Power and Informality in Urban Africa: Ethnographic Perspectives
2022 (English)Collection (editor) (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
Urban Africa is undergoing a transformation unlike anywhere else in the world, as unprecedented numbers of people migrate to rapidly expanding cities. But despite the growing body of work on urban Africa, the lives of these new city dwellers have received relatively little attention, particularly when it comes to crucial issues of power and inequality.
This interdisciplinary collection brings together contributions from urban studies, geography, and anthropology to provide new insights into the social and political dynamics of African cities, as well as uncovering the causes and consequences of urban inequality. Featuring rich new ethnographic research data and case studies drawn from across the continent, the collection shows that Africa’s new urbanites have adapted to their environs in ways which often defy the assumptions of urban planners. By examining the experiences of these urban residents in confronting issues of power and agency, the contributors consider how such insights can inform more effective approaches to research, city planning and development both in Africa and beyond.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
London ; [Uppsala]: Zed Books ; [Nordiska Afrikainstitutet] , 2022. , p. 246
Series
Africa Now
Keywords [en]
Urbanization, Towns, Informal sector, Urban population, Poverty, Urban development, Urban areas, Urban sociology, Case studies, Africa
National Category
Social Anthropology Other Social Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:nai:diva-2634DOI: 10.5040/9781350237599ISBN: 9781786993458 (print)ISBN: 9781786993441 (print)ISBN: 9781350237599 (electronic)ISBN: 9781786993465 (electronic)ISBN: 9781350237599 (electronic)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:nai-2634DiVA, id: diva2:1639431
Note
Contents: 1. Examining Power and Informality in Urban Africa / Laura Stark & Annika Teppo -- PART I: Gold fever. 2. Hybrid governance in an impermanent mining settlement in Burkina Faso / Cristiano Lanzano -- 3. Artisanal gold mining and rapid urbanisation in Mali / Sidylamine Bagayoko -- PART II: Goods, services, needs: actors in the market. 4. Migratory youth porters and metal scrap dealers in Accra / Esther Danso-Wiredu and Adjoa Afriyie -- 5. Women's neighbourhood vending as a survival strategy in Dar es Salaam / Tiina-Riitta Lappi -- 6. “If only they would see us as honest workers”: Motorcycle taxi drivers' rights to livelihood in Kampala / Caroline Wamala-Larsson -- 7. Mobile phone theft, resale and violence in Dar es Salaam / Laura Stark -- PART III: Urban renewal: planning versus implementation. 8. Youth, shelter, and liminal urbanism in Addis Ababa / Susanna Myllylä -- 9. Neighborhood Open Spaces: Co-production and spatial transformation in Addis Ababa / Segen Tesfamarian, Elias Yitbarek Alemayehu and Laura Stark -- 10. From musseque to high-rise: Luanda's renewal in times of abundance and crisis / Cristina Udelsmann Rodrigues.
Published in association with the Nordic Africa Institute.
2022-02-212022-02-212023-01-20Bibliographically approved