Alan Mabin (University of Witswatersrand, Johannesburg) presented “Scope and Dimensions of African Suburbanism” as part of SUBURBS TALKS on April 8, 2011. Room 305 in York Lanes from 12:30 – 2pm.
Alan Mabin (University of Witswatersrand)
The presentation reported on the present state of African suburbanisation emphasizing the territory south of the Sahara, and based on an extensive review of secondary sources and a modicum of new research in selected cities. The context is one of an urban population now as large as that of north America or Europe, and it is intended to bring the study of suburbanisation in this context into the same intellectual arena as that of other continents. Following Ekers, Hamel and Keil (2010), suburbanisation is here understood as ‘the combination of non-central population and economic growth with urban spatial expansion’. In the immense variety of African urbanisms, the purpose of the review is to explore what forms 'suburbs' takes in various African contexts, including spaces which concentrate new economic activities, zones of middle and upper income residence, the meaning of informality of building, land markets and social activity, and the various elements of what is often termed ‘urban sprawl’. The key theme is rapid growth of cities into new spaces and forms, with interest in the main trends with regard to this growth, what the drivers of growth are, and how it is shaped (or not) by policy and institutional mechanisms that try to shape/direct urban growth (and the reality of what happens in practice).
Within the limits of available material the paper will describe key actors involved in African suburban growth, and the way they influence it (property developers, landowners, traditional authorities, administrators; households of different types; politicians).
The presentation concluded with propositions for discussion and a modest research agenda.
To listen to a streaming version of Alan Mabin’s presentation, click here.
