Abstract
Current urbanization trends and projections clearly indicate that the global South cities, especially of Asia and Africa, would be at the receiving end of about 80% of the expected 2.7 billion increase in urban population between 2010 and 2050. These trends and projections make it imperative for the future planning of the global South cities to step out of the box, away from the traditional planning systems, and begin to adopt inclusive and innovative planning approaches that would efficiently tackle the current and emerging urban realities in these cities rather than sticking to rigid planning standards that ignore realities, generate continuous conflict, and fail to take advantage of the potentials of these urbanization consequences, especially the resilient informal economy. The chapter examines the urbanization trends and one of its major challenges in global South cities; informal economic activities, the planning implications of these informal economic activities, various approaches that have been adopted by different governments and the effectiveness or otherwise of the approaches in tackling the challenges of informal economy. The chapter also focuses on the successful planning approaches that have been implemented with a view to portraying the key lessons that can ensure its applicability in other global South cities facing similar challenges.
Highlights
The global dichotomy between the global North and global South is not a mere fiction but a fact that plays out in many spheres of life [1]
A clog in the wheel of progressive change in urbanization trend of these cities is hinged on the unrelenting position of many global South planners who cling to their colonial-master-bequeathed planning approaches without consideration of current realities, with the results that these cities evolve and grow without circumspective direction and proper management of urbanization trends
The Chapter devotes sections to discuss the relationship between urban planning and informal economy; the need for adjustment in global south urban planning standards to meet current realities, with lessons drawn from successful story of Singapore, a global South city that has become a model for other global South cities, showing that being an informal-economy-city is not a permanent status but can be transformed when necessary actions are taken by all stakeholders
Summary
The global dichotomy between the global North and global South is not a mere fiction but a fact that plays out in many spheres of life [1]. A clog in the wheel of progressive change in urbanization trend of these cities is hinged on the unrelenting position of many global South planners who cling to their colonial-master-bequeathed planning approaches without consideration of current realities, with the results that these cities evolve and grow without circumspective direction and proper management of urbanization trends. This chapter briefly discusses the trend of planning at different epochs in history; examined urbanization, and its major consequence in global South cities, which is informal economy. It further explores the Neo-liberal thinking and trends, which underpins and sustains the perpetration of informal economy, and details and interrogates the predominance of informal economy in global South cities. The chapter proposes innovative and inclusive urban planning design as the path to economic growth in global South cities
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