Africa is the world’s least urbanised but at the same time the most rapidly urbanising continent. Demographically, no other continent evolves faster than Africa. It is estimated that between 1950 and 2010, Africa’s total population increased fourfold and its urban population grew over eleven times. The total urban population is expected to exceed 200 million in the next few years, according to projections. All these make African cities an interesting topic of study in various crosscutting disciplines.But, what lens should one wear to look at the African city? African cities are synonymously stereotyped as chaotic, over-crowded and lacking infrastructure and poorly planned. It is undeniable that African cities have notable similarities and their urbanisation has distinctive and closely associated qualities but they have totally different backgrounds and themes that can only be studied one at a time. Therefore, a more in-depth analysis to inform our way of reading these cities is worth considering. It is necessary to search for for a more focused understanding of the dynamics behind the urbanisation of our cities, though which we can correctly capture the varied political, socio-cultural, economic perspectives on each specific city. Echoing this synthesis, Garth Myers, an American geographer and professor with thirty years of research experience on and in African cities,observes that there cannot be a correct generalisation of African cities since they are quite different from one another in patterns, processes, forms and functions. In his book, ‘African Cities: Alternative Visions of Urban Theory and Practice’, he clearly challenges conventional theories and models that have largely ‘imprisoned’ the study of cities in Africa with generalisations that are only conceptual and not particularly helpful in understanding the specific situation on the ground. Such fresh insights, away from stereotypical concepts, are very useful for scholars and urbanists, if they are to correctly grasp underlying themes, upon which to base their critical reflection of the urbanisation in cities of focus. Picking on the issue of informal urbanisation that is said to characterise Africa, Professor Tom Anyamba of the University of Nairobi has successfully analysed the complexity and heterogeneity of informal processes that lead to diverse informality. In his book, ‘Diverse Informalities: Spatial Transformations in Nairobi’, he argues that informality as an urban process cannot be homogenous and that the informal phenomenon is not entirely negative, as it provides some form of urban livelihood for the poor. The definitions of ‘informal city’, previously coined by economists and politicians, are rigidly constrictive, and new research instead suggests new avenues for reading the informality as not so negative after all. This confirmed why when I challenged my human settlements students to debate a motion that ‘living in informal settlements is better than living in formal settlements’, the supporting group won. Students raised peculiar benefits of living in informal settlements such as; walkable neighbourhoods, affordable lifestyles, cultural and social mixite, easy communication, mixed landuse, appropriate densities and participatory planning. I could not agree more. Africa has recently staged precedents that are worth noting. South Africa has lately become a striking ground for urban studies; whereby Johannesburg, in particular, has presented a peculiar case of ‘reverse roles’ in urbanism. Research has unearthed how the city is attempting to reclaim itself from apartheid urbanism by overcoming burdens of spatial distortions created by apartheid policies. Rwanda too has been dominating global news headlines for the notably amazing milestone in her urbandevelopment. This year alone, Kigali City was among the 67 cities globally and one of six in Africa selected by the 100 Resilient Cities initiative, while Rwanda was recently voted the cleanest and safest country in Africa and her efficient governance, poverty reduction and environmental awareness are highly applauded. This evident milestone covered thus far by a nation that historically had sunk into a series of atrocities culminating in the 1994 genocide inspires many. Rwanda presently enjoys a vibrant construction industry in an attempt to rebuild, and evidently Rwanda’s ambition when it comes to thinking about her urban future drives her into this amazing achievement. Now, the task ahead of Africa is attempting to correct the generalization anomaly; calling for a change in our mind-sets, towards the transformation of the negative ideas about African cities into positive inspirations. Through the recommended lens, the new vision for Africa can be achieved through hard work; generating new theoretical understandings based on a wide range of contextual urban practices generated by cities in Africa to avoid the trap of stereotyping Africa and elevating our efforts towards the integration of these understandings in concrete policy and governance frameworks. We need to convince the world to start looking at African cities optimistically. The writer is an architect and urban designer with keen interest on the dialectical relations between Architecture and Society. josemwongeli@yahoo.com
