TITLE:
Design and Social Influence of the Great Zimbabwe Ruins
AUTHORS:
Tatenda Agynella Mushandu, Rui Zhang
KEYWORDS:
Landscape Architecture, Great Zimbabwe Ruins, Architectural Features, Social Influence, Modern Impact
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.12 No.8,
August
26,
2024
ABSTRACT: Various theories have been advanced on the history of the Great Zimbabwe ruins and its associated impacts to the locals. Such theories also pertains to the identity of the people who built the Great Zimbabwe National Monument (GZNM). This paper studies about the design and assesses the extent to which the Great Zimbabwe ruins have contributed to the social/sustainable development of present-day Zimbabwe. The study attempts to investigate the history of the ruins, cultures and customs of the Shona people of Zimbabwe and what is critically important to underscore is the value of the site to society. Previous studies on Great Zimbabwe ruins and the Shona people of Zimbabwe are unarguably in abundance. However, not much research has been conducted on the nature of the site, its landscape and the people who built it as well as an exploration of the life and customs of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. In this sense, the existence of the ancient landscapes always raises the desire for a temporal comparative analysis where the historical, cultural and economic influence of landscape architecture in Zimbabwe is thoroughly examined. By conducting research on how the Great Zimbabwe is illustrated by academic research, qualitative and quantitative analysis, qualitative research employed in this study includes site visits, questionnaires and personal interviews, quantitative as there is statistical data as how the number of tourists visiting the Great Zimbabwe has declined rapidly over the years. With the findings this study reveals that the architectural design has affected sustainable development of local communities living in its vicinity in social and cultural terms.