urbanisation

As competition for land intensifies in Africa’s rapidly growing towns and cities, planning laws assume a fundamental importance. The promotion of external “one-size-fits-all” models has not served Africa well.

Africa’s cities are growing and changing rapidly. Without appropriate planning, they will become increasingly chaotic, inefficient and unsustainable. In many countries, planning legislation dates back to the colonial era.

It is frequently asserted that urbanisation levels are rising faster in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world. In the latest Counterpoint from Africa Research Institute, “Whatever happened to Africa’s rapid urbanisation?”, Dr. Deborah Potts presents evidence to show...

Launch of “Whatever happened to Africa’s rapid urbanisation?” with a presentation by author Dr. Deborah Potts and response from Dr David Cowan of Citibank.  Discussion chaired by Edward Paice. It is widely believed that urbanisation is occurring faster in...

Speakers: Dr Deborah Potts (Kings College London), David Cowan (Citibank)

African governments, policymakers and international donors need to acknowledge fundamental changes in urbanisation trends and respond to the messages imparted about employment, incomes and economic development.

It is widely believed that urbanisation is occurring faster in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world, as migrants move from rural to urban settlements. This is a fallacy. While the populations of numerous urban areas are growing rapidly, the urbanisation levels of...

Rapid urbanisation is being portrayed – by the UN, the World Bank and many others – as a potential developmental “silver bullet” for Africa. Edward Paice argues these claims are too simplistic and overly-optimistic.

Michael Holden argues that by depicting resourcefulness and the precarious nature of everyday urban life, the BBC series “Welcome to Lagos” underscored the commonality of human experience.