African Struggles For the Right to the City – Allan Cain & Agnes Midi

Africa has some of the world’s most unequal cities. Informal settlements in African cities, and the struggles that are fought in their defense, are evidence of deep-rooted exclusion. They have inherited colonial segregated planning laws that are socio-economically exclusive, resulting in cement cities and slums. In many African former colonial countries, a struggle for a right to the city formed an integral part of the fight against colonialism and apartheid. In the decades since independence, few African states have been able to develop and implement reforms governing urban development to effectively improve these characteristics of their cities.