Building Better Places: Development and Human Wellbeing in Kigali, Rwanda

Materials Needed

• Paper or a digital planning document
• Coloured pens or pencils
• A map of Africa and/or a map of Kigali, Rwanda
• Calculator or spreadsheet
• Sticky notes or digital notes
• Optional: internet access for researching Rwanda and Kigali
• Optional: printed case-study cards provided below

Lesson Overview

Learner: Heidi, age 15

Suggested time: 75–90 minutes, with optional extension activities

Subject areas: Geography, citizenship, development studies, economics, and wellbeing

Big question: How can decisions about developing a place improve people’s lives while also creating new challenges?

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, Heidi will be able to:

1. Explain at least three ways that physical and human factors can affect the development of a place.
2. Describe how development decisions in Kigali, Rwanda, can affect human wellbeing.
3. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of one development strategy.
4. Use evidence to recommend a development plan for a neighbourhood.
5. Recognise that development can create both winners and losers, depending on how it is planned and managed.

Success Criteria

Heidi’s work will be successful if she can:

• Use the terms development, infrastructure, informal settlement, urbanisation, and wellbeing accurately.
• Refer to at least three specific pieces of evidence from the Kigali case study.
• Explain both a benefit and a possible disadvantage of a development decision.
• Make a justified recommendation rather than simply giving an opinion.

Key Vocabulary

Development

Improvement in people’s quality of life, opportunities, services, and economic conditions.

Infrastructure

The basic systems and structures a place needs, such as roads, electricity, water supplies, drainage, schools, and healthcare.

Informal settlement

A settlement where homes may be built without official planning permission and where services such as sanitation, roads, or electricity may be limited.

Urbanisation

The growth of towns and cities as more people move to or are born in urban areas.

Wellbeing

People’s overall quality of life, including physical health, safety, income, education, housing, relationships, and sense of belonging.

Introduction: Hook and Objectives

1. The “Would You Move?” Hook — 10 minutes

Read the following scenario aloud:

You live in a crowded neighbourhood. Your home is close to work and relatives, but the roads flood during heavy rain. Clean water is sometimes difficult to obtain, and there is little space for parks or safe play areas. The government offers to move your household to a newer home with better roads, electricity, and drainage. However, the new home is farther from your job, school, and extended family.

Ask Heidi to choose one response:

• Move immediately
• Stay where you are
• Move only if certain conditions are met

Heidi should explain her choice using at least two wellbeing factors, such as safety, income, health, education, transport, family connections, or housing quality.

Quick discussion questions:

• Can a place become more developed but less comfortable for some people?
• Who should make decisions about changing a neighbourhood?
• Is a newer building always better for wellbeing?

2. Share the Lesson Route

Tell Heidi:

“Today we will first learn how development affects wellbeing. Then we will examine Kigali in Rwanda. Finally, you will act as a city planner and design a fair development plan.”

Body: Learning and Practice

I Do: Understanding Development and Wellbeing — 15 minutes

Explain that development is not only about earning more money or constructing taller buildings. It can include:

• Access to clean water and sanitation
• Reliable electricity and internet
• Good schools and healthcare
• Safe and affordable housing
• Transport and employment opportunities
• Clean air, green space, and protection from flooding
• People having a voice in decisions that affect them

Use this simple cause-and-effect model:

Development decision → Change in the place → Effect on people’s wellbeing

Model an example:

Decision: Improve drainage and pave roads.

Change: Roads are less likely to flood and become muddy.

Possible wellbeing benefits: Fewer illnesses, safer journeys, easier access to school and work, and less damage to homes.

Possible challenge: Construction could temporarily disrupt businesses or increase rents.

Formative Check

Ask Heidi to complete this sentence:

“A development project can improve wellbeing by __________, but it might also create a problem if __________.”

