Urbanization on the African Continent: Main Challenges and Opportunities for Overcoming Them (Review)

Abstract

The growth of cities and urban population in Africa is inducing an increase in informal housing building, growth of poverty and inequality, limited access of citizens to basic services and urban infrastructure, growth of the informal economy, etc. These problems arise largely due to the lack of proper urban development planning, insufficient action coordination at different levels of government, lack of funding for urban projects.

The books presented in the review contain studies of transformation processes in African cities seen in the global, national and local contexts. Deepening understanding of urbanization in African countries, its driving forces, dynamics and interactions between urban actors, the authors of the publications point out the need to develop targeted and inclusive policies that would unite local, national and regional efforts in the field of urban development. Among the key elements of such policy, experts highlight coordination of development projects at the national and local levels and improving the quality of their management; investing in basic service infrastructure, including the areas of informal housing; empowering local authorities as key players in shaping local strategies for socio-economic development.