Forodhani Park in Stone Town : the effect and value of its rehabilitation

Abstract: The Forodhani Park in Stone Town, Zanzibar had been neglected for many decades before it was renovated in 2008-­‐ 2009 in a project funded by Aga Khan Trust for Culture. The Forodhani Park’s setting in a UNESCO World Heritage Site made the renovation a particular case, especially while still being the host for a lively and popular meeting place for local people and tourists. The invested amount was 2.8 million USD, which raised questions of the values of the projects benefits and legacy. The previous maintenance method clearly did not work, leaving a challenge for the new management team and the fund raising setup, which is depending on rent collected from businesses within Forodhani Park. Starting off from common and not so common theories of valuing park areas, this thesis sets out to find out what kind of effects the renovation of Forodhani Park has caused and what kind of economic values possible to attribute to these effects. By interviewing people around Zanzibar, supplementing with various written material and statistics, an image of the new Forodhani Park was formed. This image reveals that the renovated Forodhani Park can be viewed as something else than a park, due to the physical changes in the renovation project. It also reveals trouble with the maintenance and management, but also appreciation and pride from the people, most of whom find the park to be beautiful.