearing the liveliness the homes hold.

Layers of the landscape create deep thresholds. My neighboring church with the mysterious floating roof.

Across from these homes and next to the impromptu farm stands an unassuming church, which honestly I did not realize was a house of worship until the first Sunday morning I spent in Kigali. Their hymns echoed through the valley and crept onto our porch. When evening comes, the floating sheet roof allows a green glow to pour out between the steel trusses.

Next to the church is a loose stair which leads to a series of adobe homes. This is typically the spot I play chicken with the overly excited school children on the narrow sidewalk fit for a single-file line. Each wearing matching blue uniforms and sporting backpacks larger than their torsos. Sometimes a woman accompanies the youngest who seems to clutch hands tightly as they stare at me with some level of confusion.

After the tightrope we step into my neighbors shop through the morning charcoal smoke for a chapatti which she has delicately flavored with scallions. She does not seem to mind that I take it to go and don’t share tea and chat with the other patrons.

Mandazi as the weekly ritual from the local shop.

The scale of the city still seems unfamiliar after 200 plus treks. Often times the relationship with the neighbors and the buildings is separated by a deep trench drain, thick wall, gate, and yard. So we find life at the intersection where the charcoal is distributed, airtime is rebooted, and young children fetch water from the pump. The space transforms at night to serve as the local pub and is an anomaly along a walled street.

Small spaces in front of these shops transform into an outdoor bar and sewing workshop in the evening

The most dreadful part of the walk — pushing up the hill pretending I am unfazed while the sweat on my brow tells a different story. In contrast with the previous block, there is little street life with a church behind a gate and a hotel serving a fusion of Mexican and Chinese foods. Possibly an unexplored market in this city, but speaks to how much Kigali is evolving. A few months prior this was only a Chinese restaurant. At the crest of the hill lies a major road, four lanes with an island. In the valley below lives a busy village-like counterpart to the palm lined, macadam urban artery.

A four lane road in contract to the dirt road to the school in the neighboring valley

Beyond these buildings as facades, one never knows what richness lies behind until the path is traveled. We can see the destination in the background; Kigali Heights is one of the tallest and newest buildings in this area. Its companion is the Convention Centre and Radisson Hotel across the street while its younger brother is cut from the same cloth with a similar exterior and matching imported mirrored glass.

I walk between Kigali Heights and the Convention Centre along a road which is closed from cars as well as pedestrian traffic on the Convention Centre’s side. Not a problem in the morning when I’m sequestered to the shady side of the street. Again in another no man’s land condition — I am bounded by the Convention Centre fence and its guards as well as a large sign promoting Rwanda’s stunning natural beauty for tourists. The paradox of the street is the natural beauty of the country and the Radisson Hotel. When I arrive at Kigali Heights, I am greeted with a tall glass cladded building containing chain stores from the continent like Java House and Mr. Price as well as great restaurant options from Italian food to cakes and pastries. It feels a distance from the house serving chapati down the hill.

Natural landscape and modern development split by a pedestrian path.

Seemingly, a majority of my experience is quick contrasts and rapid change in Kigali. I do not know the trajectory of the city or how neighbor’s fits into the masterplan. My twenty minute walk is a snippet into so many lives which touches on the vast differences within two kilometers. It is mentally confusing as I struggle to understand what Kigali wants to be and how it should be viewed.

Is this the construction of the new skyline of Kigali?
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