We Do: Kigali, Rwanda Case Study — 20 minutes

Case-Study Background

Rwanda is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa. Kigali, its capital city, has grown as people seek jobs, education, healthcare, and other opportunities. Like many rapidly growing cities, Kigali has had to manage pressure on housing, roads, water supplies, sanitation, waste collection, and public space.

Rwanda has promoted a planned and orderly image of Kigali. Development efforts have included road improvements, drainage, waste collection, public cleanliness programmes, better planned housing, and attempts to reduce building in areas vulnerable to flooding or landslides. These changes can make parts of the city safer and healthier. However, redevelopment can also be difficult for lower-income residents if they are moved away from jobs, schools, markets, relatives, or familiar support networks.

One important issue is the balance between improving housing and infrastructure and protecting people’s ability to remain connected to their livelihoods and communities. A new house may have better walls, roads, or sanitation, but its location and cost also matter.

Case-Study Evidence Cards

Read each card with Heidi. Ask her to label each one as mainly a benefit, challenge, or both.

1. Urban growth: Kigali has attracted people looking for jobs and services. This can increase economic opportunities but also creates pressure for more housing and infrastructure.
2. Roads and drainage: Better roads and drainage can make travel safer, reduce mud and flooding, and improve access to schools, markets, and healthcare.
3. Housing improvement: Planned housing can improve safety, sanitation, and the appearance of an area. However, new housing may be too expensive for some households.
4. Relocation: Moving people away from risky land may reduce danger from floods or landslides. If relocation is far from workplaces or schools, families may lose time and income.
5. Cleanliness and waste management: Regular waste collection can improve health and the environment. Strict rules may be harder for people who lack money or suitable alternatives.
6. Green and protected spaces: Protecting wetlands and hillsides can reduce flood and landslide risks. It can also limit where homes and businesses may be built.

Think–Pair–Share Questions

Heidi should first write her own answers, then discuss them with a partner, family member, tutor, or imaginary planning committee.

1. Which development issue is most closely connected to physical geography?
2. Which issue is most closely connected to money and employment?
3. Which change could improve health but make daily travel more difficult?
4. Why might two households experience the same project differently?

We Do: The Wellbeing Impact Grid — 10 minutes

Complete the grid together. Add at least one additional example.

Development decision	Possible positive effect	Possible negative effect	Who might be affected?
Build a new road	Faster access to jobs and services	Construction disruption or loss of land	Residents, traders, commuters
Move homes away from a flood-prone area	Greater safety	Greater distance from work or relatives	Families, workers, children
Protect a wetland	Less flooding and a healthier environment	Less land available for construction	Residents, developers, farmers, wildlife
Improve waste collection	Cleaner streets and lower disease risk	Extra fees or stricter regulations	Households, businesses, local authorities

Quick Check

Ask Heidi to select one row and explain why the outcome is not simply “good” or “bad.” Look for an answer that identifies different effects on different groups.

You Do: Kigali Neighbourhood Planner Challenge — 25 minutes

Your role: Heidi is a junior urban planner advising Kigali’s local government.

Mission: Design a development plan that improves wellbeing without ignoring the needs of existing residents.

Neighbourhood Information

The neighbourhood has:

• Homes on a steep hillside
• A busy market and many small businesses
• A primary school that is difficult to reach during heavy rain
• Limited drainage and occasional flooding
• A wetland that helps absorb water
• Residents who work in different parts of the city
• Some households with limited income

Choose at Least Four Actions

• Improve drainage channels
• Repair or pave key roads and footpaths
• Build affordable housing nearby
• Relocate only homes at the highest physical risk
• Provide transport links to workplaces and markets
• Protect the wetland and plant trees on steep slopes
• Improve waste collection and recycling
• Add street lighting and safer walking routes
• Create a community fund for home improvements
• Consult residents before construction begins

Planning Requirements

Heidi should produce one of the following:

• A labelled neighbourhood map
• A one-page written plan
• A short presentation or recorded explanation
• A digital slide or poster

The plan must include:

1. Four or more chosen actions
2. Two expected benefits for wellbeing
3. One possible unintended consequence
4. A strategy for reducing that consequence
5. An explanation of how residents will participate in decision-making
6. A final recommendation beginning: “The most important first step should be…”

Choice and Creativity Options

Heidi may choose to focus especially on one theme:

• Health planner: Focus on sanitation, clean water, drainage, and waste.
• Transport planner: Focus on roads, footpaths, buses, and access to jobs.
• Environmental planner: Focus on wetlands, trees, flooding, and landslides.
• Community planner: Focus on affordable housing, participation, and protecting local livelihoods.

