Amanda Aziidah Ngabirano is a Ugandan

urban planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, who is a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

and researcher in the Department of Architecture & Physical Planning in the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology at

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

. She is also a promoter of bicycle transport in urban areas, touting that mode of transportation to "reduce noise and air pollution, lower transport costs, decongest urban centres, create more green spaces and achieve more inclusive mobility".

Background and education

Ngabirano was born in Kasese Town, in the Western Region of Uganda in the 1970s. She attended Mubuku Primary School and Hima Primary School before joining

Kigezi High School Kigezi High School, is a mixed, boarding high school in Kabale, Kabale District, Western Uganda. Location The school is located off the Kabale-Kisoro Road on a hill called ''Rugarama'', approximately , by road, northwest of the central business d ...

, a mixed, boarding high school in Kabale City, approximately , from home. After high school, she missed the government scholarship scheme and was unable to enter university because her parents could not afford the fees. She spent the next three years at a vocational school in

Mbarara City Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region of Uganda and the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. The city is divided into 6 boroughs of Kakoba Division, Kamukuzi Division, Nyamitanga Division, Biharwe Division, Kakiika Division, Nyak ...

, studying Swahili. The teachers' college where she studied, Kakoba National Teacher’s College, is now a component of

Bishop Stuart University Bishop Stuart University (BSU) is a private, not-for-profit, multi-campus university in Uganda. Location BSU has its main campus, measuring approximately , at ''Kakoba Hill'', off of Buremba Road, approximately east of downtown Mbarara. The ...

, a private Christian university. In her final year at Kakoba, she registered for the university entrance examinations again. She sat the A-Level examinations at St. Leo's College, Kyegobe, a Catholic, all-boys, boarding school in Fort Portal City. She passed and was admitted to Makerere University on government scholarship, to study

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

, her only selection on the application. In 2002, she entered Makerere University, graduating three years later with a Bachelor of Urban Planning degree. Later, she studied at the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wi ...

in the United Kingdom and at

Saxion University of Applied Sciences Saxion University of Applied Sciences () is a Dutch university of applied sciences with three campuses in the eastern Netherlands. It provides more than 100 courses in study fields as archaeology, finance, law, engineering, hospitality, business, ...

at the campus in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

, approximately by road east of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. She graduated with a Master of Urban, Community and Regional Planning. As of October 2021, Ngabirano is pursuing a Doctorate degree in urban and regional planning through Saxion University of Applied Sciences.

Career

While an undergraduate at Makerere, Ngabirano anchored the news in

Kiswahili Swahili, also known as as it is referred to in the Swahili language, is a Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent littoral i ...

on Uganda Television (UTV) twice a week. She began lecturing at Makerere in 2006 on a part-time basis. She was appointed a full-time lecturer in 2010. While pursuing her master's degree in Europe, she bought a bicycle and began cycling back and forth between her off-campus residence and the university. For the thesis of her master's degree, she selected "Integrating Bicycle Transport in City Planning: A Case Study of Kampala City". She carried out her research by interviewing bicyclists on the streets of Kampala. An idea that she developed, which her supervisor at university thought was impractical, was accepted by the

Kampala Capital City Authority Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) is the legal entity, established by the Parliament of Uganda, Ugandan Parliament, that is responsible for the operations of the capital city of Kampala in Uganda. It replaced the Kampala City Council (KCC). ...

. A major road in the city was reserved for pedestrians, wheelchairs and bicyclist, blocking out motorized transport. The road is called ''Namirembe Road''.

Academic research

Some of Ngabirano's work includes (1) Transforming urban planning processes and outcomes through creative methods. (2) Inclusive climate resilient transport challenges in Africa.

Other work

In December 2021, she was appointed the chairperson of the National Physical Planning Board- Uganda She had occupied the position in an acting capacity from 4 July 2020. She previously served as the vice president of the

World Cycling Alliance The European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) is a non-profit member-based umbrella federation of local, regional and national civil society organizations that promote cycling for both transportation and leisure. ECF has around 70 member organizati ...

. She is a member of the consultative forum to unite Ugandan taxi operators under a single organization. She is the African partner for ''Move Mobility'', an organization based in Deventer, Netherlands. She is a member of ''Collaboration for Active Mobility in Africa'' (CAMA). She is the Ugandan coordinator for ''High Volume Transport Applied Research Programme''.

Personal life

She is a married mother of two children.

References