Colonial-Era Air Quality Legacies in Kampala, Uganda

media release: Africa Talks is a new monthly talk series purposefully launched by the African Studies Program at UW-Madison in collaboration with the African Center for Community Development, Inc to coincide with the 50^th Anniversary of Africa at Noon. This year, we want to celebrate 50 years of sharing scholarships on campus by reminding our community that the work we do must extend beyond the walls of the university. Advanced graduate student affiliates of the African Studies Program will present a one-hour talk to community members at the Community Relations office in UW South Madison Partnership (UWSMP). Read more about this partnership at Capital City Hues.

In Kampala, Uganda, British colonial urban planners created segregated neighborhoods for Europeans, Asians, and Africans, under the colonial public health guidance. Today neighborhoods originally designated for African residents have higher levels of air pollution than those for Europeans and Asians, even after accounting for factors like road traffic and fuel use.

Speaker’s Bio

Dorothy Lsotho is a Ph.D. student studying the persistent colonial city design of Kampala, Uganda, and air pollution inequalities using low-cost air quality sensors. She also works with research groups and policymakers to design targeted air pollution management policies in East Africa. She believes that breathing clean air is the most basic and important human right, and her goal is to see everyone achieve that human right.