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1. Socio-Spatial and Ethnic-Racial Segregation in Megacities, Large Cities and Global Cities in Africa

Author:
Fabio Macedo Velame and Thiago Augusto Ferreira da Costa
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
The estimated world population for 2030 is 8.6 billion people, one billion more than the current 7.6 billion (UN 2017). The same study points out that nine countries will account for more than half of this population growth, with five African nations among them (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Egypt), in addition to three Asian countries (India, Pakistan and Indonesia) and one country in the Americas (The United States). In this work, we present an overview of the megacities, large cities and global cities of seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, which, according to the UN, is the continent’s fastest growing region in population terms. These countries, with the cities that stand out on the international scene, according to the analyzed authors. Still in 2030, two thirds of the world population will live in cities, which will produce 80% of the planet’s GDP, with megacities appearing again in Asia, Latin America and Africa (UN 2017). The increase in the cost of living in these superclusters is certain, as well as in small and medium- -sized cities. However, it is in the global and millionaire cities where cutting- -edge urbanization occurs, although they are not the fastest growing cities in population terms, according to the UN (2017). Therefore, we bring here examples of these cities that become increasingly segregated.
Topic:
Demographics, Urbanization, Economy, Urban, Cities, and Segregation
Political Geography:
Brazil and Africa

2. Addressing the Challenges of Urbanization in Africa

Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
Abstract:
Africa is the world’s least urbanized continent, and yet the rate at which its cities are expanding is growing faster than no other worldwide – at an average of 3.5 percent per year. This growth of urbanization does, however, vary across the continent, ranging from the already heavily urbanized North Africa (47.8 percent) to the least urbanized Sub-Saharan Africa (32.8 percent).The aggregate rate of urbanization on the continent is projected to grow from 40 percent in 2015 to 56 percent in 2050. The enormous speed at which Africa’s cities are growing is linked to other key development trends, most prominently accelerating economic and population growth, increasing migration from rural to urban areas, and the youth bulge. It is strongly driven by Africans’ perceptions that cities – in contrast to the continent’s rural areas – offer an abundance of livelihood opportunities, including employment and income-generating opportunities, food security, and access to finance, education and social capital as well as social protection.
Topic:
Urbanization, Economic growth, Urban, Population Growth, and Cities
Political Geography:
Africa, North Africa, and Sahara

3. Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa Meeting Challenges by Bridging Stakeholders

Author:
Jamal Saghir and Jena Santorn
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Urbanization is transforming the world. According to the 2017 Drivers of Migration and Urbanization in Africa report by the United Nations, more than half of the global population now lives in urban areas. This figure is projected to increase to 75 percent by 2050, at a growing rate of 65 million urban dwellers annually. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is often regarded as the world's fastest urbanizing region. Urban areas currently contain 472 million people, and will double over the next 25 years. The global share of African urban residents is projected to grow from 11.3 percent in 2010 to 20.2 percent by 2050. SSA’s 143 cities generate a combined $ 0.5 trillion, totaling 50 percent of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP). Urban centers play a critical role in fighting poverty and sustaining economic growth, and are often considered the future of prosperity in the developing world. While strategic urbanization is highly dependent on national macroeconomic policymaking, city governments, the private sector, development practitioners, and urban planners also have critical roles to play. Linking the urbanization management efforts of different stakeholders presents an opportunity for economic growth in a region undergoing an immense demographical shift.
Topic:
Demographics, Migration, United Nations, Urbanization, Economic growth, and Private Sector
Political Geography:
Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

4. Security and Sustainable Development in Cape Town, South Africa

Author:
Guy Lamb
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
SSR for Safer Cities - Supporting States to Achieve SDG 11 Safety and security has already become an urban experience for more than half of the world’s population. Against this backdrop, SDG 11 seeks to bring sustainable and peaceful development to the people who live in cities by calling on states to “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. Yet high rates of urban violence reflect a failure to address the challenges of urbanization in national and donor-supported strategies for security and development. Urban violence exacerbates state fragility and human suffering, endangers local and regional peace, and drives uncontrolled migration. This fact demonstrates the urgency of linking SDG 11 with SDG 5 on women’s empowerment and SDG 16 on peaceful, just and inclusive societies. Within this larger priority there is now a pressing need to address the immediate challenges of SSR in urban contexts, manifests in the purpose of DCAF’s Policy and Research Division project “SSR for Safer Cities” supported by the Human Security Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. As part of the project, three case studies on security in cities conducted by local experts over the course of 2018 examine SSR within the urban realm; the selected cities are Bogotá, Cape Town and General Santos City.
Topic:
Security, Law Enforcement, Urbanization, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Geneva, Africa, South Africa, and United Nations

5. From Urban Fragility to Urban Stability

Author:
Stephen Commins
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The growing share of Africa’s urban residents living in slums is creating a further source of fragility. In response, some cities are implementing integrated urban development strategies that link local government, police, the private sector, and youth to strengthen social cohesion and enhance stability.
Topic:
International Affairs, Urbanization, and Political stability
Political Geography:
Africa

6. Getting Africa’s Urbanization Right

Author:
Jamal Saghir
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Sub-Saharan African countries are experiencing rapid urban growth challenging policy makers to provide infrastructure and services under tight fiscal constraints. Urbanization has the potential to boost economic growth, attract capital, create jobs, and fight poverty; but cities in Africa are failing to reap these benefits. More than half of SSA population lives in urban areas, but 55% of these citizens are established in informal settlements underserved by public services and threatened by natural disasters. GDP in Africa is mainly concentrated around urban areas proving that national economic growth depends on the productivity of the cities. Urban development should be a national priority sustained by policy reforms, strategic investments in infrastructure, decentralization, and stronger inter-governmental systems and institutions.
Topic:
Development, Urbanization, GDP, and Economic growth
Political Geography:
Africa

7. The Security of Cities: Ecology and Conflict on an Urbanizing Planet

Author:
Peter Engelke
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Humankind recently crossed a historic threshold: over half of all human beings now live in cities. In contrast to most of human history, cities have become the default condition for human habitation almost everywhere on earth. Urbanization is proceeding rapidly and at unprecedented scales in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These regions are poised to join Latin America, Europe, North America, and Australia as having more people living in cities than in rural areas. Between 2010 and 2050, the world's urban population is expected to grow by 3 billion people—a figure roughly equal to the world's total population in 1950—with the great majority living in developing-world cities.3 Our species, in other words, is already an urban one and will become even more so throughout this century.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Environment, Natural Resources, Urbanization, and Developing World
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Australia, and North America