Feedback and Revision — 5 minutes

Use the “two stars and a wish” method:

• Star 1: Identify one strong use of evidence.
• Star 2: Identify one thoughtful link to wellbeing.
• Wish: Suggest one improvement, such as considering cost, fairness, the environment, or residents’ opinions.

Heidi should revise one part of her plan after receiving feedback.

Assessment

Formative Assessment

• Responses to the “Would You Move?” hook
• Vocabulary explanations
• Benefit, challenge, or both activity
• Wellbeing impact grid
• Teacher, parent, or tutor questioning during the planning challenge

Summative Assessment: Planner Recommendation

Assess Heidi’s final plan using the following four-point scale:

Criteria	Beginning	Developing	Secure	Advanced
Knowledge of development issues	Names one issue	Describes two issues	Explains three or more issues accurately	Explains how issues connect and change over time
Use of evidence	Uses little or no case-study evidence	Uses one relevant example	Uses at least three relevant examples	Uses evidence selectively and explains its significance
Understanding of wellbeing	Mentions wellbeing generally	Identifies one effect on people	Explains effects on different groups	Explains trade-offs and differences between groups in depth
Quality of recommendation	Gives an unsupported opinion	Suggests one reasonable action	Gives a justified, practical plan	Gives a balanced, fair, environmentally responsible plan

Conclusion: Closure and Recap — 10 minutes

1. Three-Sentence Recap

Heidi completes these sentences:

1. One factor affecting development in Kigali is __________.
2. This can affect human wellbeing by __________.
3. A fair development plan should also consider __________.

2. Exit Ticket

Answer the following question in four to six sentences:

“Is development successful if buildings and roads improve but some residents lose access to jobs, schools, or family networks? Explain your answer using the Kigali case study.”

3. Key Takeaway

Development is most successful when it improves safety, health, opportunity, and the environment while also listening to local people and considering who may be disadvantaged by change.

Differentiation and Adaptations

Support for a Learner Who Needs More Scaffolding

• Use the sentence starters: “This project could improve wellbeing because…” and “However, it might cause…”
• Allow Heidi to select from the action cards rather than generate actions independently.
• Complete the first row of the wellbeing grid together.
• Use a colour code: green for benefits, red for challenges, and blue for possible solutions.
• Allow an oral recording instead of a written plan.

Extension for an Advanced Learner

• Compare Kigali with another African city, such as Nairobi, Lagos, Accra, or Cape Town.
• Investigate how development can be measured using income, education, health, housing, or environmental indicators.
• Calculate a simple wellbeing score for three households affected by the proposed plan.
• Research how climate change may increase flooding, heat, or landslide risks in growing cities.
• Write a 250-word policy brief addressed to Kigali’s city government.

Flexible Delivery Options

• Homeschool: Heidi can discuss decisions with a parent or tutor and create an individual plan.
• Classroom: Learners can work in groups representing residents, business owners, environmentalists, planners, or local government.
• Training context: Participants can use the activity to practise stakeholder consultation and evidence-based decision-making.
• Online: Replace paper planning with a shared document, digital map, or presentation.

Optional Further Research

For reliable background information, investigate materials from organisations such as the World Bank, UN-Habitat, the United Nations Development Programme, Rwanda’s government planning agencies, and academic geography or development websites. When researching, Heidi should ask:

• Who collected the information?
• When was it published?
• Whose experiences are included?
• Does the source describe both benefits and challenges?