Roads to development? A comparison of development corridors vs regional roads in the Zambezi Region, Namibia
Despite the increasing popularity of development corridors, their effectiveness in promoting regional development compared to regional roads remains uncertain. This study utilised satellite imagery to compare land use transformation within a 10km corridor effect zone along the Walvis Bay - Ndola - L...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Maps |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17445647.2025.2462302 |
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| author | Justina Tuulikefo Nangolo Christoph Hütt Georg Bareth Javier Revilla Diez |
| author_facet | Justina Tuulikefo Nangolo Christoph Hütt Georg Bareth Javier Revilla Diez |
| author_sort | Justina Tuulikefo Nangolo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite the increasing popularity of development corridors, their effectiveness in promoting regional development compared to regional roads remains uncertain. This study utilised satellite imagery to compare land use transformation within a 10km corridor effect zone along the Walvis Bay - Ndola - Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) and regional roads in Namibia's Zambezi Region. Overall, the Zambezi Region experienced a strong increase in built-up areas (+165%) and cultivated land (+136%) between 2000 and 2023 at the expense of forest (−18%) and grasslands (−18%). Cultivated and built-up areas expanded most intensively along regional roads, where most of the population resides, particularly after road tarring. This suggests regional roads drive land use change more effectively. The findings imply that local communities profit more from regional roads, and targeted investment in such infrastructures might be more beneficial to support the region's food basket goals and improve livelihoods rather than international corridors like the WBNLDC. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a1531c153d1f4c7ab5df1c078aad4cc8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1744-5647 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Maps |
| spelling | doaj-art-a1531c153d1f4c7ab5df1c078aad4cc82025-08-20T03:48:14ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Maps1744-56472025-12-0121110.1080/17445647.2025.2462302Roads to development? A comparison of development corridors vs regional roads in the Zambezi Region, NamibiaJustina Tuulikefo Nangolo0Christoph Hütt1Georg Bareth2Javier Revilla Diez3Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Koln, GermanyInstitute of Geography, University of Cologne, Koln, GermanyInstitute of Geography, University of Cologne, Koln, GermanyInstitute of Geography, University of Cologne, Koln, GermanyDespite the increasing popularity of development corridors, their effectiveness in promoting regional development compared to regional roads remains uncertain. This study utilised satellite imagery to compare land use transformation within a 10km corridor effect zone along the Walvis Bay - Ndola - Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBNLDC) and regional roads in Namibia's Zambezi Region. Overall, the Zambezi Region experienced a strong increase in built-up areas (+165%) and cultivated land (+136%) between 2000 and 2023 at the expense of forest (−18%) and grasslands (−18%). Cultivated and built-up areas expanded most intensively along regional roads, where most of the population resides, particularly after road tarring. This suggests regional roads drive land use change more effectively. The findings imply that local communities profit more from regional roads, and targeted investment in such infrastructures might be more beneficial to support the region's food basket goals and improve livelihoods rather than international corridors like the WBNLDC.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17445647.2025.2462302Land use changedevelopment corridorsregional roadscultivated landbuilt-up arealivelihoods |
| spellingShingle | Justina Tuulikefo Nangolo Christoph Hütt Georg Bareth Javier Revilla Diez Roads to development? A comparison of development corridors vs regional roads in the Zambezi Region, Namibia Journal of Maps Land use change development corridors regional roads cultivated land built-up area livelihoods |
| title | Roads to development? A comparison of development corridors vs regional roads in the Zambezi Region, Namibia |
| title_full | Roads to development? A comparison of development corridors vs regional roads in the Zambezi Region, Namibia |
| title_fullStr | Roads to development? A comparison of development corridors vs regional roads in the Zambezi Region, Namibia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Roads to development? A comparison of development corridors vs regional roads in the Zambezi Region, Namibia |
| title_short | Roads to development? A comparison of development corridors vs regional roads in the Zambezi Region, Namibia |
| title_sort | roads to development a comparison of development corridors vs regional roads in the zambezi region namibia |
| topic | Land use change development corridors regional roads cultivated land built-up area livelihoods |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17445647.2025.2462302 |
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