Transportation in Bangui

Assignment:

1. How do factors of migration, movement, and transportation impact your city?
2. Using Google Earth mark the nearest airport, rail, and bus/taxi hub, market (commercial center) and political center of your city. What is the latitude and longitude of these three sites? Measure the distance from the airport, rail and bus/taxi hubs to the commercial center using Google Earth. Provide a screen shot of Google Earth with each of these points marked.

Transportation in Bangui is limited to river, roads, and air. There are no railways in the Central African Republic. Nations Encyclopedia cites river transportation as the most important for movement of freight. Goods also travel by truck via RN 1 connecting to Douala port in Cameroon.

Map of major and minor roads and public amenities. Data from Mapzen.com

In 2007, the World Bank, European Union, the African Development Bank and the French Development Agency got together to fund transport improvements that would better connect the Douala Port in Cameroon to Bangui and N’Djamena, Chad. The $680 million project was set out to pave and improve highways and networks. This initiative was in response to deficiencies in infrastructure, especially during rainy seasons and is meant to increase trade among the CEMAC (Economic Community of Central African States) which includes Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon,São Tomé and Principe and Rwanda.

Truck drivers delivering goods between these countries complain of ‘roadblocks, heavy traffic, poorly managed border crossings and even areas such as the one-lane bridge between Chad and Cameroon where the processing of livestock several times per week takes precedence over the passing through of traffic.’

In Bangui specifically, recent political instability has led to security concerns on roads and intersections. In July 2015, drivers went on strike in Garoua-Boulai, the last Cameroon town before the journey into the CAR begins because ‘the 6000 km-odd journey through CAR territory have become a veritable death trap which only the stone-hearted could undertake.” Robbers and thieves along the way did not only present a financial threat but a fatal one as well for travelers.

A Reuters report published in 2014 by itnssource.com also adds insight into the transportation problem in Bangui outlining the complex causes and dynamics surrounding the transportation problem with drivers blaming the government for poor roads and the government blaming private firms for withholding vehicles.

 “CAR: Public transport infrastructure in Bangui crippled by CAR conflict.” Itnsource.com. 24 June 2014.Web. 27 March 2016.

 “Central African Republic – Transportation.” NationsEncyclopedia.com. n.d. Web. 27 March 2016.
 "Central Africa Transport and Transit Facilitation Project Aims to Open Continent's Most Challenging Corridors." World Bank. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.

“Douala-Bangui Corridor Reopens for Transportation of Goods.” International Marine & General Services. 16 September 2015. Web 27 March 2016.

“Transport system in Bangui City in Central African Republic.” FortuneofAfrica.com. 9 April 2014. Web. 27 March 2016.

Bangui during WWII

Assignment:

1. Select one article from an early newspaper addressing your city and discuss its main themes.  Source: Historical Newspaper Project.

Airlines Are Needed in Africa; Free French Establishing Them: Equatorial Colony Needs Better Facilities for Transportation-American Mission Encourages Pioneer Settlers.

This is the title of an article written by A.C Sedgwick for The New York Times on October 20, 1941. Sedgwick, who died in 1994, was mostly assigned to cover British military operations during World War II.

In this article Sedgwick describe the increase of French settlers to Bangui during this period as a result of the fall of France during World War II. This article provides an interesting look into Bangui’s role as a member of ‘Free France’ and a refuge during the war. “‘Free France’ was the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle during the Second World War and its military forces that continued to fight against the Axis powers as one of the Allies after the fall of France. It was set up in London in June 1940 and also organized and supported the Resistance in occupied France.”
Sedgwick definitely paints a picture of Bangui as a prime alternative to life in Paris during the German occupation and goes as far as to note that “Many French people were becoming so fond of frontier life, he said, that they would not exchange it for life in France, which has become embittered and perhaps ruined for years to come through destructive German occupation” while quoting a French soldier in Bangui.

The article goes on to explain infrastructure and transportation issues within the areas of Free France and explains the benefits of air travel over roads ad waterways.

AC SEDGWICK Wireless to THE NEW,YORK TIMES. 1941. "Airlines are Needed in Africa; Free Erench Establishing them." New York Times (1923-Current File), Oct 20, 5.
http://search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/docview/105580846?accountid=11311

Stout, David. "A. C. Sedgwick, 94, Reporter For Times Who Covered War."The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Jan. 1996. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Free French." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.

