Abstract:
Colonial urban planning schemes implemented in Dar es Salaam produced a racially segregated city. Tanganyika was both a German colony and a British Mandate and both administrations applied Building Ordinances that established construction standards for three zones in the city. These standards segregated the city into European, Asian, and African zones by dictating the type of home that could be built in each area. By requiring certain levels of sanitation, both administrations successfully segregated the city without enacting any formal segregation legislation. Using documents from the Tanzania National Archives, this paper discusses the evolution of racial segregation in Dar es Salaam. Particular emphasis is given to how the British administration justified racial segregation and how it used informal policies to achieve this ideal. Interviews with Europeans, Asians, and Africans living in contemporary Dar es Salaam demonstrate that these colonial patterns of racial segregation have persisted so that the city is still divided into three zones.
