Public Perceptions on Location of Filling Stations in the City of Kitwe in Zambia

Abstract

Location of manufacturing and service activities in urban areas are guided by planning principles and standards, expressed in either structure plans or land use development plans. Though Local authorities are the major overseers on the implementation of approved structure plans based on the advice of Urban Planners and consultants on environmental protection and sustainability, unfortunately, there appears to be sporadic emergence of filling stations within the City of Kitwe in Zambia that raises the questions, “What are the locational determinants for filling stations in urban areas in Zambia?” What is the public’s perception on location of filling stations in the City of Kitwe? What are the possible factors that influence filling stations’ locations in Kitwe? Are filling stations located according to established planning standards, guidelines and regulations in the City of Kitwe? These are questions that require empirical investigations in view of the possible inflammatory consequences of the service.

The paper is an exploratory study that applied a cross-sectional descriptive research design to find answers to the research questions and to validate the following hypotheses: Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Criteria is positively related to the location of filling stations in Kitwe; Entrepreneurs preferential location choices is positively related to location of filling stations; and Planning principles, standards and regulations positively influence locations of filling stations in the City of Kitwe. The t-test statistics was used to validate the hypotheses. The main finding was that, filling stations are located influenced by choices made by service station entrepreneurs.

Keywords: Public Perceptions, filling stations, location, planning standards, Kitwe