African Cities, Urban Growth Management, and Property Development

Abstract

This chapter explores the relationship between the growth, urban form, and structure of African cities, from ancient to modern times, the concomitant responses from public sector authorities to manage urban growth and the resultant patterns of real estate investment and property development. African cities and towns are characterised by patterns and trends of property development that have been influenced by a multitude of factors, including their historic origin, geographic location, urban form and structure, resource hinterland, colonial and political past, demographic profile, as well as their unique economic and social dynamics. The pattern of real estate investment in African cities has since the early stages of settlement development been swayed by the interests of powerful political elites whose concerns always trumped the welfare of the broader urban population. Patterns of urbanisation and modernisation in African cities have taking a particular form, given its colonial history and tendency to follow trends that have emerged in developed countries. The pattern of skewed access to wealth in favour of the few is evident in the highly disparate access to and control of fixed assets such as property. The control and main features of the real estate markets in African cities represent the outcomes of powerful economic, social, and political forces at play, in broad terms, the “formal and legal” interests of established elites that can be tracked back to pre- and post-colonial times; in contrast with the “informal and illegal” concerns of the majority, local urban communities. The development problems and challenges faced by the majority, predominantly urban poor population, have become endemic and entrenched. These include rapid urbanisation driven by high rates of rural-urban migration and high levels of unemployment, inequality, and poverty. The analysis shows that although the wealth created in African cities through property development has multiplied, the shift from public to private benefit has escalated during the colonial and post-colonial period. The origin of efforts at managing the growth of settlements can be traced back to earlier periods of colonisation that, to a large extent, favoured “formal and orderly” developments and scorned “informal and disorganised” patterns of developments. African cities struggle to fashion planning and property development approaches that are appropriate and responsive to the contextual realities of the continent. It is argued that unless urban growth management practices and real estate investment can converge on the critical challenges facing African cities, the social, spatial, and economic structural problems will not be addressed and will deepen.