The African City

Bill Freund is Professor of Economic History and Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is the author of many books, including The African Worker (Cambridge University Press, 1995).

This unique book is comprehensive both in terms of time coverage, from before the Pharaohs to the present moment and in that it tries to consider cities from the entire continent, not just Sub-Saharan Africa. Apart from factual information and rich description material culled from many sources, it looks at many issues from why urban life emerged in the first place to how present-day African cities cope in difficult times. Instead of seeing towns and cities as somehow extraneous to the real Africa, it views them as an inherent part of developing Africa, indigenous, colonial, and post-colonial and emphasizes the extent to which the future of African society and African culture will likely be played out mostly in cities. The book is written to appeal to students of history but equally to geographers, planners, sociologists and development specialists interested in urban problems.

Comprehensive in terms of both time and geographical area covered, this unique book tries in a short format to give the reader a complete picture of cities in Africa from early origins to the present. Instead of seeing towns and cities as somehow extraneous to the real Africa, it views them as an inherent part of developing Africa, indigenous, colonial, and post-colonial and emphasizes the extent to which the future of African society and African culture will likely be played out mostly in cities.

Introduction; 1. Urban life emerges in Africa; 2. African cities and the emergence of a world trading economy; 3. Colonialism and urbanisation; 4. Cities in revolt: the long term crisis of South African urbanism; 5. The post-colonial African city; 6. Globalisation and the African city: Touba, Abidjan, Durban.