URBAN LANDSCAPE IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF URBAN RENEWAL

Urban renewal responds to physical deterioration within cities to improve the quality of urban life. Urban renewal in Africa is undertaken in once colonial societies with their existing spatial built forms undergoing changes in post-colonial time thus affecting identities. Urban landscape identity in this study in this study is the resident¿s perception of the special features that help them to differentiate between places creating images that they can recognize. With world globalization, cities are striving to be unique and distinctive to attract, promote trade and tourism and as such city identity has become of great importance. This study postulates that a city¿s uniqueness and distinctiveness lie in its landscape identity that should not be neglected when creating improved urban environments. The study aimed to verify the degree to which public participation assists in preservation of landscape identity in the process of urban renewal.