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Africa’s urban population is growing rapidly, raising numerous environmental concerns. Urban areas are often linked to poverty as well as power and wealth, and hazardous and unhealthy environments as the pace of change stretches local resources. Yet there are a wide range of perspectives and possibilities for political analysis of these rapidly changing environments.
Written by a widely respected author, this important book will mark a major new step forward in the study of Africa’s urban environments. Using innovative research including fieldwork data, map analysis, place-name study, interviewing and fiction, the book explores environmentalism from a variety of perspectives, acknowledging the clash between Western planning mind-sets pursuing the goal of sustainable development, and the lived realities of residents of often poor, informal settlements. The book will be valuable to advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses in geography, urban studies, development studies, environmental studies and African studies.
Introduction;
The Experts: The ‘State’ of Urban Environments in Africa;
The Past: The Urban Biogeography of (Post)Colonialism;
The Artists: Using African Literature to Read Urban Environments;
The Cityscape: Place-Names, Culture and Spirits;
From the Grass Roots: Popular Understandings of Urban Environmental Issues in Africa;
Conclusion: Re-Reading Urban Environments.