Academic background

B.A - Geography, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon

M.A - Geography, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon

Research

Title: Road/street designs and walking as a mode of transport in urban areas of the Global South

Advisors: Prof. Karel Martens

Description:

Even though walking is the dominant mode of transport in the Global South (GS), it is also the most neglected in transport planning and policy. This is manifested through the distinct road/street designs that are built more in favour of motorisation. The design of roads/streets greatly shapes who will benefit more from them. Roads designed for fast-moving traffic may enhance quality of life for better-off segments of the population with access to a car, yet at the same time act as a barrier to people who rely on walking as their primary mode of transport.

The existing literature on this topic mostly take a Global North (GN) perspective with little attention to the key role of road/street designs in the functioning of GS cities and its close connection to walking as a mode of transport. This study seeks to assess the quality of road/street design elements that influence walking and their impacts on pedestrian mobility, accessibility, and livelihoods in urban areas of the GS. This objective will be attained by investigating selected roads/streets with distinct designs in three urban areas of Africa: Bamenda in Cameroon with mostly basic road/street designs, Cape Town in South Africa dominated by motorised road/street designs, and Kigali in Rwanda striving for more inclusive road/street designs. In each of these cities, a main arterial road will be carefully selected. Subsequently, observations, interviews, and focus group discussions will be conducted with residents, transport professionals, transport researchers, and other related transport actors in each case study city. The aim is to better understand the beneficial and detrimental impacts of distinct road/street designs on walking as a mode of transport and to develop a new pathway for more inclusive transport systems that meet the needs of all users in the region.

Career ambitions

My ambition is to work in academics as a lecturer and as a consultant in equitable transport planning systems. My desire is to contribute to the paradigm shift in transport planning from “mobility” to “accessibility”, from “vehicles” to “people”, from “modal” to “multimodal”, and from “segregation” to “integration”.