Planning in Bangui

Assignment:

1. Upload and rectify an early plan of your city. Analyze core differences between this early plan and the current city plan. Mark these differences and provide related screen shots. What, if anything do these changes convey about difference and identity in your city. 

2. Discuss briefly the subject(s) you would like to address in your final paper on your city.

This map is from the article “Les kodro de Bangui: un escape urbain ‘oublié’” (The kodros of Bangui: a forgotten urban space) by Madame Marie-France Adrien-Rongier. The map was produced by CAR architect E. Lemotomo in 1977. Lemotomo uses master plans from 1946, 1967 and 1971 to distinguish planned sections of the city from the somewhat informal or autonomously constructed parts of the city. The article by Adrien-Rongier details the growth of Bangui and the various dichotomies present in the juxtaposition of the kodros to the city center. In the city center homes were preplanned and organized for atomized families. They are colonial fabrication, built with imported materials and continue to be repurposed for administrative and social uses. In the kodros materials are local and the houses are organized by the family to fit the purposes of the local ethnic group.

Below the map is spread across the existing amenities in Bangui. Sites previously labeled as formal, administrative and planned still hold a majority of Bangui's resources such as government buildings, schools and points of interests. Interestingly the religious sites are the one amenity that are spread throughout the city equally.

In my final paper I would like to explore urban planning as it relates to displacement as a result of natural disasters and conflict. Flooding and politic and political conflicts have caused a significant amount of movement and destruction in and around Bangui. In the final paper I will compile comparative case studies and frameworks for post-disaster social, economic and infrastructure reconstruction. 

Bangui on the Web

Assignment:

1. How is your city depicted on the web? Provide the URLs of 5 sites that offer different views of your city’s popular life. 

2. Discuss one building of popular or political importance in your city. Describe its setting. Provide a photograph of this building (with label).

3. Create a polygon and point to identify the site of this structure and the area in which it is located. Provide a screenshot indicating the location of your building in Google Earth. 

The first page of results after entering a web search for ‘Bangui’ is dominated by travel sites and hotel recommendations. The second page includes more links to newspapers and NGO articles about political and social events in Bangui. Below I have included some online sites that offer different views of Bangui’s popular life.

1.    JournaldeBangui.com

a.       I came across Journal De Bangui while looking for local newspapers in Bangui. While I am not sure how popular this publication is in Bangui, the content seems comprehensive. The website states that it is edited by Sarl Dano Communications and the contact information leads to an address in France. The website comprises of three main pages for news about Bangui, Africa and World News. Topics cover everything from politics to popular culture and health. On the Bangui page, the last article was published on February 27, 2016.

2.       Centrafrique Presse Info (http://www.centrafrique-presse.info/site/)

a.       Centrafrique Presse Info boasts an average 700 visits per day. It’s unclear where the newspaper originates but articles cover various topic including politics, human right, the economy and culture. The last article was published March 5, 2016 and had 51 views on March 6.

3.       La Nouvelle Centrafrique (http://lanouvellecentrafrique.info/)

a.       La Nouvelle Centrafrique writes that it is “leader of Central African news sites. With a daily average of 5,000 unique readers. The sites includes a large staff and numerous partnerships.

4.       Twitter

a.       On twitter “#Bangui” produces several results including photos, breaking news and conventions and political meetings. The Central African Republic has recently come out of an election period so several of the posts are about the new president and the election period. The last post was 11 hours ago.

5.       Visiter L’Afrique

a.       This article published on Visiter L’Afrique provides an itinerary list to-go location for a visit to Bangui. The article includes descriptions of the Boali waterfalls, the Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park and several other key locations in Bangui.

Building of Importance

The complete name for Bangui’s Cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangui. The cathedral was built in 1930 and sits at the center of Bangui. The cathedral was visited by Pope Francis in November of 2015.

 

            The neighborhood of KM-5 and more specifically the market seems like a bustling area for broad demographics of the city. The market remains active for long periods and is listed as a go-to destination for Bangui.

Photo credits:

Cathedral: http://en.visiterlafrique.com/destinations/central-africa/10-things-to-do-in-central-african-republic/

Market: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3091096/Bangui-market-helps-mend-ties-C-Africa-conflict.html