By Allan Mkandawire –

BY definition a settlement is a place where people establish a community. Sustainable means longlasting and able to meet future needs without struggling.
The word sustainable has been used by mainly professionals across the world in different fields. Its many characteristic which has attracted many fields is its ability to address future demands.
In most of the developing countries which include Zambia, the development of shanty compounds has been as a result of lack of sustainable settlement.
This has led to the development of townships with no drainage systems, poor road network, congested houses, poor waste disposal system and poor sanitation facilities.
What is a sustainable settlment?
A sustainable settlement has the following characteristics:
(a)    Able to carry its original purposes at all time. This includes security, trade place; provide entertainment facilities, offer quality accommodation and leisure. Apart from this a sustainable settlement should provide a good transport network and waste management system.
(b)    Able to accommodate future development.
This includes the construction of new roads, drainage system, and houses to cover the growing demand.
In a sustainable settlement people build their houses and other facilities with the consideration of future expansion.
For example a person a person who buys a plot will not construct buildings covering the whole plot without leaving an open space for future needs.
But one would ask why should i leave an open space when future development when all i need is met? The answer is that human need change with time.
What we may need today might not be the same with our need tomorrow therefore we should not be having a dead end plans because tomorrow we might want to proceeds from where are.
(c)    Does not deteriorate with time. Deterioration means getting out of value, becoming less attractive and becoming less appreciated by people.
When a settlement or compound deteriorate, road network becomes a problem, drainage system blocked, floods are unavoidable buildings looks old and unpleasant.
(d)    The main characteristic of a sustainable settlement is that it is built according to the country’s regulation which is normally provided by local authorities and this is followed throughout its lifetime in its operational activities.
Who is responsible for sustainable settlement?
We have heard a lot of complaints from people from different townships, especially those from shanty compounds against the Government whenever they are hint with floods, garbage accumulation and lack of sanitation facilities.
But the question we should ask ourselves is ‘is it really the Government that is responsible for our problems’.
We have seen people waking up in the morning and find that their pit latrines are full and they have no place to dig a new one and start calling on the Government to provide them toilets.
This has been common in most of compounds in Lusaka such as Misisi, Lilanda and Garden. Factors which lead to the development of shanty compounds are as a result of negligence of duties of citizens of that particular settlement by citizens.
Therefore, the attainment of sustainable settlement is left to the occupants of that settlement themselves.
All that is required is for people to change their mindset, to be more patriotic to the area and look after it as a mother looks after her child.
People should realise that it is their duty to make sure public property such as roads, drainage and waste disposal are properly looked after.
A community should be viewed by its people just like a house is viewed by its owner who is very much aware of its requirements for it last long.
Everyone admires and wants to be in a beautiful and healthy community but fails to realise that it is up to them to make their community look that way.
This can be done when people stop making short-term plans during construction of their houses which will help them to leave some open space and using durable materials when building.
For example, a person who wants to build on a new plot will not fill the whole plot with buildings which are common in most Zambian townships where people will congest houses for the sake of making money from tenants and later on fail to provide proper sanitation.
This may lead to a situation where about 10,000 people use one pit latrine which at the same time operates as bathing room. People should stop looking up to the Government for the things which they even know they are able to achieve themselves.
Most of all, people should guard their public places with care and this will guarantee healthy and beautiful compounds and no one will feel embarrassed by mentioning their residential areas at school, church or at work.
In conclusion we can say that to be in a good and sustainable compound does not need to be rich with a lot of money but requires of change mindset, the way we think and do things for our community.
(The Zambia Institute of Planners, student chapter -Copperbelt University, department of urban and regional planning P.O Box 21692, Kitwe)