Infrastructure as a Catalyst for the Prosperity of African Cities

Abstract

Improved infrastructure can deliver major benefits capable of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Despite the importance of infrastructure in the functioning of African cities, there are few attempts at investigating its contribution from a city perspective. This paper investigates how the provision of infrastructure contributes to the prosperity of African cities, using Expert Opinion Survey from a diverse selection of cities. Trends in three components of infrastructure – water supply, road network and telecommunications are examined. Serious water shortage characterizes 79% of the African cities in the study. However, cities such as Gaborone and Algiers located in arid regions of Africa are better able to meet their water supply needs largely due to effective water governance and management. The dysfunctional nature of roads in African cities poses a major challenge to the prosperity of these cities. Compared to other components of infrastructure, telecommunications is ranked as the most developed form infrastructure in African cities. This is attributed to the spectacular growth in the mobile phone industry over the last one and half decades. The mobile phone industry acts a catalyst for growth in African cities. Further analysis of the Expert Opinion Survey shows that if developed and effectively managed, infrastructure can contribute to the prosperity of African cities by: driving economic growth; facilitating urban mobility; ensuring greater access to health and education; enhancing safety and security; guiding urban growth; enhancing environmental quality; improving slums conditions; and reducing intra-urban disparities.