African Cities : Alternative Visions of Urban Theory and Practice
As African societies come to live more and more in cities, they do so in ways that challenge prevailing theories and models of urban development. Yet in much of the mainstream and even critical literature, cities in Africa are either ignored or held up as examples of all that can go wrong with urbanism. In this groundbreaking book, Garth Myers argues for a re-visioning of how cities in Africa are discussed and written about. Touching on a diverse range of examples, from Zanzibar to Nairobi, Cape Town to Mogadishu, Kinshasa to Dakar, Myers uses original research and a close reading of works by other scholars, writers, and artists to encourage us to engage with the vibrancy and complexity of African cities
Electronic resource
1 online resource (256)
9781283070966, 9781780321332, 1283070960, 1780321333
743404516
Cover
About the Author
Contents
Figures and Tables
Figure 1.1 The Pirates of NgOmbe
Figure 2.1 Nyerere Square, Dodoma, Tanzania
Table 0.1 Population Estimates for Selected Cities
Table 2.1 Africas Largest Cities
Table 3.1 Percentage of Male City Residents Employed in Informal Sectorby Shelter Deprivation Status
Table 3.2 8216;Slum Components for Selected Cities
Table 3.3 Percentage of the Urban Population in Those Cities Countrieslisted As Being Slum Households in Slum Areas
Table 3.4 Changes Over Time in Deprivation Status for Households Incape Town, Accra, and Dar Es Salaam
Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Map
Introduction
African Cities, African Studies, and Urban Studies
Alternative Visions of Theory and Practice
Table 0.1 Population Estimates for Selected Cities
The Plan of the Book
1 What if the Postmetropolis Is Lusaka?
Introduction
Figure 1.1 The Pirates of NgOmbe
The Postmetropolis According to Soja
Postcolonial City
(I)N(F)Ormal City
City Governance
Wounded City
Cosmopolitan City
Conclusion
2 Postcolonial Cities
Introduction
Figure 2.1 Nyerere Square, Dodoma, Tanzania
Colonialism and African Cities
Table 2.1 Africas Largest Cities
Postcolonialism and African Cities
Conclusion
3 (I)n(f)ormal Cities
Introduction
Defining (I)N(F)Ormal Settlements
Table 3.1 Percentage of Male City Residents Employed in Informal Sector By Shelter Deprivation Status
Table 3.2 8216;Slum Components for Selected Cities
Table 3.3 In the Countries of the Cities Shown in Table 3.2, Percentage of Theurban Population Listed As Being Slum Households in Slum Areas
Theorizing and Planning for (I)N(F)Ormality
Informal Settlements in Cape Town, Accra, and Dar Es Salaam
Table 3.4 Changes Over Time in Deprivation Status for Households in Cape Town, Accra, and Dar Es Salaam
Conclusion: Toward Hybrid Governance in a Relational City?
4 Governing Africas Cities
Introduction
Urban Governance
Governance Outcomes
Justice
Zanzibar
Considering the Zanzibar Case More Broadly
Conclusion
5 Wounded City
Introduction
Wounded Cities
On Mogadishu
Black Hawk Down
Nuruddin Farahs Representational Space
Conclusion
6 Cosmopolitan Cities
Introduction
Globalization and Cosmopolitanism
Zanzibars Diasporas
The Festivalization of African Cities
Mapping and Picturing African Cities From America
Conclusion
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index