Zomba

Zomba is a smaller city than Lilongwe or Blantyre, but it faces many of the same structural questions around urban roads, water, sanitation and the management of outward growth. As new development spreads into peripheral areas, infrastructure networks must cover greater distances while local government resources remain limited.

Malawi’s urbanization studies argue that planning in cities such as Zomba should link land development more closely to transport, services and municipal finance. More recent mobility analysis also stresses the need to protect space for public transport, walking and cycling within updated urban plans. For Zomba, this suggests a growth strategy based less on continuous outward subdivision and more on making existing and new neighbourhoods easier to serve, connect and maintain over time.