Assessment of the Effectiveness of Planning and Building Regulations in promoting Climate Resilience in Human Settlement in Chibombo District, Zambia

Abstract

Uncontrolled construction and weak enforcement of planning and building regulations in Zambia are increasing household vulnerability to climate-induced hazards such as flooding and erosion. This study assessed the effectiveness of planning and building regulations in promoting climate resilience in Chibombo District, Central Province, Zambia, focusing on enforcement, public awareness, participation, and the governance complexities associated with customary and statutory land tenure. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was applied, combining a structured household survey of 200 respondents across township, peri-rural and rural settlement strata with eight key informant interviews and three focus group discussions. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Pareto analysis, Principal Component Analysis for a composite Climate Resilience Index (CRI), and ordinal least squares regression. Results showed pronounced execution deficits: only 49.0% of respondents were aware of planning regulations, 71.5% had never received a building inspection, and 62.5% were structurally non-compliant. Customary tenure, held by 53.5% of respondents, was strongly associated with non-application for building permits (Cramer's V = 0.57). The district-wide mean CRI was 0.27 (0.43 township versus 0.18 rural), with awareness (β = 0.421), participation (β = 0.228), enforcement contact (β = 0.187) and tenure type (β = −0.274) as significant independent predictors (R² = 0.67). Despite low compliance, 56.0% of respondents expressed willingness to comply with stricter regulations, indicating an execution rather than an attitudinal gap. The study concludes that climate resilience in Chibombo District is constrained primarily by weak institutional execution capacity, the exclusion of customary land from statutory planning control, and limited awareness and participation, and proposes a phased programme of execution-focused interventions to close these gaps.