292 



SOME MUNICIPAL ENGINEEKING PROHLEMS IN THE TROPICS 



System of 

 allotments 



Regulations 



Types of 

 houses 



" For the purpose of allotting land for Iniildings, the city was in the first instance 

 divided into quarters, and to ensure some uniformity in the class of buildings to be 

 erected there was specified in the Eegulations issued the minimum value of the building 

 and tlie class of material to be used in its construction. It was further enacted 

 that, within a certain time after allotment, the buildings were to be erected, and a fence 

 or a boundary wall of a certain value built round the plot in default of which the land 

 would revert to the Government. This procedure was necessary to check mere speculators 

 in land, although in spite of it gambling was rife and prices rose to a ridiculous figure. 

 Building operations were delayed in many cases, and in order to save the land inferior 

 structures were rushed up at the last moment, at famine prices of course. The situation 

 was a difficult one to deal with, as too great severity might have seriously crippled the 

 young city. 



" Latterly it has become necessary to provide for a greater control in the detail of the 

 building operations and recently a simple set of detailed Eegulations, adapted to the use of 

 the country, were issued. These have worked in a very satisfactory manner, and the 

 inhabitants appear to look upon them as a guarantee against the practices of the 

 ' jerry-builder.'" 



The regulations referred to are entitled "The Town Building Eegulations, 1909," 

 and although primarily drawn up for Khartoum City are arranged to meet the conditions 

 in the towns of Khartoum North and Omdurman. 



A copy of these regulations is given in Appendix " A." Section 4 shows how the land 

 is classified, thus dividing the city into quarters, and Section 5, under the head of 

 "General Eegulations," describes the class of buildings which may be erected in each 

 quarter. 



The General Eegulations (Sections 5 to 33) are applicable to all classes of building, 

 but the Special Eegulations (Sections 34 to 55) "do not apply to buildings of only one 

 story in height, the walls of which consist entirely or partly of mud or unburnt 

 mud bricks." The third class quarter of the city consists almost entirely of such buildings. 



The regulations are based on a well-known model, but modified considerably to 

 meet the local conditions and to avoid undue severity. 



In a paper on " Dwelling Houses in the Tropics," by one of the authors in the last 

 Eeport,' reference is made to the fact that white men in the Tropics, besides being 

 well protected from the heat rays of the sun, should also be protected from the light 

 rays which have such a harmful effect on the nervous system. The pigmentation of the 

 skin of a lilack man cuts off these light rays, and he has, therefore, only, to shield himself 

 from the heat rays to be quite comfortable. It is necessary to note this fundamental point 

 in comparing the native house with that suitable for the European. Thus the black man 

 could live with perfect safety under a covering which would be entirely inadequate for the 

 white man. 



The native houses in the region of Khartoum, as will be seen from the photo (Fig. 88), 

 have only a few small openings in the walls and are thus well darkened. Provided there is 

 a sufficient roof covering, such a house will be found quite comfortable for a European so far 

 as protection from the sun is concerned. The walls are generally of mud which, although 

 liable to considerable damage during the rains, has a certain advantage over brick or stone 

 in being cooler owing to its lower conductivity, so that it does not to the same extent 

 absorb the heat during the day and radiate it at night. 



' "Dwelling Houses in the Tropics," by W. H. McLean— TO //v/ llrpui-t. Il'rUcdinr Trn/ilff/l /,'c.trnirh 

 Laboratories, Khartoum, 1908. 



