Africa's Urban Revolution

Africa's Urban Revolution is both an ambitious title and an ambitious endeavour. Contained within just more than 300 pages is a detailed account of the revolution - or revolutions - that are taking place across the continent. Rather than being political in nature, the titular revolution refers to an 'urban transition' characterised by the dynamism of the continent's cities. The book brings together perspectives from some 21 researchers and practitioners. The topics addressed are suitably diverse and include civic conflict, urban planning legislation, the role of religious organisations, food (in)security, economic growth and global warming. The continent is 40% urbanised at present, which means that there are 414m African urbanites ... Only Asia has more people living in cities. While Africa's urban revolution is already well under way, the editors are at pains to stress that there can be no single, uniform understanding of 'the African city'. The purpose of the collection is to identify common themes and trends that 'frame and form the urban revolution'. - Hannah Gibson